What band originally sang the song, "One Tin Soldier"?

Here are the lyrics:

Listen people to a story
that was written long ago,
'bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folks below.
On the mountain was a treasure
Hidden deep beneath a stone,
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

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.
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after.............
One Tin Soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came the answer from the kingdom,
With our brothers we will share,
All the riches of the mountain,
All the treasure buried there.

Now the valley cried with anger,
Mount your horses, draw your swords
And they killed the mountain people,
So they won their just rewards
Now they stood before the treasure
On the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it ...................
Peace On Earth, was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat and friend,
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after..................
One Tin Soldier rides away.

Does anyone know for sure what band originally sang this? I have heard that Coven sang it, Joni Mitchell sang it, and I have also heard that The Original Caste does? This was before my time, so I'm asking some people on here. :P

I'm pretty sure.

Wasn't it Coven?

I remember the song from the movie "Billy Jack".

Good memory, Peachhead!

Yep. It was Coven and I too remember seeing Billy jack.

Other than that i don't know but as she wasn't doing covers at that time she may have wrote it?
Good question.

nt

I don't remember who did it though.

Anyone know for sure? :shrug:

most common results was a cover by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and Joan Baez, The Original Caste, Coven, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Joel Whitburn's "The Billboard Book of Top 40 hit... the song released by Original Caste reached #34 in 1970, and the Coven version reached 326 in 1971. Original caste was first, Coven second, but a bigger hit. Should there be a tie-breaking question?