I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier

"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" is an American anti-war song that was influential within the pacifist movement that existed in the United States before it entered World War I.

[3] Lyricist Alfred Bryan collaborated with composer Al Piantadosi in writing the song,[4] which inspired a sequel, some imitations, but also a number of scornful parodies.

[7] "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" helped solidify the anti-war movement enough to make it politically relevant on the national stage.

[8] The song's success and its resulting political strength brought supporters to the pacifist movement whose main priority was other issues.

[1] As with the later 1930s hit "God's Country", it shows that American popular music "generally reflects the isolationist tendencies of the public" and that pro-war songwriters were rarely successful.

[9] "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" was praised especially by anti-Britain groups in the United States – Irish, German, and Church ministers of many denominations.

In 1968 the Eli Radish Band recorded an updated Outlaw Country Rock version of the song to protest the Vietnam War.

"[1][7] According to Groucho Marx, a popular joke of the period concerned a poker game in which a cardplaying mother states "I didn't raise my boy, he had the joker".