Soldier, Soldier: an updated version
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
Why don’t you march with my true love?”
“We’re fresh from off the ship and he’s maybe give the slip,
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
New love! True love!
Best go look for a new love,
The dead they cannot rise, and you’d better dry your eyes,
And you’d best go look for a new love.
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
What did you see of my true love?”
“I saw him serve the Queen in a suit of rifle-green,
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
Did you see no more of my true love?”
“I saw him running by when the shots begun to fly–
But you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
Did aught take harm to my true love?”
“I couldn’t see the fight, for the smoke it lay so white —
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
I’ll up and tend to my true love!”
“He’s lying on the dead with a bullet through his head,
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
I’ll down and die with my true love!”
“The pit we dug’ll hide him and the twenty men beside him–
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
Do you bring no sign from my true love?”
“I bring a lock of hair that he always used to wear,
And you’d best go look for a new love.”
“Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
O then I know it’s true I’ve lost my true love!”
“And I tell you truth again — when you’ve lost the feel of pain
You’d best take me for your true love.”
True love! New love!
Best take him for a new love,
The dead they cannot rise, and you’d better dry your eyes,
And you’d best take him for your true love.
Soldier, Soldier, Rudyard Kipling, 1890 (updated by Jonathan Richardson 2022)
What is Soldier, Soldier about?
This is Kipling’s reworking, or reimagining, of the traditional song/nursery rhyme “Soldier, soldier won’t you marry me”, the tale of a young lady asking her soldier lover to marry her only to find out he’s married already.
Oh soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me?
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh no, pretty maid, I cannot marry thee
For I have no coat to put onThen up she went to her grandfather’s chest
And got him a coat of the very, very best
She got him a coat of the very, very best
And the soldier put it on[…]
Now soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me?
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh no, pretty maid, I cannot marry thee
For I have a wife of my own
Like the nursery rhyme, the narrator of Kipling’s poem is a lovestruck lady. Here she’s asking newly arrived soldiers disembarking the troopship if they have news of her husband.
Much like the original nursery rhyme ends with the female narrator discovering she needs a new love, the narrator in Kipling’s poem also learns she won’t be with her man.
However the reason his time however it’s because his comrades (reluctantly) admit to his death.
But not to worry — she may as well marry one of them, as the soldiers at the end remark!
Listen to Soldier, Soldier
My favourite version on YouTube is this sung duet:
However this spoken version is also worth a listen:
How you can contribute
Find out why I’ve updated Rudyard Kipling’s Barrack Room Ballads — and the challenges that has involved. Feel free to:
- comment on your thoughts on my update
- comment your thoughts on the poem or my commentary
- contact me if you want to post about a modern take on Kipling
If you wish to support charities I recommend:
- Show Racism the Red Card — a British anti-racism educational charity
- The Invictus Games Foundation — a charity that uses sport and challenge to inspire, improve and influence the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women
- The Media Trust — helps mentor and develop people in the media from all backgrounds
- The Royal British Legion — UK charity that supports serving and ex-serving personnel
Finally if you do use my revised version of the texts please do cite me.
