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Listen children to a story
that was written long ago
Bout a kingdom on a mountain
and the valley far below
On the mountain was a treasure,
buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
they'd have it for their own.
So 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
But on the bloody morning after,
one tin soldier rides away.
So the people from 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 the mountain,
all the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people,
so they won their just rewards
Now they stood beside the treasure,
on the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth" was all it said.
that was written long ago
Bout a kingdom on a mountain
and the valley far below
On the mountain was a treasure,
buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
they'd have it for their own.
So 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
But on the bloody morning after,
one tin soldier rides away.
So the people from 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 the mountain,
all the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people,
so they won their just rewards
Now they stood beside the treasure,
on the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth" was all it said.
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death
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That does not explain the tin man. It could not be the Dali Lama. The tin man, by definition is heartless. He is an arbiter without bias.
Correct me if I am wrong, but Buddism has no judgement day either. The individual is subject to karma, but there is no designated judgement day.
I have been familiar with this song since the Billy Jack movies of the early 70s, but only linked it to Tibet yesterday. Just my opinion.
So a story wrote long ago is the Garden of Eden / Lucifer = Vally vs the Mountain = God.
The Vally people demand to be their own gods.They want this treasure and swore they would have it.
So go ahead and hate you neighbor ,go ahead and steal from your friend.Do it in the name of Heaven , you can justify it in the end.
There wont be any trumpets blowing come the judgement day ( God has no power to judge us )
But on the bloody morning after ,One Tin Soldier rides away.( Satan will win and ride away then PEACE ON EARTH.)
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The two kingdoms, the Mountain and the Valley were living in peace till the Valley people
learned that the Mountain people had some sort of treasure.
So the Valley people got greedy, like we all do, and asked for the treasure. When the Mountain people offered to share it, the Valley people recieved nothing, cause they already had the treasure, though they didn't know it.
So they attacked and killed all the Mountain people and found out that the treasure was peace on earth.
They had it the whole time. The Mountain people were sharing it the whole time.
The moral of the story? There will never be peace until all kingdoms, or countries, are gone except of one. While there remain more than one, there will never be peace.
Now, do I believe that we should have one world order? No. Never. I would rather have wars than have some kind of fake utopia that will eventually end when someone wants to break off.
An Oxford analysis of the tale states: "The tin soldier's passive acceptance of whatever happens to him, while exemplifying pietistic ideals of self-denial, also contributes to his doom. Were he to speak and act, the soldier might gain both life and love. Restrained, however, by inhibition and convention, he finds only tragedy and death."
Some food for thought.
I have never heard of a version that contains additional verses to it and although it really is a very beautiful song with a timeless message and there have been some groups that have redid it (like Coven), I do not think any of them have ever played with the lyrics themselves.
I do agree with Orph's interpretation of the tin man to a point, but I do not think it is referring to the people in the valley having no hearts. The chorus, although it fits the story too, was more aimed at the "children" the song is being sang for. Telling them, that if you choose to sin and do wrong regardless of your reasoning, come judgment day, you will be left behind. In its own way, it is a very anti-war song since it is saying feel free to kill another person just because you are doing it for religious reasons, however, it is still a sin and you will still pay for it in the end.
The reason I said I agree with Orph is because I think he used the term "tin soldier" as a euphemism to a suit of armor with no real soul or heart attached (like Wizard of Oz). On Judgment day, you will be judged for your actions and because of this, there is no excuse in the world that will save you if you have committed too many sins. The man guarding the gate is not going to let you list your excuses, he is merely there to look at what all sins you have committed and pass judgment without you really having the option to defend yourself. It is basically all black and white with no real gray area because there is no emotion in the the actual judgment (no heart).
I love this song and love the message that people should be good and moral at all times, however, it is a bit preachy if you look too deeply into it.
sorry