Sunday 15 September 2013

Soldier's Joy

 
Source
One of the most popular fiddle tune in history,  “Soldier’s Joy” can be traced to collections published in London and Scandinavia in the middle 1700s. Early versions can be traced to Scotland, and variants found in the French Alps and Newfoundland. The tune was also well known in Ireland.
As is the case with many fiddle tunes, lyrics were added later. In America, “Soldier’s Joy” eventually came to be known as the morphine used by Civil War soldiers when they were injured in battle. A popular lyric for the tune was: “Twenty-five cents for the old morphine, now carry me away from here.”

Country singer Jimmy Driftwood wrote lyrics to "Soldier's Joy" and recorded his version of it in 1957.

The basic tune:



Noam Pikelny embellishes it:



How to play a simple version:


BanjoTrain has a good tab, playing in D with the 5th string tuned up to A.

Soldier's Joy Tablature
Source

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