Coven Songs - One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) Lyrics

Coven - One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)

Coven - One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Coven
Released: 1971

One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) Lyrics

Listen children to a story
That was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom, on a mountain
And the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own
Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of Heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after who
One tin soldier rides away
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom
With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
N' all the riches buried there
Now the valley cried in anger
Mount your horses
Draw your sword
And they killed the mountain people
So they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain dark and red
Turn the stone and which beneath it
"Peace on Earth"
Was all it said
Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of Heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after who
One tin soldier rides away
Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of Heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

Writer/s: LAMBERT, DENNIS EARLE / POTTER, BRIAN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)

This song's message is that human greed and violence is futile. A "Tin Soldier" is a miniature toy soldier. (thanks, Ken - Ottawa, FL)

The songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter wrote this. They wrote songs for Dusty Springfield, The Four Tops and Glen Campbell.

In 1969, this was a #34 US hit for a short-lived Canadian band called Original Caste as simply "One Tin Soldier." Original Caste's version reached US #34 and went to #1 in Canada.

Coven's version was used as the theme from the 1971 independent film Billy Jack.

In 1973, Coven released a re-recorded version of the song which reached US #79. In 1974, their version from 1971 was reissued, reaching US #73. (thanks, Jerro - New Alexandria, PA, for above 4)