Soldier's Last Letter
DESCRIPTION: Mother opens a letter from her son. It says he loves her. As he writes from a trench he gets orders. He will finish the letter later. The letter is unsigned so she knows he is dead. She prays "protect all the boys ... keep old Newfoundland/America free"
AUTHOR: Henry "Redd" Stewart (during World War II) (source: Guigné-ForgottenSongsOfTheNewfoundlandOutports)
EARLIEST DATE: 1944 (Ernest Tubb recording)
KEYWORDS: army battle war death patriotic religious mother soldier
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Guigné-ForgottenSongsOfTheNewfoundlandOutports, pp. 338-340, "The Soldier's Letter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #25338
RECORDINGS:
Alvina Coles, "The Soldier's Letter" (on NFAGuigné01)
Marie Hartery, "The Soldier's Last Farewell" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
Ernest Tubb, "Soldier's Last Letter" (Decca 6098, 1944)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Last Letter" (theme)
cf. "The Valley of Kilbride" (subject of Newfoundlanders dying in World War I)
cf. "The Dying Soldier (III)" (subject of Newfoundlanders dying in World War I)
cf. "The July Drive" (subject of Newfoundlanders dying in World War I)
NOTES [16 words]: For Newfoundland's heavy casualties in World War I, see the notes to "The Valley of Kilbride." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.4
File: Guig338
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