Christophe Elie paints a harrowing portrait of military life with his moving single A Soldier’s Face — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
As Remembrance Day approaches, people are wearing poppies and reflecting on those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But as Ottawa folksinger Elie notes, the ceremonies and moments of silence can’t compare to the mental, physical and emotional turmoil each military person encounters in the line of duty. That cold reality is delicately but directly detailed in A Soldier’s Face, a terse but tremendous song epitomizing the horrors of war and the psychological scars that run just as deep as physical ones.
Elie wrote the song on Remembrance Day 2013; it first appeared on his 2016 sophomore album Bridging Borders. It’s now being released digitally across all platforms “in recognition of the veterans living across Turtle Island and the upcoming day of remembrance. (But) we should do more than just remember. While it is always a beautiful, melancholic tribute to those lost to war and an important opportunity for veteran families to reflect on lives lost, I always wondered how this day is in support of the ultimate goal, ‘Never again.’
“Of course, we must remember those lives lost and the veterans still alive, who suffer the nightmares, grieve their brothers in arms and relive the carnage they’ve witnessed. But I’ve always thought, ‘Why are our veterans suffering, having to fight for mental health services while, at that time (then-PM) Stephen Harper was shutting down veteran facilities that provided services to these former soldiers?’ We love the ceremony, but don’t want to pay the cost of wars passed.”
A Soldier’s Face, co-produced by Elie and Dave Draves, features the latter providing subtle synthesizer in the background while Elie sings the gritty but genuine tale of war, bloodshed and being the “messenger of a country’s deadly message.” Elie wrote the song as a poem and then added music, the only time he’s used this approach. The words were included in a book by American military vet and photographer Roger Raepple for his 2021 book Remember: A Tribute To Veterans And Their Families. Prior to that, the single inspired Elie to stage concerts in 2018 to raise money for the Guitars For Vets program.
Elie cites ’60s political folksingers such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Phil Ochs as influences. He was part of the group The Source before his solo career. The musician, who has performed at the Montreal Folk Festival and various editions of Folk Alliance International, released his debut album Deepest Shade Of Blue in 2008. Earlier in 2024, he released the timely singles Columbia and Trump’s Tweets.
Check out A Soldier’s Face above, here more from Christophe Elie below and join him on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
