Soldiers Joy

(words collected by Peter Budd)

From Newsgroup 7 Jan 2001. Steve Gold field and others.

Tommy Jarrell called it "Love Somebody" and sang something
like:

Love somebody, yes I do.
Love somebody, yes I do.
Love somebody, yes I do.
Love somebody, but it ain't you.

I am my mama's darling boy
I am my mama's darling boy 
I am my mama's darling boy 
Sing a little song called "Soldier's Joy"

and the chorus

15 cents for the morphine
25 cents for the beer
15 cents for the morphine
Now get me out of here.

Grasshopper sittin' on a sweet potato vine
Grasshopper sittin' on a sweet potato vine
Long comes a frog and says he's mine

15 cents for the morphine, 15 cents for the beer
15 cents for the morphine, gonna carry me way from here
Oh, my Soldier's Joy

I am my mama's darling child
I am my mama's darling child
I am my mama's darling child
And I don't care for you.

How I heard it (Skillet Lickers) was: 

25 cents for the morphine, 15 cents a beer
25 cents for the morphine, gonna take me away from here 

then there's:

Love somebody, yes I do
And I want somebody for to love me too.
Love somebody, yes I do
Oh that soldiers joy.
        or as Joe Thompson sings it:

Love somebody yes I do,
For the bible tells me so!

Court all night, sleep all day
Court all night, sleep all day
Court all night, sleep all day
That's the solider's joy they say

I am my mother's pride and joy
I am my mother's pride and joy
I am my mother's pride and joy
Play a little tune called solidier's joy

15 cents for the morphine
25 cents for the beers
15 cents for the morphine
Gonna roll right out of here


Newsgroup 16 April 2002; from Skillet Lickers

Chicken in the bread tray scratchin' out dough
Granny, will your dog bite?  No, chile, no.
Ladies in the center, gents catch air.
Hold her Newt, don't let her rear..






Soldiers Joy
From: Skillet Lickers on Hell Broke loose in Georgia. County

Rock the cradle Lucy, rock the cradle high
Rock the cradle Lucy, don’t let that baby cry

Rock the cradle Lucy, rock the cradle long
Rock the cradle Lucy, keep that baby warm

The Cofer Brothers on Georgia fiddle bands volume 2 has slight variant to first verse:

Rock the cradle Lucy, don’t you close your eyes
Rock the cradle Lucy, don’t let that baby cry


From Taylor’s Kentucky Boys. On Wink the Other Eye

Love somebody, yes I do,	love somebody, yes I do 
Love somebody, yes I do, 	love somebody and I won’t tell who
Soldiers Joy continued
From Skillet Lickers on County volume 1

Chicken in the bread tray scratching up dough
Granny will your dog bite, no sir no

Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine
Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine
Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine
Along comes a chicken and says you’re mine

I’m gonna get a drink, don’t you want to go
?
25 cents for the whisky?




From Brad Leftwich. Round Peak Style Clawhammer Banjo. Words from Tommy Jarrell. Key A

I love somebody, yes I do (3x)
And I bet you five dollars you can’t guess who

I’m gonna get a drink, don’t you want to go? (3x)
Hold on soldiers joy

Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine (3x)
Along comes a chicken, says you are mine

Twenty-five cents for the morphine
Fifteen cents for the beer
Twenty five cents for the morphine
Gonna carry me away from here