A Jolly Soldier- Barnes (NC) 1927 Brown 4D
[From, The Brown Collection Vol. 4, 1952, single stanza w/music.
R. Matteson 2014]
86. The Soldier's Wooing
This old broadside ballad — it goes back at least to the seventeenth century — bears some resemblance in its central scene to 'Earl Brand' (Child 7) and to 'Erlinton' (Child 8) but is quite different in temper and has maintained an identity of its own through many generations. It is widely known and sung. See B.SI-I 103, and add to the references there given Virginia (FSV 66), North Carolina (FSRA 88-90), Tennessee (BTFLS 11 9-10), the Ozarks (OPS I 303-7), Ohio (BSO 14-17), Illinois (JAFL LXX 215-16), and Michigan (BSSM 380-1). [See music below]
D. [A Jolly Soldier] 'The Bold Soldier.' Sung by M. T. Barnes. Recorded at Alliance, Pamlico county, in 1927. Another title given is 'A Jolly Soldier.' The story and text are very similar to SharpK i 333-7, No. 51 A, C, E, and G.
Scale: Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: e-flat. Structure: abab1cciaib (2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2) = aa1ba1 (4,4,4,4) = Reprisenbar.