"Travelin' Soldier" is a song written and originally recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Bruce Robison in 1996 and again, in rewritten form, in 1999. It was later recorded by

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Nashville. A second albu ...

on his 1999 album, '' Highways & Dance Halls''. The first rendition to be issued as a single was by

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) an ...

in December 2002, from their album ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

''. It became the group's sixth and final single to reach No. 1 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' "Hot Country Singles & Tracks" (now "

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

"). A version of the song featuring Natalie Maines, Bruce Robison and Robison's wife,

Kelly Willis Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadia ...

, appears on '' KGSR's Broadcasts Vol. 13'' album.

Content

The song is a tale about a shy, lonesome, young American soldier who strikes up a conversation and later a correspondence with a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

girl during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

era. Americana details pervade the lyrics as the song details the correspondence as a relationship forms between the two, despite the insurmountable distance. The last letter from the soldier mentions that "it's gettin kinda rough over here" and he "won't be able to write for a while" before skipping ahead to a football game at the girl's high school. After the anthem and Lord's Prayer, the local Vietnam dead are announced. The soldier's name is on the list, but only the girl, who is there, recognizes his name, and she mourns for him as stated in the line "One name read and nobody really cared but a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair."

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, rated the song No. 17 on his list of the 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade. He stated that "it's the story between the lines that drives home the tragedy, as both main characters have a palpable sense of loneliness that they finally find relief from in one another just before they are ripped permanently apart."

Controversy

The song was being promoted by Dixie Chicks when on March 10, 2003, lead singer Natalie Maines told a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, audience the band was ashamed that then

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George W. Bush was from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

for his role in the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

. Subsequent U.S. publication of Maines's comments caused some stations, including 42 owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

, to drop the song from their playlists, causing it to fall from No. 1 on the country singles chart to No. 3 the following week, March 29, before disappearing from the charts entirely. "Travelin' Soldier" is the last single released by Dixie Chicks to reach the top 20 on the U.S. country singles chart, although their 2007 single "

Not Ready to Make Nice "Not Ready to Make Nice" is a song co-written and performed by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was released in March 2006 as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, '' Taking the Long Way''. The Dixie Chicks wrote the ...

", peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 while reaching No. 36 on the country chart.

Charts

The song debuted at No. 58 on

on February 16, 2002, based on a live recording from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

telecast in the previous November, eventually peaking at No. 57. It was not officially released as a single until late 2002, peaking at No. 1 on the same chart in early 2003.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

released a cover in 2003, shortly after the Dixie Chicks' version fell from No. 1.
Home Free (group) released a cover in 2021 with the gender roles reversed, on their album ''Land of the Free''.

References

{{The Chicks 1996 songs 2002 singles Bruce Robison songs Ty England songs The Chicks songs Songs written by Bruce Robison Songs about the military Songs about soldiers Songs of the Vietnam War Anti-war songs Columbia Nashville Records singles Song recordings produced by Lloyd Maines