Universal Soldier
The Donovans Lyrics

He's five foot-two and he's six feet-four
He comes in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life

He fights with missiles and with spears
He fights with any weapon given to him, regardless of how ancient or contemporary

He's all of thirty-one and he's only seventeen
He is young and old at the same time, for war ages him beyond his years

He's been a soldier for a thousand years
He is a timeless symbol of war, a soldier for as long as humans have fought each other

He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jane
He represents all religions and beliefs known to man

A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew
He embraces all creeds and faiths

And he knows he shouldn't kill
He understands the value of life and the horror of taking it away

And he knows he always will
But he is forced to kill, for war makes it his only option for survival

Kill you for me my friend and me for you
He kills for others, not for himself, for war makes enemies out of friends

And he's fighting for Canada
He fights for any country that orders him to fight, regardless of his own nationality

He's fighting for France
He fights for any country that wages war, regardless of their reasons or ideals

He's fighting for the USA
He fights for any country that wants to win, regardless of the cost or the consequences

And he's fighting for the Russians
He fights for any country that opposes his own, regardless of their political regime or ideology

And he's fighting for Japan
He fights for any country that pays him, regardless of their culture or history

And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way
He believes that killing is necessary to stop killing, that war will end only in victory or defeat

And he's fighting for democracy
He fights for any system that promises freedom and human rights, regardless of its flaws or shortcomings

He's fighting for the Reds
He fights for any cause that embraces communism or socialism, regardless of its merits or failures

He says it's for the peace of us all
He claims his actions will lead to peace, but he knows deep down that war only begets more war

He's the one who must decide
He is given the task of choosing who lives and who dies, a burden that scars him for life

Who's to live and who's to die
He has to sacrifice others or be sacrificed himself, for war leaves no winners, only victims

And he never sees the writing on the wall
He is unaware of the destiny that awaits him, the fate of all soldiers who fought and died in vain

But without him, how would Hitler have condemned him at Liebau?
He is used and abused by those who seek power and domination, becoming a pawn in their games of life and death

Without him, Caesar would've stood alone
He is the backbone of armies throughout history, the soldier who makes generals great and empires fall

He's the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war
He puts his life on the line for others, his body becoming a tool of violence and destruction

And without him all this killing can't go on
He is the reason for war's existence, the enabler of violence and suffering

He's the universal soldier and he really is to blame
He is the embodiment of war, the cause and effect of all conflicts

His orders come from far away no more
He no longer has to wait for orders, for he is part of a global war machine that needs no justification

They come from here and there and you and me
We are all responsible for his actions, for we create the conditions that send him to fight and die in wars we have started or contributed to

And brothers, can't you see
We are all brothers and sisters, sharing the same planet and the same fate

This is not the way we put the end to war?
We must find other ways to solve our problems, other means to achieve our goals, for war is not the answer to peace, only its opposite.