Soldiers Under Command

Album: Soldiers Under Command (1985)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title track to Stryper's second album, the song is about fighting for God. "His two-edged sword" is Christian-speak for the Bible, which lead singer Michael Sweet encourages listeners to use as they move forward to spread the word of God.
  • Even after Stryper had a mainstream hit with "Honestly," "Soldiers Under Command" remained a fan favorite and got a great reaction a concerts. The band started out making more secular music, but had a change of heart and decided their calling was to praise God in their music. Michael Sweet, who wrote this song, told Songfacts: "We continued playing the style of music that we played, but we re-wrote the words and delivered the message with it, put the Isaiah 53:5 so the stripes signified something, they meant something, throwing out the word of God at every show. And that's just the power of God changing lives."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."