Soldier's Last Letter is a
country music song written by
Redd Stewart and
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...
and recorded by Ernest Tubb. It was released in the
United States in 1944.
Background and content
In 1941, following the
attack on Pearl Harbor, Redd was drafted into the
U.S. Army and sent to the
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. While stationed there with the rank of
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
, Redd wrote "A Soldier's Last Letter”, which Ernest Tubb worked on and recorded in 1944, making it a No.1 hit staying at the top for four weeks out of a seven-month stay on the Country charts, and crossing over to the Pop chart Top 20. The B-side of the Ernest Tubb recording of "Soldier's Last Letter" a song entitled, "Yesterday's Tears" peaked at number four on the Juke Box Folk chart.
Country singer
Johnny Wright recorded ''Soldier's Last Letter'' for his 1965 album "Hello Vietnam."
The song was also recorded by country music artist
Hank Snow. Hank was from Nova Scotia, Canada so the last line in the song was changed to "And dear God keep our Canada free..."
Merle Haggard and
The Strangers
Strangers are people who are unknown to another person or group.
Strangers or The Strangers may also refer to:
History
* Elizabethan Strangers or Strangers, a name applied to French and Belgian immigrants to Norwich, East Anglia, England, during ...
version
Merle Haggard and
The Strangers
Strangers are people who are unknown to another person or group.
Strangers or The Strangers may also refer to:
History
* Elizabethan Strangers or Strangers, a name applied to French and Belgian immigrants to Norwich, East Anglia, England, during ...
later had a hit single with the song in 1970. Their version reached number three on the U.S. country chart and number four on the Canadian country chart. It also peaked at number ninety on the Hot 100.
Chart performance (Merle Haggard)
Notes
{{Merle Haggard
Songs about soldiers
Songs about letters (message)
1944 songs
1944 singles
1971 singles
Songs of World War II
Ernest Tubb songs
Merle Haggard songs
Songs written by Redd Stewart
Songs written by Ernest Tubb
Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer)
Capitol Records singles