ABSTRACT
The Jolly Soldier upheld standard stereotypes of the soldier making cuckolds of other men. Its most important message was that servicemen eschewed the standard adult male goals of the time, particularly marriage, but also farming and leading a responsible life. Instead, the “jolly soldier” could simply use women to get food and shelter and then move on to the next town. The expression “we make them chips” in reference to the girls’ laughing and telling “cuckold’s tales” probably referred to the soldiers’ making the cuckolded men seem worthless, like slivers of wood. As with songs such as Rambling Soldier, The Jolly Soldier could have been a recruiter’s pitch with its tale of the happy, tax-free, sex-filled life in the army.
