Sweet Soldier Boy- Mrs. Wilson (NC) 1930 Henry B
[From: Mellinger Henry's 1938 book, "Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands." His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2017]
SWEET WILLIAM
(Sailor Boy) See Campbell and Sharp, No. 106; Cox, No. no; Sharp ("One Hundred English Folk - Songs"), No. 72; Journal, XXIX, 199; XXX, 363; XXXI, 170; XXXV, 410; Heart Songs, Boston, 1909, p. 67 ("A Song of the Sea"); Franz Rickaby, Ballads and Songs of the Shanty Boy, pp. 85 ("The Pinery Boy"), 210.
B. "Sweet Soldier Boy." Obtained August 1, 1930, from Mrs. Ewart Wilson, wife of the grandson of "Big Tom" Wilson, famed hunter of the Black Mountains and the man who led the search for Professor Mitchell when he lost his life on Mt. Mitchell. Mrs. Wilson's address is Pensacola, N. C, which is on the Cane River at the western base of Mt. Mitchell.
1. Father, father, go, build me a boat
That I may over the ocean float,
And every ship that I pass by,
There I'll enquire for my soldier boy;
And every ship that I pass by,
There I'll enquire for my soldier boy.
2. She rowed her boat upon the main;
She saw three ships a-coming from Spain;
And every ship that she passed by,
There she enquired for her sweet soldier boy;
And every ship that she passed by,
There she enquired for her sweet soldier boy.
3. No, kind lady, he's not here;
They killed him in the battle, my dear,
At the head of rocky isle and as we passed by,
There we let your soldier lie;
At the head of rocky isle and as we passed by,
There we let your soldier lie.
4. She rowed her boat upon a rock;
I saw that lady's heart was broke;
She ran her fingers through her hair
Just like a lady in despair;
She ran her fingers through her hair
Just like a lady in despair.
5. Go, bring me a chair to sit upon,
A pen and ink to write it down.
At the end of every line she dropped a tear;
At the end of every verse she cried, "Oh, my dear."
At the end of every line she dropped a tear;
At the end of every verse she cried, "Oh, my dear."
6. Go, dig my grave both wide and deep
And place a marble slab at my head and at my feet;
And on my breast place a little turtle dove
To show the world that 1 died for love;
And on my breast place a little turtle dove
To show the world that 1 died for love.