Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier facts for kids
Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier is an old Irish folk song. It's a sad song about the tough choices and sacrifices people make during wartime. Men would go off to fight, and women would support the war effort by selling things to buy supplies. This song was very popular during the American Revolutionary War. That was a big fight for America's freedom. While we know what the song means, its exact history isn't fully clear. The music group Peter, Paul, and Mary used parts of this song in their own song "Gone the Rainbow." This was on their album Moving in 1963.
Where the Song Came From
This song's music and words are a lot like an older Irish tune. It's called "Siúil A Rún" and comes from the 1600s. Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier is based on this much older Irish song.
Other Versions of the Song
Many different artists have recorded their own versions of Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier:
- The American folk singer Pete Seeger included it on his album American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4.
- The band Mors Syphilitica made a version for their 1998 album Primrose. Lisa Hammer sang on this version.
- American singer James Taylor and violinist Mark O'Connor worked together on a version. It was on the album "Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology." This song was also played at the end of each episode of the PBS TV series "Liberty! The American Revolution."
- Canadian singer Old Man Luedecke recorded the song for his album Proof of Love.
In Movies and TV Shows
You can hear Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier several times in a famous documentary. This is Ken Burns's 1989 film The Civil War. Jacqueline Schwab played the piano, and Jesse Carr played the recorder for these parts.
The tune also appears in the 1995 TV movie Sharpe's Battle. The actor John Tams, playing the character Hagman, sings it in the film.
