The Soldier's Love- Cottenham (Kent) c.1925
[From Frampton: Musical Traditions Internet Magazine (article 30). This version was learned after World War I and similarly was found after World War II - it has the suicide and is short.
R. Matteson 2017]
Notes: This was learnt from his father, who had it form a colleague who presumably served in the First World War, and is a version of Died for Love. Similar words appear in many places, e.g. Martin Page's Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major. Edna was convinced that Fred "had some of the words wrong", but speaking of his memory said: "that wasn't bad for a kid".
The Soldier's Love- sung by Fred Cottenham, of Chiddingstone, Kent. Learned from his father when he was young.
A soldier came on leave one night,
He found his house without a light,
He went upstairs to go to bed,
When a sudden thought came to his head.
He went into his daughter's room,
And found her hanging from a beam,
He took his knife and cut her down,
And on her breast these words were found.
My love was for a soldier boy,
Who sailed across the deep blue sea,
I often thought and wrote to him,
But now he never thought of me.
I wish my baby had been born,
Then all my troubles would have gone,
So dig my grave and dig it deep,
And place white roses at my feet.
Now, all you maidens, bear in mind,
A soldier's love is hard to find.
But if you find one good and true,
Never change the old love for the new.