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  1. Tracks
  2. Eminem
  3. The Eminem Show
  4. Soldier
Soldier by Eminem

TRACK

Eminem

Soldier

Release date: 26th May 2002

From The Eminem Show
Track 7
3:46
Hip-Hop/RapMusicHip-HopHardcore Rap
Spotify Apple Music More on Eminem

About This Track

'Soldier' arrives as the seventh track on 'The Eminem Show', released in May 2002 and produced by Dr. Dre. The song frames itself around a defiant chorus of endurance, Eminem casting himself as someone whose shoulders bear immense weight without buckling. The military metaphor runs through the hook but the verses pull in a different direction, examining the gap between the thug persona and the man who adopted it.

Across two verses, Eminem maps the obligations that come with a reputation built on confrontation and volatility. He credits himself as someone infatuated with guns rather than born into gang life, acknowledging the image as something cultivated and maintained. The second verse leans into provocation as method, describing scenarios where his mere presence halts a room and triggers panic, the threat of violence enough to achieve the effect without needing to follow through. The tone is part self-awareness, part performance of the very recklessness being described.

The track continues directly from the skit 'The Kiss', carrying forward the album's thread of Eminem as a figure whose public volatility is both genuine impulse and calculated theatre.

"Soldier" is a track by Eminem, from the album The Eminem Show, released 26th May 2002. The track is 3:46 long. It's filed under Hip-Hop/Rap. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about Eminem.

About the Artist

Eminem

Eminem

Lyrics

Soldier

I'm a soldier
I'm a soldier
(Dah-dah, dah-dah, dah-dah)
I'm a soldier
I'm a soldier
Yo

Never was a thug, just infatuated with guns
Never was a gangster, 'til I graduated to one
And got the rep of a villain, for weapon concealin'
Took the image of a thug kept shit appealin'
Willin' to stick out my neck for respect if it meant life or death
Never lived to regret what I said
When you're me, people just wanna see if its true
If it's you, what you say in your raps is what you do

So they feel, it's part of ya obligation to fulfill
When they see you on the streets face to face, are you for real?
In confrontation ain't no conversation if you feel
You're in violation, any hesitation'll get you killed
If you feel it, kill it, you can conceal it, reveal it
Being reasonable will leave you full of bullets, pull it
Squeeze it 'til its empty, tempt me, push me, pussies
I need a good reason to give this trigger a good squeeze

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never slip or stumble

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never stumble

I love pissin' you off, it get's me off
Like my lawyers, when the fuckin' judge lets me off
All you motherfuckers gotta do is set me off
I'm violatin' all the motherfuckin' bets be off
I'm a lit fuse, anything I do bitch is news
Pistol-whippin' motherfuckin' bouncers 6'2"
Who needs bullets? As soon as I pull it, you sweat bullets
An excellent method to get rid of the next bully

It's actually better, 'cause instead of you murderin'
You can hurt 'em then come back again and kick dirt at 'em
It's like pourin' salt in your wounds, assault and get sued
You can smell the lawsuits as soon as I waltz in the room
Everybody's hearts just stop, they call the cops
All you see is bitches comin' out their halter tops
Runnin' and duckin' at the Hot Rock's parking lot
You'll all get shot, whether it's your fault or not 'cause

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never slip or stumble

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never stumble

I spit it slow so these kids know that I'm talkin' to 'em
Give it back to these damn critics and sock it to 'em
I'm like a thug, with a little bit of 'Pac influence
I spew it, and look how I got you bitches rockin' to it
You motherfuckers could never do it like I can do it
Don't even try it, you'll look stupid, do not pursue it
Don't ever in your life try to knock the truest
I spit the illest shit ever been dropped in two-inch

So ticky-tock, listen as the sound ticks on the clock
Listen to the sound of Kim as she licks on the cock
Listen to the sound of me spillin' my heart through this pen
Motherfuckers know that I'll never be Marshall again
Full of controversy until I retire my jersey
'Til the fire inside dies and expires at 30
And Lord have mercy on anymore of these rappers that verse me
And put a curse on authorities, in the face of adversity

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never slip or stumble

I'm a soldier
These shoulders hold up so much
They won't budge, I'll never fall or fold up
I'm a soldier
Even if my collar bones crush or crumble
I will never stumble

Yo left, yo left, yo left, right, left
Yo left, yo left, yo left, right, left
Yo left, yo left, yo left, right, left
Yo left, yo left, yo left, right, left

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From The Eminem Show

3:462002
Listen
Album
The Eminem Show
The Eminem Show
Eminem
27th May 2002
Track number
7
Release year
2002
  1. 1Curtains Up (Skit)
    0:30
  2. 2White America
    5:25
  3. 3Business
    4:12
  4. 4Cleanin' Out My Closet
    4:58

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  1. Beautiful (2006)
  2. Cleanin' Out My Closet [V4]
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  4. Get Your Money Straight (Unreleased, KM Track 13)
  5. Got My Gat Back
  6. In A Perfect World
  7. Keys To The City [Unreleased & Not Leaked, KM Track 12)
  8. Kim [V3]
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  • 5Square Dance
    5:24
  • 6The Kiss (Skit)
    1:16
  • 7Soldier
    3:46
  • 8Say Goodbye Hollywood
    4:33
  • 9Drips (feat. Obie Trice)
    4:46
  • 10Without Me
    4:50
  • 11Paul Rosenberg (Skit)
    0:23
  • 12Sing for the Moment
    5:40
  • 14Hailie's Song
    5:21
  • 15Steve Berman (Skit)
    0:33
  • 16When the Music Stops (feat. D12)
    4:29
  • 17Say What U Say (feat. Dr. Dre)
    5:10
  • 19My Dad's Gone Crazy (feat. Hailie Jade)
    4:27
  • 20Curtains Close (Skit)
    1:02
  • —Superman
  • —Till I Collapse
  • —Drips
  • —My Dad's Gone Crazy
  • —When the Music Stops
  • —Say What You Say
  • —Paul Rosenberg (Skit) [2002]
  • —Steve Berman (Skit) [2002]
  • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    DJ Head, Eminem, Jeff Bass, Luis Resto, Mike Elizondo, Steve King
    Producer
    Eminem
    Guitar
    Jeff Bass
    Keyboards
    Jeff Bass, Mike Elizondo
    Additional Drum Programming
    DJ Head
    Additional Keyboards
    Mike Elizondo, Steve King
    Assistant Recording Engineer
    Mike Strange, Urban Kris
    Mastering Engineer
    Brian Gardner
    Mixing Engineer
    Steve King
    Recording Engineer
    Steve King
    READ MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEM
    READ MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEMREAD MORE ABOUT EMINEM
    Watch a new clip from Eminem's superfan documentary STANS, releasing in August
    News

    Watch a new clip from Eminem's superfan documentary STANS, releasing in August

    The rapper's new documentary explores his influence through devoted fans' perspectives, hitting global theaters for a limited release this August.

    31 Jul 2025 • 7:46 pm