The Queen And The Soldier
Vega Suzanne Lyrics
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He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"
Well the young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.
And she said, "I have swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.
And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange."
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on.
"The Queen and the Soldier" by Suzanne Vega is a powerful and haunting song that tells a story of a young queen and a soldier who comes to her with a proposition to stop fighting. The queen realizes that she has seen the soldier before and lets him in, leading him to her red tapestry room. The soldier asks the queen why they fight, and she responds arrogantly, dismissing his question. The soldier, however, sees through her facade, knowing that she is dealing with a burning secret that is cutting her inside. He tries to connect with her, but ultimately, she cannot accept his offer of peace, and the soldier is left waiting for her word, only to be killed in the battle that continues.
The lyrics are full of symbolism and metaphor, painting a vivid picture of a power struggle between two forces. The soldier asks the queen why they fight, as he has seen more battles lost than won. The young queen's face reflects her arrogance, but the soldier sees through her and tries to get her to open up to him. The queen, however, cannot let go of her power and leaves the soldier waiting, ultimately leading to his death. The soldier wanted to give all he had and love a young woman he didn't understand, while the queen's ways were very strange, and she strangled in the solitude she preferred. The sun was gold, but the sky was grey, symbolizing the contrast between the beauty and ugliness of power.
Line by Line Meaning
The soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
The soldier approached the queen's castle seeking an audience
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The soldier expressed his refusal to fight on behalf of the queen
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
The queen had a sense of familiarity with the soldier's face
And slowly she let him inside.
The queen allowed the soldier to enter her castle at a deliberately slow pace
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
The soldier mentioned observing the queen's palace from afar
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
The soldier questioned the queen's identity as the motivation for their fighting
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
The soldier indicated his plans to depart and relinquish control to the queen
Only first I am asking you why."
The soldier requested an explanation from the queen
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
The queen guided the soldier through a lengthy, enclosed space
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
The soldier was led to the queen's lavish quarters adorned with red tapestry
And she never once took the crown from her head
The queen retained her symbolic crown throughout the encounter
She asked him there to sit down.
The queen requested that the soldier take a seat
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
The soldier commented on the queen's youth and inexperience
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
The soldier reflected on years of experience as a fighter
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
The soldier shared his belief that the queen's motives were self-serving and insincere
And now will you tell me why?"
The soldier inquired once more for an explanation
Well the young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
The queen's expression became haughty and disdainful
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
The queen dismissed the soldier's ability to comprehend her reasoning
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
The soldier observed a youthful vulnerability in the queen's expression
But she closed herself up like a fan.
The queen withdrew emotionally from the situation
And she said, "I have swallowed a secret burning thread
The queen confessed to carrying a painful, repressed burden
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
The queen described the extreme emotional impact her secret has on her
He laid his hand then on top of her head
The soldier made a compassionate gesture of comfort towards the queen
And he bowed her down to the ground.
The soldier bowed his own head and offered solace to the queen
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
The soldier expressed concern for the queen's well-being and emotional state
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
The soldier noted the queen's isolation and seclusion from her subjects
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
The soldier declared his intention to refuse further participation in the queen's wars
And he took her to the window to see.
The soldier guided the queen to a window to look outside
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
The soldier noted the beauty of the golden sun despite the surrounding gloom
And she wanted more than she ever could say
The queen yearned for something beyond what she could express aloud
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
The queen became apprehensive and retreated from the window
And would not look at his face again.
The queen avoided eye contact with the soldier
And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
The soldier spoke of his own values and aspirations
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
The soldier expressed a desire for fairness and generosity
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
The soldier shared his hope to experience love with someone unknown to him
Your highness, your ways are very strange."
The soldier noted the queen's idiosyncrasies and unconventional behavior
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
The queen's symbolic crown had been displaced and she felt fragile as a result
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
The queen felt embarrassed and vulnerable because of her emotional response to the soldier's visit
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
The queen escorted the soldier to the castle entranceway and requested his patience
She would only be a moment inside.
The queen promised a brief absence before re-emerging from the castle
Out in the distance her order was heard
The queen's command was heard from a distance
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
The soldier met his demise while waiting for the queen's return
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The queen persisted in her isolated lifestyle despite the incident with the soldier
The battle continued on.
The ongoing war was unaffected by the events that occurred between the queen and the soldier
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SUZANNE VEGA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Monica Miranda
Charing Cross was Queen Victoria.
They use a poppy flower, for they believe morphine eases pain. It does and so does tylenol mixed with Vallium.
The medal Queen Victoria has given to Florence Nightingale, the patroness of nurses who went to the war in Crimea and found out that dirtiness and tiredness were killing more than bullets. She was an statistician before she became a nurse. The medal Queen Victoria gave her has this written "Blessed are the Merciful".
You must ease extreme pain somehow. Doctors and nurses must be compassionate, have good eyes to see, good ears to hear, capacity for understanding, dress in white, everything must be clean in their environment.
There's more to that. Florence Nightingale went to Greece and bought an owlet. Her owlet was called Athena and was born in Athens as Florence was born in Florence.
The owl is a symbol for wisdom.
Those two songs talk about a queen. "The Queen and the Soldier" and "Royals".
In Royals she says " we are not caught up in your love affair" meaning they don't live in luxe lives nor in elegant addresses.
But they rule in extreme pain, for they know secrets they would rather not disclose, but the soldier wants to know.
The soldier wants to know why the battles, it's for those who do not rule and need opium. That's why the wars are about.
But we rule in pain and we don't live in elegant address. We wash our clothes in the blood of the Lamb every day. Everyday we want to know the reason of your grieving and how to ease your pain.
Some people don't need opium. They need a guitar, a piano, a machine, a crochet needle and thread, a work instrument to work and show their value , the gift they were born with.
Let me be your ruler. I will hide under my bed and be the ruler of the world, just showing you that humans should be respected. Even if they have trisomy. Like the soldier who went after the queen to ask things that is so obvious for many people.
All that he wanted was not to be a soldier. To find out his gifts. The gifts he was born with and support his wife with his work. And his kids.
We, the ones who rule this planet would like the people from India and Indialike places not to mix humans with macaques anymore, for the children will be born trisomic. This is an abomination before the Lord. Sodom and Gomorrah will raise and condemn you for this abomination.
Blessed are the Merciful.
God never wanted and does not want your bloody sacrifices. He wants people to be merciful.
Blessed are the Merciful as says Victoria Regina who was trisomic because of past abominations.
We are not asking too much from you. We are not caught in your love affair. The problem of trisomy is a math problem that we will eventually solve, if you stop your abominations and leave us alone to study the things your mnd cannot understand.
Blessed are the merciful. We bleed inside and our pain is great already. Don't come to us with your petty curiosity. Stop being lower beings. Do me a favor, buy yourselves a piano, a guitar or drums and get out of my life.
we will continue to rule you.
Liliana Garcês
Hi, matt!
My son and I are portuguese so I'm pretty sure he didn't understand the lyrics. :D Why would I sing such a song to him? This is a looong story and maybe in a few years I'll have to explain to him what I'm telling you now. XD
You see, I love Suzanne Vega. She's a great singer. When I was about 14 years old, I had the pleasure of hearing this song for the first and it stuck with me. I would sing it along, whenever I heard it and I would also sing it if I was alone or doing something. I read somewhere that this song was created for her son and, although the lyrics are not the fairytale type, I think the music has this restful rythm, like a lullabye.
When I was pregnant, I had to stay in bed for week 7 to week 13, for I was having bleedings. I was worried and having a hard time dealing with it, espeacilly since the previous pregnancy, with my twins, ended in a miscarriege at week 11.
I found myself singing some of my favourite songs, so time would pass more quickly and less painfully, and The Queen and The Soldier was one of them.
A few weeks later, when I was 34 weeks pregnant, baby boy tried an early show in this world, so I had to stay in bed again, with all the fear returning.
You see, all I asked was to become a Mother. I know there are others that want differente things and I hope they can fight fot them. Me? I just wanted my baby boy, alive and well in my arms.
Back to the song, whenever I sang it, and if he was agitaded and kicking my ribs, he would quiet down. So I sang him this song after he was born too, when he was crying or in pain. I also sang to him Pearl Jam (Just Breathe), but he had the opposite reaction. :) I was hearing PJ when I first felt him kick.
As for the wedding, I didn't have one but, if my other half and I get married, every breath you take is not on our list. :) We have a buckload of songs, from lots of bands, like the Veils, Deftones, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Bastille... Maybe The Queen and Soldier will have a place in it, who knows? XD
Rowan Aruna
The soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why."
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"
Well the young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.
And she said, "I have swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.
Ooooooooh
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.
And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange."
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on.
Ooooooooh
Jan Stewer
”She closed herself up like a fan" is such a fantastic line.
Cornelia Lerch
So that struck you too - you can literally "see" what happens to her, I recorded this song on a cassette many years ago and it never left my memory completely. So sad and powerful at the same time. just amazing.
Chantel Dunn
In 1985 or 1986, 15 year old me had this cassette on repeat, but this song was my absolute favorite. This and 10,000 Maniacs were the soundtrack to my life. As a 22 year old mom, I sang this to my son. As a 49 year old woman, I am singing it to my granddaughters and they are mesmerized. Thank you, Suzanne Vega, for the soundtrack to my memories, my children's memories and my children's children memories.
Doron Schreeuwer
what the song is really about? what do you thinh?
Israel James
I was 10 in 86 and loved this cassette and sang to my kids as well. Love it
Goligo Go
It was a beautiful time for music. Mrs. Merchant, I know every word.
Kerry Patterson
I have always been taken with Suzanne Vega's amazing ability to paint vivid imager in my mind with her beautiful songs. Each one a story, told so intimately.
Halley's Vomit
50 fed
MrSkittles543
To me, the song is all about vulnerability and the great lengths we go to in order to protect ourselves. The soldier loved the queen and made her feel vulnerable/love feelings that she was unable to accept. it was easier for her to kill then to show her weakness
chrolka
Probably the most beautiful song performed by Suzanne.