"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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It is one of the first anti-war songs.Pelger, Martin, "Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War", Osprey Publishing, New York, 2014, p. 265 Lyricist Alfred Bryan collaborated with composer

Al Piantadosi Al Piantadosi (born John Alberto Joseph Piantadosi; August 18, 1882 in New York City – April 8, 1955 in Encino, California) was an American composer of popular music during the of Tin Pan Alley. He started out as a saloon and vaudeville piani ...

in writing the song, which inspired a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, some imitations, but also a number of scornful parodies. It was recorded by The

Peerless Quartet The Peerless Quartet was an American vocal group that recorded in the early years of the twentieth century. They formed to record for Columbia Records, where they were credited as the Columbia Quartet or Columbia Male Quartet. From about 1907, wh ...

in December 1914 and was a hit in 1915, selling 650,000 copies. Its expression of popular pacifist sentiment "helped make the pacifist movement a hard, quantifiable political reality to be reckoned with."

Themes

The song gives the lament of a lonely mother whose son has been lost in the war: 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 Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and

pacificist Pacificism is the general term for ethical opposition to violence or war unless force is deemed necessary. Together with pacifism, it is born from the Western tradition or attitude that calls for peace. The former involves the unconditional refus ...

movements. The somber nature of the lyrics also reflected the neutrality mentality that was common in the United States in early 1915.

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 was in the top 20 charts from January to July 1915 and reached number 1 in March and April. 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

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

in order to argue that the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

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 Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entan ...

tendencies of the public" and that pro-war songwriters were rarely successful. "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" was praised especially by anti-Britain groups in the United States – Irish, German, and Church ministers of many denominations. 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 Band The Eli Radish Band was a Cleveland, Ohio-based band active from 1968 to 1973. They were considered pioneers of " outlaw country" and " alt-country" music. The group signed with Capitol Records in 1969 and released its only album ''I Didn't Ra ...

recorded an updated Outlaw Country Rock version of the song to protest the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Their Capitol Records album bore the same title.

Hamish Imlach Hamish Imlach (10 February 1940 – 1 January 1996) was a Scottish folk singer. Imlach was born in Calcutta to Scottish parents, although he claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. His commercial success was limited, but he influence ...

released a version of the song on his 1987 album ''

Sonny's Dream "Sonny's Dream" (also known as "Sonny") is a folk song written by Newfoundlander Ron Hynes in 1976. It tells the story of a man who wishes to fulfill his dreams, but is bound to his rural homeland by his family, particularly his lonely mother. Hy ...

''. The lyrics were altered for context, including reference to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

Political reactions

At the time, prominent politicians attacked the song both for its pacifism and early feminism.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

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'". I did not raise my girl to be a voter3

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, then a captain in the National Guard, hated the song. He suggested that the place for women who opposed the war was in a harem, not in the United States. Many parodies of the song were produced, such as "I Did Not Raise My Boy to Be a Coward" and "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier, but I'll Send My Girl to Be a Nurse." Parody poems and other responses were produced such as "They Didn't Raise Their Son to Be a Soldier", "I Didn't Raise My Dog to Be a Sausage", and "I Didn't Raise My Ford to Be a Jitney." 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".

Original lyrics

Lyrics per original sheet music

Footnotes

External links

View the song MP3 and sheet music here.
{{authority control Songs about soldiers Songs about the military Anti-war songs American songs 1915 songs Songs with lyrics by Alfred Bryan Songs of World War I Opposition to World War I Songs written by Al Piantadosi