One of my all-time favorite hits from my childhood back in 1975.
I used to think this was a Viet Nam story since that was the current war occurring when the song was written and recorded but after thinking about it... The only "soldier blues" I ever heard about were those fighting for the North during the American "Civil War" (1860-1865). Also, "I need a volunteer to ride out" (or "up") implies the use of a horse, therefore, I've concluded the setting for this one is more than a century earlier than the song itself. Also, the notion of a band marching along Main Street to encourage people to join in the effort also makes more sense from an 1860s perspective as opposed to the 1960s and '70s.
And to top it off, before posting these words, I searched online in case there was some other kind of "solidier blues" of which I wasn't aware - and I found this link:
One of my all-time favorite hits from my childhood back in 1975.
I used to think this was a Viet Nam story since that was the current war occurring when the song was written and recorded but after thinking about it... The only "soldier blues" I ever heard about were those fighting for the North during the American "Civil War" (1860-1865). Also, "I need a volunteer to ride out" (or "up") implies the use of a horse, therefore, I've concluded the setting for this one is more than a century earlier than the song itself. Also, the notion of a band marching along Main Street to encourage people to join in the effort also makes more sense from an 1860s perspective as opposed to the 1960s and '70s.
And to top it off, before posting these words, I searched online in case there was some other kind of "solidier blues" of which I wasn't aware - and I found this link:
https://www.lilesnet.com/patrioticmusic/billy.htm