Travelin’ Soldier Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Two days past eighteen
He was waitin' for the bus in his army greens
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

[Verse 2]
He's a little shy so she give him a smile
And he said, "Would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talkin' to me? I'm feelin' a little low"
She said "I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go"

[Verse 3]
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said "I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care
I got no one, to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent a-one back here to you?"


[Chorus]
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
"Too young for him," they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Nevermore to be alone
When the letter said, "A soldier's comin' home"
[Verse 4]
So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart, it might be love
And all of the things he was so scared of

[Verse 5]
He said, "When it's gettin' kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down on the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while"

[Chorus]
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
"Too young for him," they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Nevermore to be alone
When the letter said, "A soldier's comin' home"

[Verse 6]
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang
A man said, "Folks, would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead?"

[Verse 7]
Cryin' all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marchin' band
And one name read, and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

[Chorus]
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
"Too young for him," they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Nevermore to be alone
When the letter said, "A soldier's comin'..."

[Chorus]
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
"Too young for him," they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Nevermore to be alone
When the letter said, "A soldier's comin' home"

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About

Genius Annotation

From Texas Monthly:

In the fall of 1990 Bruce Robison was working as a fry cook at an Austin diner and writing his first songs. That August, Iraq had invaded Kuwait, and the United States was preparing for a massive counterinvasion. Robison learned that one of his buddies at the diner, another fry cook, was being called up to active duty…and Robison found himself contemplating the unthinkable: dying young in war. Then he started writing about something even more unbearable: dying young while being in love. The first thing to come to him was a melody—the soaring opening of the chorus—and Robison shoehorned in some words: “I-I-I-I cried, never gonna hold the hand of another guy.” Details quickly followed: a lonely boy leaving for war after high school (Robison changed the setting to Vietnam), a shy girl (“a piccolo player in the marching band”) falling for him, the love between them growing even as they are thousands of miles apart. For the final verse, as the girl cries alone because her soldier has died, Robison recalled a familiar spot, the space beneath the stadium bleachers at Bandera High, where he had gone to school.

In 2003, with the United States again on the verge of war with Iraq, the Dixie Chicks took the song to number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart.

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Credits
Written By
Accordion
Mandolin
Percussion
Engineer
Additional Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Performance Rights
Recorded At
Cedar Creek Recording (Austin, TX)
Release Date
July 26, 2002
Travelin’ Soldier Is A Cover Of
Travelin’ Soldier Covers
Travelin’ Soldier Live Performances
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