I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier
Encyclopedia
"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" is an American anti-war
song that was influential within the pacifist movement that existed in the United States
before it entered World War I
. Lyricist Alfred Bryan
collaborated with composer Al Piantadosi in writing the song, which inspired a sequel
, some imitations, but also a larger number of scornful parodies.
She comments on the irony of war being between different mothers' sons, killing each other with muskets. Conflict between nations should be resolved by arbitration, not by the sword and the gun. Victory is not enough to console a mother for the loss of her son, and the blighting of her home. War would end if all mothers said they would not raise their sons as soldiers. The song thus apparently connects the suffragist and pacificist movements.
in order to argue that the Civil War
had been no more justified, and suffragists joined the peace movement because of its political potential and leverage in the campaign for women's right to vote. As with the later 1930s hit "God's Country", it shows that American popular music "generally reflects the isolationist tendencies of the public" and that pro-war songwriters were rarely successful.
The song became known in a number of countries which were already at war - in Britain and in Australia notably.
recorded an updated Outlaw Country
Rock version of the song to protest the Vietnam War. Their Capital Records album bore the same title.
remarked that "foolish people who applaud a song entitled 'I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier' are
just the people who would also in their hearts applaud a song entitled 'I Didn't Raise my Girl To Be A Mother'".
Many parodies of the song were produced, such as "I Did Not Raise My Boy to Be a Coward," "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier, But I'll Send My Girl to Be a Nurse," and "I Didn't Raise My Dog to Be a Sausage." Parody poems and other responses were also produced such as "They Didn't Raise Their Son to Be a Soldier"./ According to Groucho Marx
, a popular joke of the period concerned a poker game in which a cardplaying mother states, "I didn't raise my boy, he had the joker".
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
song that was influential within the pacifist movement that existed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before it entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Lyricist Alfred Bryan
Alfred Bryan
Alfred Bryan was a United States songwriter and pacifist.-Songs:His hits included*"Peg O' My Heart"*"Come Josephine in My Flying Machine"*"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier"...
collaborated with composer Al Piantadosi in writing the song, which inspired a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, some imitations, but also a larger number of scornful parodies.
Themes
The song purports to be the lament of a lonely mother whose son has been lost in the war:
I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy
She comments on the irony of war being between different mothers' sons, killing each other with muskets. Conflict between nations should be resolved by arbitration, not by the sword and the gun. Victory is not enough to console a mother for the loss of her son, and the blighting of her home. War would end if all mothers said they would not raise their sons as soldiers. The song thus apparently connects the suffragist and pacificist movements.
Impact and response
"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" helped solidify the anti-war movement enough to make it politically relevant on the national stage. The song's success and its resulting political strength brought supporters to the pacifist movement whose main priority was other issues. Unreconstructed southerners appealed to popular distaste for the war in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in order to argue that the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
had been no more justified, and suffragists joined the peace movement because of its political potential and leverage in the campaign for women's right to vote. As with the later 1930s hit "God's Country", it shows that American popular music "generally reflects the isolationist tendencies of the public" and that pro-war songwriters were rarely successful.
The song became known in a number of countries which were already at war - in Britain and in Australia notably.
Other versions
In 1968 the Eli Radish BandEli Radish Band
----The Eli Radish Band were pioneers of "outlaw country" and "alt.country" music. Deana Adams said in her 2003 rock history book Rock 'n' roll and the Cleveland connection:...
recorded an updated Outlaw Country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
Rock version of the song to protest the Vietnam War. Their Capital Records album bore the same title.
Political reaction
Back in its day, prominent politicians attacked the song both for its pacifism and early feminism. Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
remarked that "foolish people who applaud a song entitled 'I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier' are
just the people who would also in their hearts applaud a song entitled 'I Didn't Raise my Girl To Be A Mother'".
Many parodies of the song were produced, such as "I Did Not Raise My Boy to Be a Coward," "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier, But I'll Send My Girl to Be a Nurse," and "I Didn't Raise My Dog to Be a Sausage." Parody poems and other responses were also produced such as "They Didn't Raise Their Son to Be a Soldier"./ According to Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
, a popular joke of the period concerned a poker game in which a cardplaying mother states, "I didn't raise my boy, he had the joker".
Original lyrics
Lyrics per original sheet music
Ten million soldiers to the war have gone,
Who may never return again.
Ten million mother's hearts must break
For the ones who died in vain.
Head bowed down in sorrow
In her lonely years,
I heard a mother murmur thru' her tears:
I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,
To shoot some other mother's darling boy?
Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,
It's time to lay the sword and gun away.
There'd be no war today,
If mothers all would say,
"I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier."
What victory can cheer a mother's heart,
When she looks at her blighted home?
What victory can bring her back
All she cared to call her own?
Let each mother answer
In the years to be,
Remember that my boy belongs to me!