The Good Soldier (Instrumental)
The Good Soldier: Sam Fog
"The Good Soldier" is the fourth track on the 2007 release Year Zero. The chorus of this song includes the line "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]
A similar drum sound set and beat were used in a live reworked performance of "Reptile" with Peter Murphy in Boston, Massachusetts on June 23, 2006.
Contents
Theories
The "Good Soldier" could be the captain from the comic book portrayed at the website One Country At A Time.
Appearances
Versions
The Good Soldier
This is the original album version. Both the drum loop and bass riff that begin the song remain steady throughout the song, though the drums drop out to leave the filtered bass riff as a bridge to the song's coda. Its melodically-sung verses are backed by a distorted guitar riff that contrasts musically with the chorus, which features airy synthesizer pads. The ending adds a second bass riff on top of the first and a new guitar riff, also characterized by Reznor's wordless background wailing. Most of the layers eventually stop together, leaving the drum loop to repeat for four measures and lead directly into "Vessel."
The Good Soldier (Instrumental)
This unmastered vocal-less mix was released by Reznor through his remix.nin.com account.
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
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