"Travelin' Soldier"
Single by Dixie Chicks
from the album Home
Released	December 9, 2002
Genre	Country acoustic
Length	5:43
Label	Columbia Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Bruce Robison
Producer(s)	Dixie Chicks Lloyd Maines
Dixie Chicks singles chronology
"Landslide" (2002) "Travelin' Soldier" (2002) "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" (2003)

"Travelin' Soldier" is a song written by American country music artist Bruce Robison. He originally recorded the song in 1996 and later, in rewritten form, in 1999. Ty England later recorded it for his album Highways & Dance Halls (1999). The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, later recorded the song for their third studio album Home (2002). It was released as the third single from the album on December 9, 2002, although the group did perform the song before its release at the 2001 CMA Awards.

Receiving universal acclaim upon its release, "Travelin' Soldier" became the Chicks' sixth and final number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, then titled the "Hot Country Singles & Tracks" chart. Following the group's controversial statements on then US president George W. Bush, the song fell from the top spot to number three on the country charts before falling off the chart entirely. As of 2023, the song is the most recent top ten song on the country charts by the group.

Content

The song is a tale about a shy, lonesome, young American soldier who strikes up a conversation and later a correspondence with a high school girl during the Vietnam War era. Americana details pervade the lyrics as the song details the correspondence as a relationship forms between the two, despite the insurmountable distance. The last letter from the soldier mentions that "it's gettin' kinda rough over here" and he "won't be able to write for a while" before skipping ahead to a football game at the girl's high school. After the anthem and Lord's Prayer, the local soldiers who died in the war are announced. The soldier's name is on the list, but only the girl, who is there, recognizes his name. She mourns for him as stated in the line "One name read and nobody really cared but a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair."

A version of the song featuring Natalie Maines, Bruce Robison and Robison's wife, Kelly Willis, appears on KGSR's Broadcasts Vol. 13 album.^[1]

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, rated the song No. 17 on his list of the 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade. He stated that "it's the story between the lines that drives home the tragedy, as both main characters have a palpable sense of loneliness that they finally find relief from in one another just before they are ripped permanently apart."^[2]

Charts

The song debuted at No. 58 on Hot Country Songs on February 16, 2002, based on a live recording from the Country Music Association telecast in the previous November,^[3] eventually peaking at No. 57. It was not officially released as a single until late 2002, when it peaked at No. 1 on the same chart, in early 2003; additionally, the song charted within the Billboard Top 40, at the No. 25 spot.

Other versions

Sheryl Crow released a cover in 2003, shortly after the Dixie Chicks' version fell from No. 1.

Home Free released a cover in 2021 with the gender roles reversed, on their album Land of the Free.

See also

• List of anti-war songs

References