Summer Music: Song 5

Song 5: Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier

Written:
Although this version was obviously written much later, the original folk song dates back to the American Revolution.

Subject Matter: This song is about the strife that all people, but particularly the wives of soldiers, went through during the American Revolution. They had to sell their possessions to support their fighting husbands, and without a man to work for the family, many women had to resort to begging to stay alive.

Storytelling:
The song mourns all the things that participants in the revolution must forgo or do to support both themselves and the war effort. The original song was written in first person (i.e., I'll sell my rod, I'll sell my reel), but this version is sung in third person, which provides more of a sense of detachment and storytelling to the song.

My Thoughts:
This song is imbued with feeling, so it's very easy to sympathize with the people taking part in it. War is always a difficult thing to deal with, and losing husbands and sons to it is a horrible thing.

What can we learn?:
In every war, there is sacrifice. However, today there is generally a great, romantic view of the American Revolution, of our small ragtag band of Americans fighting for freedom against the British and emerging victorious in good time. After listening to this song, that view is impossible. Although the American Revolution was fought on good principles, and in the end we did win, it's important to come to terms with the idea that in those first crucial years, our country and American ideal were built on sacrifice and hard fighting.