Song List

Editor’s Note: Join Queensrÿche, Rhino Entertainment and JamsBio in honoring the AMERICAN SOLDIER. Celebrate the strength and courage of those who serve our country by sharing (1) stories of service and sacrifice, (2) song dedications to military personnel at home and abroad, and (3) your list of top-5 songs related to war and life on the frontlines. Enjoy a sneak-peek early access to Honoring the AMERICAN SOLDIER and win free music and merchandise.

In honor of the American servicemen and women overseas, JamsBio’s editors present a list of 10 great “soldier songs”:

“Everywhere”

The Shirelles

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A hit from 1962, “Soldier Boy” is vintage Shirelles, adorned with the Shirley Owens’ world class voice and incomparable production from demented genius, Phil Specter. The lyrics find the singer professing her love for the soldier boy in which she promises to remain true to him while he’s away. Saccharine? Yes, but undeniably charming and a classic example of the girl-group vibe of the day.

“Everywhere”

Billy Bragg

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A devastating tale of two boyhood friends who are torn apart after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The narrator was sent to the Pacific theater, while his friend Lee was sent to a Japanese internment camp. It’s not a happy ending but the song is an effective commentary on the wounds of war both on the battlefield and on the homefront. Bragg’s incorporation of George M. Cohan’s WWI song, “Over There,” is a nice touch.

“Goodnight Saigon”

Billy Joel

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One of the great songs about the Vietnam War, Billy Joel’s 1982 classic traces a Marine unit from its basic training on Parris Island to the battlefield in Southeast Asia. It’s rousing chorus of “We said we’d all go down together,” powerfully captures the comraderie of soldiers whose lives depend on teamwork. At some concerts, Joel would bring Vietnam veterans on stage when he performed “Goodnight Saigon,” adding even more weight to the already emotional song.

“Sky Pilot”

The Animals

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Many people wrongly assume that the Animals’ 1968 track “Sky Pilot” is about the Air Force. A closer examination of the lyrics, however, reveal that a sky pilot is actually slang for a military chaplain. “He blesses the boys/As they stand in line/The smell of gun grease/And the bayonets they shine/He’s there to help them/All that he can/To make them feel wanted/He’s a good holy man.”

“Red Army Blues”

The Waterboys

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“Red Army Blues” is one of my favorite songs about war and the soldier experience, both because of its epic nature and lyrical approach. Although the Cold War was still raging when this track was recorded in 1984, you’d have to have a heart of ice not to feel sympathy for this portrait of a scared Russian soldier heading off to fight Germany in WWII.

“Travelin’ Soldier”

Bruce Robison

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Although made popular by the Dixie Chicks in 2002, this track was written and originally recorded by the unheralded country singer Bruce Robison. The song is a tale about a shy, lonesome American soldier who strikes up a conversation and later a correspondence with a high school girl during the Vietnam War era. Both renditions are great, but I prefer Robison’s take.

“Soldier’s Things”

Tom Waits

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A sad, simple song, Tom Waits’ “Soldier’s Things” finds the gravely voiced visionary plaintively listing the contents of a box of a soldier’s possessions that are being sold at a garage sale. “Davenports and kettle drums/And swallow tail coats/Table cloths and patent leather shoes/Bathing suits and bowling balls/And clarinets and rings/And all this radio really/Needs is a fuse/A tinker, a tailor/A soldier’s things.”

“Yellow River”

The Tremeloes

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A soldier’s song with a happy ending, imagine that! Upbeat music and lyrics like “got his papers and got his pay” let you in on why this is a happy one. The soldier is heading home, and although “cannon fire still lingers” in his mind, he’s alive and well. Here’s hoping to more endings like this one!

“Soldier”

Stephen Stills

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Of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, I always preferred Stills and I’ve always dug this track from the universally panned Illegal Stills record from 1976. Clearly a song of its time, recorded just a year after the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, “Soldier” tells of the wounds that will remain long after the fighting has ended. “Was anybody with you/When you felt your body die/Knowing that you live on/The shell of a man to hide/It’s not over/It’ll never be over for you.”

“Mary and the Soldier”

Paul Brady & Andy Irvine

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I first heard this traditional Irish ballad in the early ’90’s on a 1976 recording by the legendary Paul Brady and Andy Irvine, both formerly of the band Planxty. The album is one of the best collections of traditional U.K. songs ever. As far as subject matter, the Traditional Music Library website sums it thusly: “It’s the old story of the soldier heading for the wars and leaving the girl behind him. In some ballads she dressed herself up in men’s clothing and went along with him. Numerous too are the songs about the female sailors and female soldiers. More often than not she went along as the pretty drummer boy or the pretty cabin boy. In this particular song, he is so impressed by her loyalty, that he marries her before he goes away.”

Editor’s Note: Help honor the AMERICAN SOLDIER by sharing (1) stories of service and sacrifice, (2) song dedications to military personnel at home and abroad, and (3) your list of top-5 songs related to war and life on the frontlines.

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