Soldier's Joy (fiddle tune)

"Soldier's Joy" is a fiddle tune, classified as a reel or country dance. It is popular in the American fiddle canon, in which it is touted as "an American classic" but traces its origin to Scottish fiddling traditions, and Irish fiddle traditions. It has been played in Scotland for over 200 years, and Robert Burns used it for the first song of his cantata 'The Jolly Beggars'. According to documentation at the United States Library of Congress, it is "one of the oldest and most widely distributed tunes" and is rated in the top ten most-played Old Time Fiddle tune. According to the Illinois Humanities Center, the tune dates as early as the 1760s. In spite of its upbeat tempo and catchy melody, the term "soldier's joy" has a much darker meaning than is portrayed by the tune. This term eventually came to refer to the combination of whiskey, beer, and morphine used by Civil War soldiers.

$<< \new ChordNames \chordmode { \set chordChanges = ##t s8 |%1 lead in d2 |%2 d2 |%3 d2 |%4 a2 |%5 d2 |%6 d2 |%7 d4 a4 |%8 d2 |%9_1 \once \set chordChanges = ##f d2 |%9_2 d2 |%10 g2 |%11 d2 |%12 a2 |%13 d2 |%14 g2 |%15 d4 a4 |%16 d2 |%17_1 \once \set chordChanges = ##f d2 |%17_2 } \new Staff \relative c''{ \key d \major \time 2/4 \partial 8 d16( b16 ) %lead in \repeat volta 2 { a8 fis d fis |%2 a8 d d d16 b |%3 a8 fis d fis |%4 e8 e16 fis e8 d'16 b |%5 a8 fis d fis |%6 a8 d d d16 e |%7 fis4 e4 |%8 } \alternative { { d8 d16 fis d8 d16( b16 ) |%9_1 } { d8 d16 d d8 d16 e |%10_2 } } \break % Part 2 \repeat volta 2 { fis8 g a g16( fis) |%11 e8 e16 fis g8 e16( g) |%12 fis8 g a g16( fis) |%13 e16 d cis b a8 d16 e |%14 fis8 g a g16( fis) |%15 e8 e16 fis g8 g16 g |%16 fis16 e d fis e d cis d |%17 } \alternative { { d8 d16 d d8 d16 e |%18_1 } { d8 d16 fis d4 \bar "|." |%19_2 } } } >>$

Like many pure tunes with ancient pedigree, the melody of Soldier's Joy has been used as a basis for construction of songs, which, unlike pure tunes, have lyrics. Robert Burns wrote lyrics for the tune in which a dismembered, homeless veteran sarcastically recounts his delight with battle.

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Wikipedia