What is the meaning of the song 'One Tin Soldier'?

Answer 1

This song is a parable, since it uses a story to teach a moral lesson. It's about a group of people from long ago, who lived peacefully on a mountain, bothering no-one. But there was a rumor the mountain people were protecting a buried treasure, and they were attacked by a war-like group who demand that they hand it over. When the mountain people instead offered to share it, the war-like people refused to share-- they wanted it all, and they killed the mountain people. But in the end, the war-like people who attacked them found that the "buried treasure" was a simple message-- a verse from the New Testament: "Peace on Earth."

The chorus, "Go ahead and hate your neighbor/go ahead and cheat a friend/ do it in the name of heaven/you can justify it in the end..." refers to how throughout history, people have used religion to justify or rationalize starting wars. But in the end, Judgment Day will come and those who promoted war will have to face God ("there won't be any trumpets blowing/on that Judgment Day, on the bloody morning after/ One Tin Soldier rides away). And the warmongers will find they are not blessed, but rather, they are alone, and they will have nothing to show for their battles. The "tin soldier," who looked so brave and powerful from a distance, is in fact made of tin, and tin is not very strong, nor is it valuable. The most important and valuable treasure is peace, and that was what the mountain people were trying to tell us.

Answer 2

that you can try to justify anything but in reality the biggest "treasure" is peace