Soldier of Fortune
I have often told you stories about the way
I lived the life of a drifter Waiting for the day
I lived the life of a drifter Waiting for the day
When I'd take your hand and sing you songs
Then maybe you would say
"Come lay with me and love me"
And I would surely stay
But I feel I'm growing older
And the songs that I have sung
Echo in the distance
Like the sound
Of a windmill going round
Guess I'll always be a soldier of fortune
Many times I've been a traveller
I looked for something new
In days of old when nights were cold
I wandered without you
But those days I thought my eyes had seen you standing near
Though blindness is confusing
It shows that you're not here
Now I feel I'm growing older
And the songs that I have sung
Echo in the distance
Like the sound
Of a windmill going round
Guess I'll always be a soldier of fortune
I can hear the sound
Of a windmill going round
Guess I'll always be a soldier of fortune
Those lycrises you have just read are from the Soldier of Fortune. A song in Strombringer album by Deep Purple. It is written by Ritchie Blackmore and David Coverdale. One of the most popular song in rock history. If you listen to the studio version you can easily realise that it is not like what comes to mind when rock is mentioned.
David Coverdale
make you feel like it is trying to be different. What I mean is it is different because
its need to be, not because of trying it. Every song has its own style of storytelling
some just says it like a novel, some says it unclear (you need to find what its telling) some says it with only instruments etc. This one is actually very clear.
It is about a man who cant meet with his loved one. As many people think that
I am trying to think outside the box. Now you will read my interpretation.
Ritchie Blackmore
"I have often told you stories about the way. I lived the life of a drifter Waiting for the day". From this words we can understand he is a traveller. He has no home, no family, just his memories and stories. With "waiting for the day" we can understand he is waiting for a thing. Normally we would thought its the day to meet with his beloved. But I think it is not about a person. Maybe its death or the day for his to find his purpose in life. In everyway we understand he is waiting for a thing to happen. He still has some hopes. Still has a thing to live for.
"When I'd take your hand and sing you songs. Then maybe you would say "Come lay with me and love me" And I would surely stay". I think he is saying this to life. Life didn't give her anything to chase. He searched for it. He travelled, did something to connect with life. "Take your hand and sing you songs" shows us an effort, yet his efforts was meaningless. If he found what he was searching for he would surely stay, but life didn't say to him keep searching, stay with me. What he is searching for is not evident. Everyone of us are searching for things. We keep running to our goals while we forget time is running fast. Maybe the man in the stroy is sick of that. Maybe he is tired of running or he just doesn't know what he wants. He is travelling around where lifes takes him to. Hoping to find some answers. Even that maybe the answer is searching for an answer.
"Guess I'll always be a soldier of fortune". Soldier of fortune means a soldier who works for money, fame etc. Not for his family, ideals or country. Like I said before he belongs to nowhere. Has no family, no ideals to chase. He just works for himself. He is aware how selfish he is, and he knows he will always be like that. He now understands he cant find what he is looking for because there is no such a thing. He is starting to lose all his hopes. Maybe he just needs to find the little enjoyable moments while travelling. Sometimes what is important is not goals but the adventure trying to reach them.
"Many times I've been a traveller. I looked for something new". I talked about it already. He is searching for things bla bla we can skip this part.
"In days of old when nights were cold. I wandered without you". Even when nights were cold he didn't stopped. You in there is reffers to a purpose or an answer, again we talked about this already.
"But those days I thought my eyes had seen you standing near. Though blindness is confusing. It shows that you're not here" This is my favorite part. Even when he tought he found it he can't be sure. His determination makes him blind. Even himself doesn't believe he can find it. Blindness in here is ofcourse not the real blindess. It more like when there is a obvious thing but you can't accept it. If you learnt your son is a murderer you can't believe it right at the moment. First you need to deny. He is also denying. I said he still has hopes, but even when he toughts that he found it he doesn't believes it. He thinks even his hopes are a illusion of his despair. I also think this like in the search of perfect you can't find anything but dissapointment. He is searching for it too long that now he wants the perfect, not the enuough or decent one. He forgets being no perfect is what makes us humans. Like they say if you go back to past and delete all your failures you wouldn't exist anymore.
As I said my toughts may be too complicated or overthinked for this song but I love thinking about music, also being able to comprehend music as different things is what makes music an art. I would have done this writing about the songs Echoes, Close to the edge or Epitaph (maybe I can write about these songs too sometime). Those songs are much deeper, longer and impresive songs for me, but for a song that only last for 3 minutes and 25 seconds I wrote this much thing. It may be simple but it not means it is lame. This is what makes this piece a legend.
This song is not just about our character but all of us, human kind. Everyone has some desires and expectations. Soldier of fortune is about finding them. It is about what we can do for those things. It is about what will happen if we can't find them. It is showing how we would dissapear without humanity and character. Being a human gives us a intelligent which unfindable in nature besides us, but we are also defining with our unique features. What we like, what we hate, what we goal, our character, kindness, family, face etc. Our soldier of fortune in the story is nameless, like I said before he has no home, no family, no kindness. He only works for himself, deep in pragmatsim. He is a human but not a person. He is searching to be a human. Standing and searching with the power of his hopes. Now we can think about that our character is looking for a think that he believes he can't find. Why is he looking for a think that he can't find? Maybe because without hope, when we only feel despair and fear, life becomes unendurable. Even if it is a lie we need to believe things (This reminds me of a sentence from the song Geçmişi Gölgeye Teslim Ettim by Sagopa Kajmer "zaten inancımız olmasa var olmanın anlamı anlamsızlıktan başka bir anlama gelir miydi?"). In the search of things we must see what is happening around us. We must see and enjoy things. Life is a weird journey. Not just the goals but this journey is also important. Don't be a soldier of fortune. Love and spread it. Enjoy and spread it. Sometimes goals are like stars, you can't reach them but they will show you the way in the darkest nights. Just be carefull to not go blind. Maybe all we need is love, isn't it? That is enough philosophy and literature for the night. Thanks for reading. Stay healty and happy.
Some other versions of the song
live from Blackmore's night (Ritchie Blackmore also has a group named Rainbow I recommend checking it. Temple of the king may sound familiar from affet by Müslüm Gürses)
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