History of the American tunes selected for the O'Connor String Playing Method. Official website of the O'Connor Method at www.oconnormethod.com
Friday, July 15, 2011
One of the most popular fiddle tune in history, “Soldier’s Joy” can be traced to collections published in London and Scandinavia in the middle 1700s. Early versions can be traced to Scotland, and variants found in the French Alps and Newfoundland. The tune was also well known in Ireland.
As is the case with many fiddle tunes, lyrics were added later. In America, “Soldier’s Joy” eventually came to be known as the morphine used by Civil War soldiers when they were injured in battle. A popular lyric for the tune was: “Twenty-five cents for the old morphine, now carry me away from here.”