Toy Soldiers Lyrics by Martika

“Toy Soldiers” is a song by American singer Martika appearing on her 1988 eponymous debut album and released in the United States as the second single from the album on April 26, 1989. It was a number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit for two weeks in mid-1989. An edited version of the song is included in the imported version of the album Toy Soldiers: The Best of Martika.

Martika wrote the song about a friend who was battling a cocaine addiction. “I was a little hesitant because I had only written two songs before and they were light songs. I came up to Michael and said I wanted to write about drugs. It was the first time I got the nerve to write about something that was scary for me to talk about, so I did.” According to an episode of VH-1’s Pop-Up Video, in which “Toy Soldiers” was featured, the friend-in-question eventually conquered the addiction.

The song spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and New Zealand while reaching number five in both the United Kingdom and Australia. On Billboard’s year-end chart for 1989, “Toy Soldiers” placed number 29. It was Martika’s only number-one single in the U.S., and her highest-ranking single in the United Kingdom. The single was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA.

The video for the song was directed by Jim Shea, who later became a regular in directing country music videos. Martika is seen singing with a waterfall in front of her (this was done by filming her in an empty pool with a water current flowing between her and the camera).