We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Willy

by Cari Minor

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

about

I wrote this song as a tribute to the over 400 (some estimate it could even be 1000 or more) women who fought dressed as men in the Civil War. Many women joined the army to join their husbands, brothers and fathers as a way to be near to them and also to make some money for their families. There are five documented cases of women who gave birth in the camps next to the battlefields and one who actually gave birth in the trenches outside of Petersburg in the rain and the mud in the cold month of February. These are the unsung women heroes of our history.

lyrics

WILLY

Willy left town on August 23
to join the local infantry.
Marched out of town to the fife and drum
and carried my heart into the morning sun.

Men in town won't leave me alone
they keep coming by my home.
Gotta make a plan, gotta leave this place.
Gonna find Willy and his sweet face.

I cut my hair and bound my chest,
put on the union blue and tossed my dress.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.

Two weeks out I found my boy,
we held back our tears of joy.
Walked into the woods to be alone,
"Jessie oh Jessie, please go back home".

I have come to fight with you,
please don't tell me what to do.
I will stay here by your side.
Dressed as a man but still your bride.

I cut my hair and bound my chest,
put on the union blue and tossed my dress.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.

Marched into the corn 10 feet high,
gray coats took us by surprise.
I lost sight of Willy that night,
didn't find him til the morning light.

Willy oh Willy please don't go away,
we've got a baby on the way.
His last breath hit the morning chill,
there and then I lost my Will.

I cut my hair and bound my chest,
put on the union blue and tossed my dress.
This world can be so cold and cruel.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.

I cut my hair and bound my chest,
put on the union blue and tossed my dress.
This world can be so cold and cruel.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.
Sometimes a girls gotta do what a man can do.

credits

released August 10, 2016
Written by Cari Minor, Cari vocal and bouzouki, Ray Smith vocal and guitar.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Cari Minor image

Cari Minor Rollinsville, Colorado

contact / help

Contact Cari Minor

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Cari Minor, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now