Harvey Andrews (born May 7 1943 in Birmingham) is a is a British folk music singer, songwriter, and poet.

From 1964, Andrews supported his nascent career as a singer/songwriter by working as a schoolteacher, before becoming a full-time professional musician in 1966.

Andrews has produced 15 successful albums singing his own songs, many of which have also been recorded by other artists. The lyrics of his songs have been highly praised and were used in course work for the GCSE English language examination. Other lyrics have been included in the Oxford University Press Book of English Traditional Verse.

His emotive The Soldier transmits the same quiet desperation of a soldier about to die "in conflict" as Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est, though in a very different setting. In fact, the contrast of a battlefield to a commonplace urban setting and the proximity of children makes the situation even more poingnant and the waste of a young life even more tragic.

Hey Sandy on the album Writer of Songs details the death of a female student, shot by the National Guard at the Kent State University anti-war demonstration of 1970. Again the senseless loss of a young life in conflict is brought to the fore. The recording was never issued in America. It reached number 2 in the New Zealand chart in November 1972.

In stark contrast, his autobiographical Boothferry Bridge and Gift of a Brand New day reflect the contentment of the simple pleasures of everyday life.

External links

• Lyrics to Andrews' "The Soldier"
• Official Site