Soldier of Fortune

Song Meaning

The narrator paints a picture of a life spent drifting, always anticipating a future where a shared moment of intimacy would lead to a settled life. He envisioned singing songs, holding a hand, and finally hearing the plea to "lay with me, love me," which would have made him "surely stay." This longing for a stable connection is juxtaposed with the reality of his transient existence, a life he's always known. As the narrator acknowledges his aging, the past begins to feel distant and spectral. The "songs that I have sung" now "echo in the distance," a fading resonance that mirrors the relentless, cyclical motion of a "windmill going round." This imagery suggests a life lived in perpetual motion, perhaps productive in its own way, but ultimately leading back to the same point, reinforcing his identity as a "soldier of fortune." The lyrics reveal a profound internal conflict between the desire for belonging and the ingrained nature of a nomadic life. He recounts past travels, searching for novelty, and enduring cold nights "without you." Even in these solitary wanderings, he imagined seeing the object of his affection, a vision that highlights the persistent ache of absence and the confusion of a hope that "blindness is confusing" because it confirms their non-presence. Ultimately, the repeated refrain, "I guess I will always be / The soldier of fortune," lands with a sense of resigned acceptance. The cyclical imagery of the windmill and the echoing songs underscore a life that, despite its potential for connection, seems fated to remain unanchored. The effectiveness lies in this melancholic portrayal of a man who has lived a life of searching, only to realize that his very nature, his "fortune," is to keep moving, forever a traveler rather than a settler.