One Tin Soldier


"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste first recorded it in 1969 for both the TA label and its parent Bell label.
The song, recorded by various artists, charted each year from 1969 to 1974 on various charts in the United States and Canada. However, it did not chart outside North America.
"One Tin Soldier" went to number 6 on the RPM Magazine charts, hit the number 1 position on CHUM AM in Toronto on 27 December 1969, and reached number 34 on the American pop charts in early 1970. It was a bigger Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number 25 U.S. AC and number 5 Canada AC.
A 1971 cover was a hit in the U.S. for Jinx Dawson, lead vocalist of Coven, whose re-recording was featured in the film Billy Jack. The single went to number 26 on the Billboard pop chart before it was pulled from radio by the film's producer. On November 20, 1971, Coven performed "One Tin Soldier" on the Dick Clark ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program American Bandstand. A re-recorded version by Coven made the Billboard chart in 1973, peaking at number 79.
In 1972, Skeeter Davis had moderate success on the American country charts with her rendering, but did very well in Canada, peaking at number 4 on the country chart and number 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Davis received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal.

Harmony

Although "One Tin Soldier" has been said to have the same harmonic base as Pachelbel's Canon, it merely has some aural similarities in the verses and has several significantly different chords.

Lyrics synopsis

"One Tin Soldier" tells the story of two neighboring tribes, the warlike Valley People and the peaceful Mountain Kingdom which possesses a great treasure buried under a stone. The Valley People demand the treasure. The Mountain People respond that they will share it with "their brothers", but the Valley People invade and slaughter the Mountain People. On overturning the stone, they find nothing except the words "Peace On Earth" inscribed beneath it.

Cover version

Singer Jinx Dawson of the band Coven performed the song at a 1971 session with the film's orchestra as part of the soundtrack for the Warner Bros. film Billy Jack. Dawson asked that her band, Coven, be listed on the recording and film, not her name as a solo artist. This Warner release, titled as "One Tin Soldier ", reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1971.
The full Coven band then re-recorded the song for their self-titled MGM album, which displayed the band members' whited-out faces on the cover, contrived by the film's producer Tom Laughlin. Coven hit the charts again with the song in 1973, in both the new MGM recording and a reissue of their Warner original. The Coven recording was named Number One All Time Requested Song in 1971 and 1973 by the American Radio Broadcasters Association.

Chart history

; The Original Caste
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary5
Canada RPM Top Singles6
U.S. Billboard Hot 10034
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary25
U.S. Cash Box Top 10034

; Coven cover
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles22
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary34
U.S. Billboard Hot 10026
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary16
U.S. Cash Box Top 10026

; Skeeter Davis cover
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary2
Canada RPM Country4
U.S. Billboard Country54

; Coven
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10079
U.S. Cash Box Top 10068

; Coven
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles79
U.S. Billboard Hot 10073
U.S. Cash Box Top 10073

Other recordings

A version recorded by Guy Chandler was released in the summer of 1973.
A version sung by Coven, with a video created by animator John David Wilson was produced for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.
Roseanne Barr parodied the song on her 1990 album I Enjoy Being a Girl.
The song has been covered by other artists, including Mad Parade, Gimp, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Bushman, and Killdozer. Actress Brittany Murphy, in character as Luanne Platter, sang the song on the King of the Hill soundtrack. This song was also covered by Voices for Peace, a band consisting of a group of voice actors including Greg Ayres and Tiffany Grant. Abigail and Milly Shapiro covered the song for their live album Live Out Loud.
The progressive bluegrass band The Bluegrass Alliance covered the song at bluegrass festivals in the early 1970s.