The Good Soldier

Album:Year Zero

Length:3:23

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:The Good Soldier
The Good Soldier: Sam Fog

Live:Performance 2007 through Present

"The Good Soldier" is the fourth track on the 2007 release Year Zero. The chorus of this song includes the lyrics "I Am Trying To Believe."

Alan Cross from 102.1 CFNYFM The Edge in Toronto had this song "mysteriously show up" in his office. His description of this song is "Moody, slower. Great grind-y bass synth groove. A natural pick for a single!"[1]

Trivia

A 'Good Soldier' is another term for a samovar (a decorative metal tea dispensing device that resembles a keg and is traditionally used in Russia).

Theories

The "Good Soldier" could be the captain from the comic book portrayed at the website One Country At A Time.

Appearances

Halos

• Year Zero
• Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D

Versions

The Good Soldier

This is the original album version.

The Good Soldier—Sam Fog Mix (Friend Or Faux 001)

This remix is on the vinyl edition of Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D. A false intro begins this remix before the lyrics "And the bass goes/Bomb" formally start the track. At one point, it seems as though the song is brought a half-step higher in tone than on the Year Zero original. A three-minute outro ends the song, which finishes with percussion fading into the main riff, much like how the song started.

Live

"The Good Soldier" was played live for the first time on May 9, 2007 at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia, on the Performance 2007 tour.

Lyrics

    Gun fire in the street
    Where we used to meet
    Echoes out a beat and the bass goes
    Bomb right over my head 
    Step over the dead 
    Remember what you said you know, the part about
    Life is just a waking dream 
    Well I know what you mean
    But that ain't how it seems right here and how
    How can all this be real
    I can barely feel 
    Anymore
    
    I am trying to see
    I am trying to believe 
    This is not where I should be 
    I am trying to believe 
    
    Blood hardens in the sand 
    Cold metal in my hand 
    Maybe help you understand
    The way that things will be
    There's nowhere left to hide 
    'Cause God is on our side 
    I keep telling myself
    
    I am trying to see 
    I am trying to believe 
    This is not where I should be 
    I am trying to believe
    
    No one's even sure
    What we're fighting for
    Or who we even are
    Anymore
    I feel
    So far away

Some changes were made in the final recorded lyrics:

• The final stanza does not appear in the song at all.
• The ninth line of the first verse saw a slight change:

    But that ain't how it seems right here right now

• The third and fourth lines of the second verse were slightly reworded:

    Help you understand
    The way that things are gonna be

Previous track - "Survivalism" Track 4 from Year Zero Next track - "Vessel"