Soldier's Last Letter is a
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, o ...
song written by
Redd Stewart
Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote " Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948.
Biography
He was born in Ashland C ...
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), ...
and recorded by Ernest Tubb. It was released in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
in 1944.
Background and content
In 1941, following the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
, 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, 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
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...
. 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
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled ...
and
The Strangers version
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled ...
and
The Strangers 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