Universal Soldier Chords by Buffy Sainte-Marie

[N] The 60s for me was about [G] alternatives and students.
Students were saying what [A] was on our mind.
Everybody [D] and his sister [Eb] played a guitar,
[G] and we were talking to each other.
[Ab] Caffeine was the drug, and I think
it was an incredible, incredible time of spontaneity
[E] and sharing and communication.
They were trying [Eb] to tell us, however,
that there was no [Gb] war in Vietnam.
And a lot [Bb] of us knew that there was,
and we believed that there was.
[B] Now, there was a night when I [G] was traveling.
Somehow I was stranded in San Francisco Airport.
[F] And I had a morning flight on the way to [G] Toronto
where I had an engagement in Yorkville
at the Purple Onion, which was kind of a hippie place,
a student movement kind of center.
[B] _ And it was the middle of the [Db] night,
and some [E] soldiers came in wheeling their buddies
on stretchers and wheelchairs.
[Dbm] And I mean, I had never seen [B] anything like that.
These guys were all bandaged and [F] shot up.
And I got to talking to some of these soldiers,
and they [Gb] knew that there was a war.
But what it did to me, it made me question,
well, who [C] is responsible for war?
I mean, is it these guys?
I mean, you [Gbm] can't just point your finger at [Bb] them,
although [Em] they were there.
Or maybe it's generals, you know?
Maybe it's [C] the generals who make a career
[E] of telling these guys what to do.
But maybe that doesn't go far enough.
I mean, who tells the generals [C] what [G] to do?
Who points the generals and the army [C] at somebody else?
Ah, it's the politicians.
[F]
But here I am flying on [G] the way to Toronto,
[Bb] and it had to go farther.
By the time I got to the Purple Onion, I said,
[G] who lets the politicians?
[Dbm] Ah, it's [Em] us.
Right. _
His orders come from [F] far away [E] no more.
They come from him and you and me.
[D] And brothers, can't you [Gm] see?
This [E] is not the way we put an end to war.
[Em] So [Gb] it's [F] about individual [Ab] responsibility.
_ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
[Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
[Db] He's five foot two, [Eb] and [Ab] he's six feet four.
[Fm] _
[Db] He fights with [Bb] missiles [Eb] and with [Ab] spears. _ _
[Db] He's [Eb] only 31, and [Ab] he's only [Fm] 70.
He's been a [Db] soldier for a [Ab] thousand [Bbm] years.
[Eb] _
[Fm] He's a Catholic, [Eb] a Hindu, [Ab] an atheist, [Fm] a Jain,
a Buddhist, [Eb] and a Baptist, and [Ab] a Jew. _
And he [Db] knows he [Eb] shouldn't kill,
[Ab] and he knows he [Fm] always will kill you for [Db] me, my friend.
[Ab] And me for [Bbm] you.
[Eb] _
And [Fm] he's fighting [Eb] for Canada.
[Ab] He's fighting [Fm] for France.
He's fighting [Eb] for the USA.
[Ab] _ _ _
[Db] And he's fighting [Eb] for the Russians,
[Ab] and he's fighting [Fm] for Japan.
And he thinks we'll [Db] put an [Ab] end to [Bbm] all this way. _
[Eb] And [Db] he's fighting for [Eb] democracy.
[Ab] He's fighting for [Fm] the Reds.
[Db] He says it's for [Eb] the peace [Ab] of all.
[Db] He's the one who must [Eb] decide who's to [Ab] live and [Fm] who's to die.
[Db] And he never sees the writing [Bbm] on the _
[Eb] walls.
[Db] But _ _ [Ab] without him [Fm] at the heart,
[Db] without him [Eb] Caesar would have stood [Ab]
alone.
He is the one who gives his [Eb] body as [Cm] a weapon to [Fm] a war.
And without him [Ab] all this killing [Bbm] can't go on.
[Eb] _ [Db] He's the [Eb] universal soldier, [Ab] and he really is to [Fm] blame.
[Db] His orders come [Eb] from far [Ab] away no more.
They come [Db] from him and [Eb] _ [Cm] others, [Fm] can't you see?
This [Db] is not the way we put an end to war. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _