142
edits
Changes
→Live
| album = ''[[Year Zero]]''
| length = 3:23
| BPM = 87| versions =The Good Soldier<br>The Good Soldier (Instrumental)<br>The Good Soldier: Sam Fog| live =[[Performance 2007]]through [[NIN 2013 Festival Tour]]<br>[[Europe + Asia 2018]] through present}}'''"The Good Soldier"''' is the fourth track on the 2007 release ''[[Year Zero]]''. The chorus of this song includes the lyrics 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!"[http://www.edge102.com/station/blog_ongoing_history_of_new_music.cfm?bid=8236]
===Theories===
===Halos===
* ''Year Zero''
*''[[Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D]]''
===Other===
*''The Definitive NIN - The Singles'' - online playlist(s); not on original Seed release
==Versions==
===The Good Soldier===
This is the only known original album version at . Both the present momentdrum 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 [[Trent 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)==='''''Running Time: 3:34''''' 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)==='''''Running Time: 8:05''''' 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 [[2007/05/09 Sydney, Australia|May 9, 2007]] at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia, on the [[Performance 2007]] tour, and continued as a regular for the rest of that tour. On the [[Lights in the Sky Tour]], "The Good Soldier" appeared as an encore in about half of the shows, appearing more regularly as the tour went on. "The Good Soldier" appeared infrequently on the [[Wave Goodbye Tour]], and was only played twice on the [[NIN 2013-2014|''Hesitation Marks'' touring cycle]]. It also made a few appearances throughout 2018.
==Lyrics==
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
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 and right now
*The third and fourth lines of the second verse were slightly reworded:
Help you understand
The way that things are gonna be
<BR>
{{succession box
| title=[[Year Zero#Track Listing|Year Zero]]
| before= [[Survivalism (song)|Survivalism]]
| after= [[Vessel]]
| track= 4
}}
[[Category:NIN Songs]]
[[Category:NIN Songs Released as Multitracks]]
[[Category:Songs With Unused Lyrics]]