It was cold one morning when they dropped me off The brand new uniform free of cost The gun that they gave me had been used before By somebody’s baby out there … somewhere... in someone else's war --- From the song “Soldier” written by Rodney Riley. The year was 1970, and Rodney Riley was fresh out of high school and living it up in a rhythm and blues band called Approximately 5. “We played a lot around this area, from Savannah, down to Brunswick,” said Riley, a guitar player and singer.