DONOVAN - The Universal Soldier

Universal soldier live

[@JCL-n7y]

I was 17 a soldier and didn't appreciate the words, I'm 74 now and understand them so well they make me weep. It's 2024 and the same people are just as guilty now as they were then and the innocent ones are the universal soldiers.

[@psgsurferm8202]

Thank you sir! No need to weep or feel sorrow for being brave , holding valor and family and US ( THE FREED) in your care SIR. I THANK YOU AND WELCOME YOU HOME! I'm just an Army Brat speaking, still an Army Brat, and I came up with this poem/song for my father. Please listen and please reply(if you feel it necessary) What I wanted as a take-away , would be for your gallantry and stepping forward, while MANY stepped back and mostly for YOUR heart being in the right place irregardless of your work or your deed. You did the right thing, WRONG OR RIGHT ----Your above message is PROOF I needed to hear! (I love Donovan and only know him from My father and now you! While many suffered and others died- I grew up knowing of the brave and the love of country and love of family and in that I HOPE ----That those who went could one day thank US (the FREED ) who did great work while you did yours ------ THANK YOU! .....THANK YOU ! .... WELCOME HOME SIR! kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGq9pqOlmMedf7c

[@a1wireless1964]

I was 18 and totally scared to death. Because, in a few weeks I knew I would be on my way to Vietnam. What a cruel thing to do I knew I would have to kill or be killed and I wasn't sure why I was even going to go there, but I knew I had no choice, so many innocent people died. And I think about that still to this day. How am I ever going to explain that...?

[@vargr]

I was 19, and it still feels like yesterday, and I guess it always will. The only winners, there are none.

[@maryowen6094]

❤💔❤‍🩹

[@JOHNWATSON-w1f]

brilliant my comradehahahai SEEwhat u say and i agree!!!!!

[@mussman717word]

This is a great song, and I admire the pure guts of anyone who has had the balls to sing about it over the years, Donovan, Phil Ochs, and Buffy Sainte-Marie (she wrote it). God bless them all.

[@gordontainsch2624]

Glenn Campbell did a good version of it.

[@mussman717word]

@@gordontainsch2624 I'll have to check that one out.

[@Tunkkis]

The version I've listened to most is the Finnish adaptation by Hector.

[@gordontainsch2624]

@@mussman717word Glenn Campbell's version was the one I was familiar with.

[@reykjavik82]

yes

[@RThomasBehnke]

Time for one of today's singers to cover this and remind everyone that these endless wars need to stop. Can we please have a brave singer come forth and open some eyes through the ears receiving these lyrics?

[@johnkuipers8625]

First aid kit also does an awesome version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs"

[@gary7vn]

Sorry, all we have today are microbes, morons and midgets.

[@Natalia_Belenkaya]

I'm sure people still sing it at parties

[@pauldouglas8986]

I often busk this song.

[@jaynewman6420]

Even with a great singer, it's something that mainly effects people who are against war. What we need are politicians who are against war to stand up for their beliefs.

[@danlandavazo1506]

I remember it when. Makes me cry. I'm 71.

[@stephaniemaltman5206]

Me too. I’m 74. x

[@cobrasuites1205]

Well I hope your still well and going

[@johna.4334]

I'm 68, grew up in San Francisco and remember this song well by Donovan. It too makes me shed a tear.

[@DaveDave-e4t]

Me too, in my 70s.

[@billfairless6256]

More people should listen to this.

[@torvilasulvstle362]

Yes, GOP!

[@BullshitMan4]

@@torvilasulvstle362 nothing to do with politics. This war was wrong.

[@terrypussypower]

Why? It’s embarrassing! The lyrics are soo naive it’s cringy. Yeah, let’s “do away with war” by doing away with soldiers! Just absurd. So, whose soldiers are going to refuse to fight first? The West? What do you think World happen if Europe got rid of their armed forces? Ask the Ukraine!

[@robertsander8509]

@@BullshitMan4 They ALL are.

[@FPSIreland2]

@@BullshitMan4”nothing to do with politics” name a single war where politics wasn’t the reason people went to war.

[@williamgoodbear711]

I came home from Vietnam as a 20 year old but my soul was old and worn-I identify with this song

[@zedaadega7420]

When you were in Vietnam, my country Portugal, under a severe fascist regime, was also fighting colonial wars in Africa against bushmen and tribalmen armed with soviet AK-47 rifles and AA weapons. My father didn't want to go to Angola to kill "pretos" (niggers), as the regime called the african people, so he allways missed the rifle target shooting, and was punished, during his 3 year recruit. My father allways aimed to the side and missed the target, he didn't want to go to Angola to kill black men. He was punished and could not have any leave during 3 years, he was put on latrine cleaning. I am proud to be the son of a man who prefered to clean shit and be punished, rather than to go to Angola to kill innocent black guys, fighting for their independence. My dad was scared, because it was considered non-patriotic not wanting to go to Africa to kill "niggers". I am ashamed and apologize, in behalf of my country, for the fascist period of Portugal, before I was even born. This powerful american song also relates strongly to the portuguese colonial wars.

[@Crosshatch1212]

U left it there bro . Goodluck in life .

[@galaxy2012]

It’s not the soldier’s fault. It’s everyone’s

[@DavidCKendall]

Still the best anti-war song ever ever ever.....thanx!

[@robertfranzen7604]

I feel like I'm fixing to die - Country Joe - is up there too.

[@anneross1021]

Written by Buffy Sainte - Marie...what an artist she is as well

[@markbergman1229]

Yes. With "Willie McBride" a close second.

[@Steve19345]

@@anneross1021 She sold the rights to her song for next to nothing and bought it back later for $25,000.

[@GIGAGRILLE]

a lot like ich bin soldat

[@paulpopoff3387]

A great song and a beautiful version from Donavan! Another great protest song is Eve of Destruction by Barry Mcguire from 1965! Still powerful and revalant today!

[@Hypnotime-Hypnose-Praxis]

MAKE PEACE, NOT WAR ! This song is simply great and says it all.

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Tell Putin.

[@leavemyrightsalone]

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Putin? Tell the Rothschild bankers who make money from war.

[@IndridCool54]

A very pure interpretation of Buffy Sainte Marie’s timeless song. ✌🏼

[@wntjst]

Donovan is a great singer and does a great job on Unibersal Soldier but Buffy Sainte-Marie brought tears in my eyes when I heard her sing it. It's Buffy's song and she of course nailed it with her tone, emotion and exceptional singing.

[@anonymousanonymous2625]

I came here to listen tonight because the world is once again teetering on the brink of war, and once again, the young men will bear the brunt of it. We will never learn

[@gerthoffmann5436]

Yes !

[@bernadettebradley7951]

God be with us 🙏

[@davidharrison441]

This was me for 20 years . Rip all my mates who have gone , till we muster for the last time .

[@robert.adamek]

I see a lot of people here who know this song in a way most will never know. Just know, I was shown this song while working for a friend that fought in Vietnam at 18-19, and the way he described how impactful this song is will stay with me for life.

[@foobird58]

Buffy Sainte Marie wrote this song in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in Toronto in 1963 after witnessing wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam. She has described the song as being "About individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all." Though not a hit for her it was covered by British folk singer Donovan in 1965 on an EP titled The Universal Soldier, which was a success and bought attention to the song. In the US it was released as a single peaking at #53. The song became an anthem of the Vietnam Peace movement. Sainte-Marie naively sold the publishing rights to this song for a dollar to a man she met one night at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village who wrote a contract on a napkin. She recalled to The Guardian July 31, 2009: "Ten years later I bought it back for 25,000 bucks - the good news is that I had 25,000 bucks."

[@allymayful]

+foobird58 Neat story. Thanks for sharing.

[@raymondbothwell6214]

63 sounds a bit early i think the first engagment was in 64 ????

[@hobgoblingobbler]

Really? Try the 50's

[@allymayful]

If it was the 50s it would have been the Korean War. Buffies not that old is she?

[@RipRobbinsKSVR]

he means "try the 50s" as the beginning of fighting in Vietnam, since the French had been fighting the independence movement since 1945. However, our troops really started engaging enemy in early 1963 when Kennedy sent 1000 "advisors". All through 1963, troop levels increased until 15000 soldiers were in Vietnam. And so they started getting killed and this was being reported in evening news (before the internet everyone watched the 3 channels of television and got the same news). These were the first fighting soldiers to die since the pre-ceasefire Korean war in 1950-53 (which was still going on, it never ended!!). Lyndon Johnson was elected in fall of 1964 and suddenly escalation to 50000. Overall, about 2.5 MILLION soldiers served within Vietnam borders over 10 year period. Americans lost about 58000 in that conflict. So this song was easily written in 1963 and made famous in 1965 when we were really "in the shit".

[@spitzwisc4]

Simply a remarkable song that asks difficult questions and proposes controversial conclusions. What else can you ask for-- music meant something back then.

[@carolcollins4878]

I love Donovan, I love USA, I am Australian. Even my son was a soldier in Australian army, but Australia is always a peace keeping nation, we are renowned for that, the world should listen to Australia, we have learnt from the previous world wars, war is not the way, understanding the reality is

[@theoriginalbadbob]

I've attended hundreds of live shows and one of the most memorable ones was on Christmas Eve, 1986, at Harrah's Hotel and Casino at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in the Cabaret. The show was Donovan, a guitar, a microphone, and a straight-back wooden chair. It doesn't get any more basic than that, and it was great.

[@kristin1533]

I saw him at a club in Reno in 1986, too. He opened with "Gold Watch Blues." Yeah, it was just him with his guitar...and the audience went wild.

[@siofna9709]

This is one of the besteht Songs of him. And now in March 2022 we must sing it urgently again, as loud as we can.

[@TedRichley]

So true - a valuable song for all times, especially again in this days

[@karlbos1435]

I bought this album when I was 14, while visiting The Netherlands. Still love this song at 61 yrs of age !

[@marciacorbin5751]

The song for all of the ages....will we ever learn?

[@metteholm4833]

Sorry to say - no.

[@marciacorbin5751]

@@metteholm4833 Sadly I feel you're right Mette...😓

[@simonruszczak5563]

No, brain's too small.

[@hohoohope]

I wonder the same thing...

[@johna.4334]

Oh the memories, oh how I loved listening to this song during the Vietnam conflict.

[@gwynnielsen5081]

There were so many great acoustic guitarist/singer-songwriters from this period. My music has been influenced by artists like Donovan and Dylan, Baez and Mitchell. The very first folk tune I heard live was at four. My babysitter played "Blowing in the Wind" for me on her guitar. I have never forgotten that moment of magic.

[@patriciamays8244]

I used to worry about singing some of the songs in the 1960's to young toddlers and preschool children. Now I know those tunes were like heaven for them.

[@gwynnielsen5081]

@@patriciamays8244 They don't understand the words anyway, just the melodies. Some of my songs might put the kids to sleep :).

[@paavoviuhko7250]

I am 75 and I am watching the look of awe in the faces. It is as if those words have never been heard and are scary in virtue of the self indictment. Yes we are not a well people. But thank God for Donovan.

[@gerardineacollarddeeni7762]

🌬️..is it just me...or is the world on repeat..this song is just soo relevant today..luv.. ❤️🌬️🤯🌟

[@alanfox691]

You know what they say Thoughs that dont learn from history are doomed to repeat it time & time again. Putin is badly in need of a history lesson remind me Putin how did it all end with The Soviet Union, did it end well, Mr Putin. Israel & Palastinen have we not been down this road before & still they go round & round the same road time & time again. And in Nothern Ireland wee still have Loyalists & Republican's trying to win a war that is never ending. In the U.S.A., we have a race situation that just goes round & and around but never e ends. In Canada Québec that wants Independence but will never get it. In Spain, there is still a fractured country decades after Franco was last in power. The world just revolves, but nothing ever truly gets solved. Food for tought.

[@MrKillien]

my father played this song for me 2 weeks before he died and 4 days before l was to join the army. not joining was the best choice l ever made. 2 years later the world went to war with iraq and millions of people have been killied or hurt badly and all that was for oil.

[@frederiquelansefelc7470]

Exactly. Every war, nowadays, is just about crude oil and natural gas (together with uranium in western Africa). The B.S. served to the population is : "let's overthrow this ugly dictatorship"...

[@richardcummins5465]

Well, well played your old dad, eh? ❤

[@vincentschreiber9496]

Old combat infantryman here.This song brings tears to my eyes.

[@germainelee4588]

Dieses Lied sollte viel öfter in den Medien zu hören sein. Es ist längst Zeit für eine neue Friedensbewegung

[@veronikabannert5688]

Genau

[@seanlong6578]

Brilliant song written by the best aboriginal writer and singer of all time Buffy St.Marie she composed it in the San Francisco Airport watching and speaking to returning wounded soldiers from Viet Nam..❤❤🎉🎉😊😊

[@davidmeijer1645]

Not aboriginal. Deal with reality.

[@gerthoffmann5436]

​@@davidmeijer1645 Die Ureinwohner haben leider die Realität von Brutalität und Menschenverachtung erleben müssen !

[@TacoVeldstraGrutte]

Well this song Universal soldier is timeless...this is not the way we put an end to war!

[@aarondouglas7350]

Timeless.... yes. Still not effective. Maybe one day.

[@theoriginalbadbob]

One of the most beautiful live performances, that I've ever attended, was on Christmas Eve, 1986. It was Donovan, his guitar, a microphone, and a chair. It was a magnificent performance and, for me, this song was the high-light of the show.

[@itsalexbruh95]

At 1:38 you can see that that woman is absolutely mesmerised. Really shows the power of this beautiful song

[@UrbanBricks]

She's just on crack.

[@micky44music]

buffy sainte marie wrote this song and donavan did it justice awsome song still rings true today

[@nightravenonline]

Donovan I remember him when was a boy just 10 yo old . Donovan was and is a great singer

[@Gumpa2]

I remember a week ago or so I read the song in a songbook and was curious to listen to it, found it on yt and it stayed in my mind. Now with the whole Ukraine-Thing I've been reminded that this song still ist very much up to date. At the end of the day its the solider that obeys to whoever gives the order.

[@bookmouse2719]

unless you are drafted.

[@utavonnaumburg1]

In my opinion "The universal Soldier" is the most impressive anti-war-song I've heard so far! Thank you Donovan...I'm a great fan for more than 40 years now...

[@wrenx8413]

I believe it was written by Buffy Sainte-Marie

[@MrGuitarphenomenon]

You know you're good when you shut up a huge crowd and they listen to you quietly and intently.

[@thomasnisser843]

Donnovan war in den 70-gern ein frühes Idol von mir. Ich finde seine Melodien und seinen Gitarrenstyle mit seinen eingängigen Akkorden auch heute noch toll.

[@SteveWoodall1946]

brings back a lot of memories. this song was instrumental in turning me against participation in the military.... when I was in the USAF in the sixties. Poetry, song and other art can speak a lot louder than debate at times.

[@BogusOp]

You know you are good when you can silence a crowd like that .

[@haraldssongs264]

Ich war 13 als das Lied von Donovan gesungen wurde und es hat mich geprägt.

[@johna.4334]

???

[@MrReviewpro]

Great song! Donovan is awesome!

[@jamesmalveira4983]

I can watch and sing along to this over and over,

[@karenarslanian6786]

I have the most special memory. My father worked at a youth club and he told us about a talented person who had no idea how talented he was ...

[@ulettejackson3061]

This song made me cry when I was a little girl. Iam now 63 ,and it still does. Sad to say , nothing changes Charmaine Northampton.

[@tombehnke9058]

For a teen idol, this song gives you goosebumps and wakes you the eff up! So powerful. This and "With God On Our Side" helped shaped my mind on war.

[@slaptree]

I don't understand why all the bickering, just enjoy the music!!!!!! The song was not written by Donovan, it was written by Buffy St. Marie. If all the young men and women of the world refuse to fight. There will be no wars!! It is sad when there are wars between countries, it's not the politicans bear arms but young men and women. So lighten up and enjoy the music!!!

[@loriwakefield1]

THANK YOU BUFFY SAINT MARIE

[@dugannz]

Respect to the author.

[@mickrussell74]

i have said it before how good is Donavon, great singer, lyrisist and obviously a decent man, I love ability to make me feel that i can be a better man. God bless him

[@thomasreyes2432]

I was 13 years old when this song was recorded. I completely understood what it represented at that time. This song started me on my way to being a peacenik

[@briane5706]

Buffy Saint-Marie is the author of the song.

[@stephenmarcus2825]

Love hearing and seeing Donovan sing Buffy St. Marie’s song. Are we about to foolishly go to war with Iran? Protest if it happens.

[@timwalker2778]

@James Maher That's who wants to take down Trump. He refused to attack Iran.

[@TheTranceCartel]

Biden may take us to fight Russia, so pray for peace

[@kristin1533]

To young men and women: Wake up! Don't go and fight in these stupid wars!

[@ladylight66]

it all depends on who is running the show... Everything was so much better when Trump had the reins ...but this current diabolical ridiculous Stolen administration of slimy swamp creatures in dc are out of their minds on every topic & bent on destroying America and many other countries too

[@stephenmarcus2825]

Lady Light I couldn’t disagree with you more. You like presidents’ who get us into wars? Sounds like you believe all the bullshit your guy told all Americans. It’s awful to know that you and your fellow crazies are drawn to an ignorant, poorly educated, pathological liar, who would do anything to someone who crossed him. Too many Americans agree with you, hence our weakened status in the world.

[@wendyhaase4401]

I'm having the first time hearing the song my brother was over in Vietnam he was stationed in Phuket that song and an awful lot of meaning for me takes me back to when he was in nam used to send taped back and forth I need listening to tapes from him and all of a sudden you hear bombs going off he just kind of take a deep breath and pray him and his Pals were never hurt

[@dnmurphy48]

Phuket? That is Thailand. The US used to send Bombers from Thailand to bomb Vietnam.

[@Wombah-rc6zz]

I don't think this audience had heard THIS song before & initially they treat it superficially, UNTIL they discover it DOES HAVE A DEPTH & MEANING!

[@nightrunner1456]

He was always ahead of his time, I was in grade school, my sister loves him! underrated because it was over most people's heads.

[@mikem1k3yc]

This has got to be one of the best songs ever written.

[@JulieDelahooke]

And it's by Buffy Sainte-Marie :)

[@stevenmeyer9674]

BSM agrees

[@rickartdefoix1298]

A great tune from an unforgettable singer and composer and good guitar player. Although being a Buffy St Marie 's song, it's the Donovan cool interpretation that got the fame, think. 💙🆗👍🏻✔️

[@annebanks5586]

Great song. I know Buffy Saint Marie wrote it and sang it first, but I love Donovan. Love all his songs

[@davidconnor9978]

Hi.. Anne

[@debjesser4081]

I was 13 when this song came out. Donovan was my main man, back in the day. Loved him then, still do today.

[@ItsShane79]

This is truly a lovely and remarkable song...love it! =)

[@zifle0001]

I remember being 16, very idealistic and against the Viet Nam war where my brother and my friends were being drafted to fight in and very terrified. Donovan was so poignant for me. His voice, lyrics, acoustic guitar style and everything about him was genuine. I sang To Try For The Sun every night to my daughter in her crib...now she (at age 16) is performing his songs and is very nostalgic for the 60's.

[@The111Queen]

this is the universal song to that universal problem WAR, I hope one day that we will not need to sing songs like this to protest it any longer. PEACE

[@iandempsey1001]

As a few have said on here I was about 19 when I heard this in my barrack room I thought then it was a beautiful song but didn’t appreciate the lyrics as I do now as a 60 year old veteran, we never learn do we

[@XxBeatlesforeverxX]

I love how the crowd is so dumbfounded. It makes me really happy =3

[@nacho1560]

"we cannot live in a world in which wars doesn't exist." That's comforting, BB. So what you're saying is mankind is incapable of living in peace, that he is inherently warlike and has to dominate his environment. I don't believe it has to be like that at all. And that's what Donovan is saying as well.

[@TheVideoVaults3]

Absolutely correct, this may upset people but what you say is sadly, true and correct

[@stevepowsinger733]

It was a great song and I used to play it on my guitar. Proud veteran U.S. Army in South Vietnam.

[@udirosenfeld8688]

שיר עולם!!!!!

[@Gazolba]

This is a song by Buffy St. Marie. In this video, Donovan is doing his best impression of Phil Ochs. Go listen to "There But For Fortune".

[@bbens999]

It’s sad that this song will always be relevant

[@pinchold]

Buffy as an American native was a real protest singer

[@jacklucking691]

What a message to all of us !!!!

[@rajarsi6438]

Not really, the guy didn't or perhaps still doesn't understand God's infallible law of karma.

[@higgscz]

@utavonnaumburg1 Actually, this is cover version. This song was originally written by Buffy Saint-Marie in 1964. And in my opinion her version is much better, more energic. This version is like sleepy song. No taste, no smell, no energy.

[@emmemmguy1235]

This song personified the 60"s😭

[@brutos8317]

At this time music was art and have a message, today it sounds all similar and without heard.

[@garym2015]

love this song people are so disconnected from the horror of war since they ended the draft.

[@maxpower1337]

Gary M am I the only who finds this depressing.

[@garym2015]

I think when you consider where we are in history and how fragile we and the planet we live on is. Then you think about the fact that we as Human beings have learned nothing from are mistakes and that's pretty clear just look how fast we turn to conflict and war. Its is depressing, we seem to have more songs written today glorifying nationalism and war , the great protest songs of the past are forgotten.

[@kastriotkrasniqi7118]

its fucking depressing that so many people still seem to glorify radical ideas, violence and war as if there was any glory in it and not just horror and pain.

[@birgittawidman9184]

A song that is as relevant today as it was then! Did we ever learn? 😢

[@gordontainsch2624]

The lyric, 'the universal soldier, he really is to blame..' made young guys like me who were drafted and came back to an ugly 'welcome' feel like we did something wrong. Being called a 'baby killer' by those who did not go was bad enough. We called it 'the screwing you get for the screwing you got.'

[@knuffelcavia]

I didn’t like that line either. Many people don’t have a choice, wether or not becoming a soldier and to go to war. I would never blame anyone.

[@veilleur4D]

Soldiers obey to what their commanders obey... It is not different to be a bodyguard or a policeman. So, whatever your job, serve justice first, and before everything, justice for those who never received justice. Every charity b-e-g-i-n-s through JUSTICE. Thank you, dear Donovan, for having so sincerely asked this question.

[@abireeve-jones4536]

Everyone wants their own Donovan especially after seeing him in the documentary with bob Dylan such a real gentle man and amazing musician. When you see Donovan sing I’ll sing a song for you - it’s so heartwarming

[@gethinwilliams4233]

By far, this is Donovan's best song.

[@Wombah-rc6zz]

With the stunned look on the audience's faces I don't think they heard THIS song before & found its words very thought provoking! In THIS SHORT SONG was their current situation summed up COMPLETELY!!! I'm sure the war mongers hated it for THAT reason.

[@strengthsuccesslove1480]

war is a crime. stop war in Palestine, ten thounsand innoncent civilians, the mojority of the them were children! wake-uP humanity COnscience! we are alll ONE withthe ONE. LOVE💗

[@tamjac10]

This song is timeless....sadly! Nothing changes. I think each generation in its youth is idealistic, thinking they are going to change the world and rid the planet of war. If it only it could really happen.

[@davidconnor9978]

Hi.. Tamara

[@kingshearer2]

I think they need to rid the world of religion first which is possibly the main cause of War. I think here in the UK less folk are going to Christian churches as older generations pass on, but other religions seen to be getting stronger.

[@pjstar2009]

I love the way everyone is hanging on his words; you can tell many feel him

[@nwasen1]

Never more needed than today

[@davidconnor9978]

Hi.. Nancy

[@81brassglass79]

wow that is a great story and yes nothing good can come of war. unless it is with plastic or paint. and no one loses their own central ticker. I am sorry you had to spend a lot of your time on a ship away from loved ones and I am truly happy you made it back to share your story.

[@nomiclas]

Donovan had a lot to say with his songs.i've always enjoyed his tunes and his mentality.he is so kool!

[@Hyperpandas]

He didn't write this one. Buffy Ste Marie did.

[@johna.4334]

So profound. Thank you Donovan.

[@probablygraham]

Donovan was hugely underrated and I remember a Dylan documentary where he is in awe of Dylan while Dylan treats him like a nobody. A great voice and sadly he grew up at a time when there were so many great singer musicians. Nowadays there is so little talent around that a middle of the road singer without a message like Ed Sheeran can become a "superstar". I have always loved that change of rhythm just before the end.

[@bertus161057]

who is this Donovan?!

[@shanemcnally2069]

Not sure he treated him like a nobody but he wasn't in great form. I was amused that when Bob was being praised as the better songwriter and then asked someone about Donovan's guitar playing, the response was something like "no he's got you covered".

[@stevenmeyer9674]

@@shanemcnally2069 Love Dylan, but he always treated everyone like crap, signed Joan.

[@patriciascott4447]

Yes, this was our song during our Viet Nam sit-ins.

[@halfmonk]

much respect to you and all who served. thank you for your service to the country and the people. i also lived through that time as someone who was against the war but i am not resentful of those who served. this is supposed to be a free country and you have every right to speak your mind. just as it was during the vietnam war, many americans would blame the soldiers who fought rather than the politicians who sent them to fight. peace.

[@djofanaccount]

I remember hearing this for the first time when I was very young and didn’t know what it meant at all haha. All I know is that I thought it was beautifully well done as I do now.

[@sauquoit13456]

On this day in 1965 {September 19th} two covered versions of Buffy Sainte Marie's "The Universal Soldier" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; Donovan at position #84 and Glen Campbell at #90... Both versions stayed on the Top 100 for seven weeks; and both versions also peaked on the same day, October 24th 1965, Glen Campbell at #45 {for 1 week} while Donovan reached #53 {also for 1 week}... May God bless and watch over Mr. Campbell...

[@stevenmeyer9674]

What a shame Buffy was black listed by all the radio stations in the country. Her version is the best by far and the most poignant

[@11froglegs]

great song!!! and we still have not learned nothing.

[@mick2988]

Amazing how history constantly repeats itself. Are we really conscious?

[@widespreadpanic1929]

Mick Isaacs He who does not understand history is doomed to repeat it

[@johnevans388]

73 here, got some doubts about making 74 next year but this is ageless!

[@derekmay7271]

Brilliant song

[@deelynn9932]

What memories Donovan brings back to America's Seniors/Elderly that were drafted into an unpopular war during the Nam era. So many of my friends, on leave, came to watch him in concert in SoCal as he obviously appeared to be a man at odds with himself on which 'religion' he should follow, as were some members of The Beatles. This led to fights about which 'religion' leads to God. Obviously, Bible-based Christians believe Jesus is the only 'way.' What I recall is that my friends, although not wearing their uniforms, were obviously in the military service as their heads were shorn. They stood out, to say the least. All the 'long-haired' hippies spat on them, including the BLM (fka Black Panthers) and the other 'radicals' of that era. I can still 'see' Donovan as he went 'commando' in his attire at that concert, sitting cross-legged and wearing a gauzy and revealing white cotton ensemble that, when he stood up, the audience giggled because ...uhh, uhh. well, because. Fast forward and, sadly, there would be no way I would ever take children/grandchildren to that very same area as it is rife with crime, illegals/undocumented, Janes, Sikhs, Atheists and so on and so forth along with other..filth. So much for Peace, Love and Understanding. Hope Donovan grew up to be a man!

[@WinstonAug]

The look of the girl at 1:37 is priceless. Someone getting it. :-)

[@vidiotxerox]

Or, she is a psycho stalker

[@wcreamymami]

Dan Adams I think I would have had her same face omg

[@stefanrydeborn5095]

and you are an idiot

[@QueenFan12]

or maybe she is just watching Donovan

[@dettlng_bb3529]

Dan Adams I know what you mean...she’s mesmerized 😳