Toy Soldiers Poem Analysis

The song “Toy Soldiers”, by Martika is commonly portrayed as a strength that isn’t actually real due do the fact that the soldiers are toys. The song is widely known to be about addiction however, it is presented in such a simpleminded way that it can stand for any addiction at all. When one first looks at the song they would think that it is about soldiers and the battlefield. Martika states, “…But the battle wages on…”. Since the name of the song is, “Toy Soldiers”, one would think that what is meant by the battle waging on, is talking about an actual battle. The literal battle that is being discussed in the entire song is actually a large struggled being battled between the writer and their addiction. “…We all fall down, like toy soldiers…”

“…Its getting hard to wake up in the morning, my head is spinning constantly…”. A common effect of addiction is taking a nose dive. The addiction is becoming overwhelming to Martika and making life almost unbearable. This line in the song gives the reader a clear understanding of how much the addiction is taking over and how little say they're getting in the situation. This line could be mistakingly taken as of how hard it is becoming to wake up due to the nose dive of the battle, however, the “battle” and the addiction are the same thing. This being the battle of addiction. The addiction is filling an empty whole that only it can fill. The addiction that Martika is discussing is now not only making it “harder for them to wake up” but now its an addiction that makes the person feel better. “…Only emptiness remains, it replaces all, all the pain…”. The addiction fills this gap inside of the person Martika is writing about. Nothing makes them feel whole except this type of high they’re on. The addiction takes the pain away from the person and sees no reason why they should stop when it is the only thing that makes everything better in life. Martina finally becomes aware of the addiction and questions how she didn't realize it earlier. “…How could I be so blind to this addiction…”. This song is clearly speaking about the battle of addiction and how it over took her life and she had no idea until it was so far in progress. It makes it clear