Soldier's Last Letter

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Soldier's Last Letter - Wikipedia

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Soldier's Last Letter is a country music song written by Redd Stewart and Ernest Tubb and recorded by Ernest Tubb. It was released in the United States in 1944.^[1]

Background and content

In 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Redd was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to the South Pacific. 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,^[2] 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."^[3] The song was also recorded by country music artist Hank Snow. 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 and The Strangers version

"Soldier's Last Letter"

Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

from the album Hag

B-side

"Farmer's Daughter"

Released

January 27, 1971

Redd Stewart
Ernest Tubb

Producer(s)

Ken Nelson

Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology

"I Can't Be Myself"
(1970)

"Soldier's Last Letter"
(1971)

"Someday We'll Look Back"
(1971)

Merle Haggard 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)

Chart (1971)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[4]	3
US Billboard Hot 100^[5]	90
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	4

Notes

^ Redd Stewart Archived 2008-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 354.
^ "Tracks on Hello Vietnam - Johnny Wright (October 1965) | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.

v t e Ernest Tubb
Singles	"Walking the Floor Over You" "Try Me One More Time" "Soldier's Last Letter" "It's Been So Long Darling" "Rainbow at Midnight" "Filipino Baby" "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" "I'm Biting My Fingernails and Thinking of You" "Slippin' Around" "Tennessee Border No. 2" "Letters Have No Arms" "I Love You Because" "Goodnight, Irene" "Thanks a Lot" "Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be"
Albums	The Daddy of 'Em All (1957) The Importance of Being Ernest (1959) Ernest Tubb Record Shop (1960) Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours (1960) Midnight Jamboree (1960) All Time Hits (1960) Golden Favorites (1961) On Tour (1962) Just Call Me Lonesome (1963) The Family Bible (1963) Thanks a Lot (1964) Blue Christmas (1964) Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be (1965) Singin' Again (1967) Country Hit Time (1968) Ernest Tubb Sings Hank Williams (1968) Let's Turn Back the Years (1969) If We Put Our Heads Together (1969) If We Put Our Heads Together (1969) Saturday Satan Sunday Saint (1969) Good Year for the Wine (1970) One Sweet Hello (1971) Say Something Nice to Sarah (1972) Baby It's So Hard to Be Good (1972) I've Got All the Heartaches I Can Handle (1973) Ernest Tubb (1975)
Compilations	The Definitive Collection The Ernest Tubb Story The Legend and the Legacy Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello Walking the Floor Over You Yellow Rose of Texas
Related articles	Discography

Merle Haggard

The Strangers

Norm Hamlet

Ralph Mooney

Tiny Moore

Roy Nichols

Gene Price

Eldon Shamblin

Gordon Terry

Biff Adam

Jimmy Belken

Eddie Burris

Gary Church

Wayne Durham

George French

Dennis Hromek

Don Markham

Johnny Meeks

Marcia Nichols

Ronnie Reno

Clint Strong

Jim Tittle

Jerry Ward

Bobby Wayne

Mark Yeary

Studio albums

Strangers
Swinging Doors ‡
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
Branded Man ‡
Sing Me Back Home ‡
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
Mama Tried ‡
Pride in What I Am ‡
Same Train, a Different Time ‡
A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
Hag ‡
Someday We'll Look Back ‡
Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
If We Make It Through December ‡
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
Keep Movin' On ‡
It's All in the Movies ‡
My Love Affair with Trains ‡
The Roots of My Raising ‡
Ramblin' Fever
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
My Farewell to Elvis
I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
Serving 190 Proof
The Way I Am
Back to the Barrooms
Big City
Going Where the Lonely Go
That's the Way Love Goes
It's All in the Game
Kern River
Out Among the Stars
A Friend in California
Chill Factor
5:01 Blues
Blue Jungle
1994
1996
If I Could Only Fly
Roots, Volume 1
The Peer Sessions
Haggard Like Never Before
Unforgettable
Chicago Wind
The Bluegrass Sessions
I Am What I Am
Working in Tennessee

Compilations

Live albums

Gospel albums

The Land of Many Churches ‡
Songs for the Mama That Tried
Cabin in the Hills
Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)

Holiday albums

Singles

1960s	"Sing a Sad Song" "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" "Swinging Doors" ‡ "The Bottle Let Me Down" ‡ "The Fugitive" ‡ "I Threw Away the Rose" ‡ "Branded Man" ‡ "Sing Me Back Home" ‡ "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde" ‡ "Mama Tried" ‡ "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" ‡ "Hungry Eyes" ‡ "Workin' Man Blues" ‡ "Okie from Muskogee" ‡
1970s	"The Fightin' Side of Me" ‡ "Jesus, Take a Hold" ‡ "I Can't Be Myself" ‡ "Soldier's Last Letter" ‡ "Someday We'll Look Back" ‡ "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" ‡ "Carolyn" ‡ "Grandma Harp" ‡ "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" ‡ "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" ‡ "The Emptiest Arms in the World" ‡ "Everybody's Had the Blues" ‡ "If We Make It Through December ‡" "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" ‡ "Old Man from the Mountain" ‡ "Kentucky Gambler" ‡ "Always Wanting You" ‡ "Movin' On" ‡ "It's All in the Movies" ‡ "The Roots of My Raising" ‡ "Here Comes the Freedom Train" ‡ "Cherokee Maiden" ‡ "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday" "Ramblin' Fever" "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" ‡ "From Graceland to the Promised Land" "Running Kind" ‡ "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" "It's Been a Great Afternoon" "Red Bandana" "My Own Kind of Hat"
1980s	"The Way I Am" "Misery and Gin" "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" "Leonard" "Rainbow Stew" "My Favorite Memory" "Big City" "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" "Going Where the Lonely Go" "You Take Me for Granted" "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)" "It's All in the Game" "That's the Way Love Goes" "Someday When Things Are Good" "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" "A Place to Fall Apart" "Kern River" "I Had a Beautiful Time" "A Friend in California" "Almost Persuaded" "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" "Chill Factor" "We Never Touch at All" "You Babe" "5:01 Blues" "A Better Love Next Time" "If You Want to Be My Woman"

Collaborations

Albums	Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens and The Strangers) A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson) Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams) Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson) Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson) Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (with George Jones) Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson)
Singles	"Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood) "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones) "C.C. Waterback" (with George Jones) "Reasons to Quit" (with Willie Nelson) "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) "Wreck on the Highway" (with Chester Smith)
As guest	"Street Singer" (by The Strangers) "Walking the Floor Over You" (by Ernest Tubb) "Politically Uncorrect" (by Gretchen Wilson)

‡ indicates a release performed with The Strangers

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