US & Canadian Versions: Child 7A. Lady & the Dragoon; Roud 321 (Soldier's Wooing," "Bold Soldier," "New River Shore," "Red River Shore,")
[There are no versions in the US or Canada locally titled, "The Lady and the Dragoon ("Dragoon" being the British word for "soldier"). The most common title would be, "The Bold Soldier." In 1922 Tolman and Eddy published a version and titled it "Soldier's Wooing" which is an alternative title found in some collections. This, however, is not a local title. Another popular title was "Valiant Soldier," used by Randolph and others. "Valiant Dragoon" is the title of a Scottish print version c. 1800, Edinburgh.
The US/Canadian versions stem from rewrites of the two English broadsides printed before the seventeenth century. The fundamental broadside, "The Seaman's Renown," was printed about 1670 at the Angel in Duck Lane, London (Roxburghe dates it 1673). A revised c. 1695 print titled "Master-piece of Love-Songs" (or "The Bold Keeper") is the likely progenitor of all the Bold Soldier/Bold Dragoon prints which were rewritten from "Masterpiece" about 1800. The new print versions eliminated the opening stanza and wooing dialogue of the 1600s prints. The first US print was included in the 1800 edition of Echo, or Columbian Songster under the title, "The Bold Soldier." It was reprinted in "Minot Baker's favourite collection of ancient and modern songs," an edition handwritten in pen, published in Boston, 1809. The nearly identical Coverly broadside was printed in Boston c.1810, here the text:
1. I'll tell you of a soldier, who lately came from war,
who courted a lady of honor, rich and fair;
Her fortune was so great, that it scarcely could be told,
But yet, she lov'd the soldier, because he was so bold.
2. She said, my dearest jewel, I would fain be your wife,
But my dadda is so cruel, I fear he'll end my life.
He took his sword and pistols, and hung them by his side,
And swore that he would marry her, Whatever might betide.
3. When they had been to church, and returning home again,
Her old dadda met them, with seven armed men;
O dear, said the lady, I fear we shall be slain.
Fear nothing, my charmer, the soldier said again.
4. The old man to his daughter, with a great frown did say,
Is this your behavior? Is this your merry day?
Since you have been so silly, as to be a soldier's wife,
Here in this lonesome valley, I'll end your pleasant life.
5. And then spake up the soldier, I do not like this prattle,
Although I am a bridegroom, and unprepar'd for battle;
He snatch'd his sword and pistols, and made them all to rattle,
And the lady held the horse, while the soldier fought the battle.
6. The first man he came to, he quickly had him slain,
The next man he came to, he ran him through amain,
Let's flee, cry'd the rest, for we soon shall all be slain,
To fight with this brave soldier, is altogether vain.
7. Pray, stay your hand, the old man cry'd, you make my blood run cold,
I'll give you with my daughter, five thousand pounds in gold;
Fight on, says the lady, my portion is too small,
O, stay your hand, dear soldier, and you shall have it all.
8. He took the soldier home, acknowledged him his heir,
'T was not because he loved him, But 'twas for dread and fear.
There never is a soldier, who's fit to carry a gun,
Will ever flinch, or start an inch, till the battle he has won.
9. Despise not a soldier because that he is poor,
He's happy in the field as at the barrack door,
Is bold, brisk, and airy, brave, sociable, and free,
As willing to fight for love, as for his Liberty.
Subsequent traditional versions are based on this text. One fascinating branch of this ballad is the "New River Shore" (Brown Collection) or "Red River Shore," which is not widely accepted as a version of "The Bold Soldier." As "the Bold Soldier" is a secondary ballad of Earl Brand and Erlinton, the "Shore" ballads are a secondary ballad of "The Bold Soldier." Sharp lists the version he collected titled, "The Green Briar Shore," separate from his "Lady and the Bold Dragoon/Bold Soldier" versions. It may have been notes by Barry on Low River Shore" in 1931 that first pointed out the similarity of this ballad with Erlinton (also Earl Brand) and "The Soldier's Wooing" (Bold Soldier). Following Randolph (Ozark Folksongs), I'm listing them here (rather than have an appendix of an appendix- sounds like a ghastly medical operation!!!).
The first extant version of "The New River Shore" was published in Frank Moore's Anecdotes, Poetry and Incidents of the War: North and South: 1860-1865, dating to the Civil War. Other versions include Randolph C, "White River Shore" which clearly shows the connecting stanzas from both ballads and Randolph D, "Dear Jewell," a variant of Red River Shore. The various Shore titles include Sharp's 1917 "Green Briar Shore." The Shore ballads are usually mixed with stanzas from other ballads. The ending stanzas appear in "The Wagoner's Lad" and the opening line "At the foot of yonders mountain" is found in versions of "Pretty Saro." Of this branch are a subsection of this ballad which are cowboy songs, first published in 1926 by Dobie as "On Red River Shore." The sword has now been replaced by a six-shooter!! Some related versions, like the Carter Family's "Girl on the Greenbriar Shore," (also the Canadian "Green Briar Shore" collected by Fowke), have lost the entire ballad story and are now merely songs with floating lyrics, not ballads.
As well as being an Appalachian ballad and cowboy song, the "Red River Shore" has been done as a folk/bluegrass song by the Kingston Trio in 1965. Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz71OswhdzM. It's likely the "Red River Shore" inspired Bob Dylan's original composition of the same title.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014, 2018]
CONTENTS: (To view individual texts- click on title below or see attached to this page on left column)
1) Bold Soldier (MA) Echo, or The Columbian Songster; c.1800 [text currently unavailable, See Coverly] Mentioned first by Kittredge in the 1917 JAFL. Printed ca. 1800 or earlier in The Echo: or, Columbian Songster, 2d ed., Brookfield, Mass., pp. 150-152. Published by Ebenezer and Daniel Merriam who started in 1797.
2) Bold Soldier- (MA) from "Minot Baker's favourite collection of ancient and modern songs," a handwritten edition, Boston, 1809. https://archive.org/stream/MinotBakersAncientAndModernSongs/271174#page/n19/mode/2up See also Cloverly's print c. 1810.
3) The Bold Soldier- (MA) 1810 Coverly Broadside [Partial Text Available]- From the broadside--The Bold Soldier: Together with Sweet Pig of Richmond Hill, printed by Nathaniel Coverly, corner of Theater Alley, Boston; 1810.
4) The Bold Soldier- W.S.C. (MA) 1850s Barry C--My title, text printed without spelling corrections as it appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript, "Notes and Queries," November 26, 1921 sent in by W.S.C., who says it was learned "from an old shoemaker, who, in my boyhood days, in the early fifties. . ." Reprinted in British Ballads from Maine, Barry, Eckstrom and Smythe, 1929.
5) New River Shore- Landreth (MO) c.1864 Moore--Corrected title. This is the first extant version "New River Shore," which forms a group of "Shore" songs that are related to "The Bold Soldier." From Frank Moore's Anecdotes, Poetry and Incidents of the War: North and South: 1860-1865. In William Forse Scott's 1893 book, "The Story of a Cavalry Regiment," we find that Landreth, a rebel, fought in the Civil War for Shelby in Price's army: "It was found among papers lost by William H. Landreth, who was with Shelby in Price's army, in Missouri, in 1864."
6) A Soldier of Late- William A. Larkins, 1866, Musick--From: The Old Album of William A. Larkin by Ruth Ann Musick; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 60, No. 237 (Jul. - Sep., 1947), pp. 201-251. Larkin's handwritten collection of songs and ballads dated 1866 has some excellent early texts.
7) The Valiant Soldier- Marston (ME) 1866 Barry A
The Bold Soldier- Young (ME) 1872 Barry B
The Bold Soldier- Dean (VT) 1878 Flanders D
On Red River Shore- Parks (OK) c.1890 Dobie
The Soldier- Ashby (MO) c1898 Belden
Red River Shore- Watley (AR) 1908 Wolf REC
A Soldier- Summer (OH) pre1908 Eddy A
The Soldier- L.A. (NJ) 1908; Barry JOAFL 1910
I'll Tell You of a Soldier- (VA) 1915 Martha Davis
The Little Soldier- Mary Sands (NC) 1916 Sharp A
The Soldier- Wimberly (LA) 1916 Pound
A Soldier- Stockton (TN) 1916 Sharp B
Valiant Soldier- Baker (MI) 1916 Gardner A
Bold Soldier- McAtee (WV) 1917 Cox
A Little Soldier- Stamper (KY) 1917 Sharp C
The Green Briar Shore- Wooton (KY) 1917 Sharp
The Bold Soldier- MacRae (NC) 1917 Brown A
A Gallant Soldier- Dooley (VA) 1918 Sharp F
The Soldier- Fitzgerald (VA) 1918 Sharp D
Little Young Soldier- Boone (NC) 1918 Sharp G
The Soldier- Blankenship (NC) 1918 Sharp H
The Bold Soldier- Chisholm (VA) 1918 Sharp E
New River Shore-Palmer (NS) 1919 Mackenzie
Honored Soldier- Hobes (AR) 1919 Randolph B
The Yankee Soldier- Buchanan (NC) c1921 Brown C
New River Shore- Tillett(NC) 1922 Brown Collection
A Soldier- Tillett (NC) 1922 Chappell/ Brown
Five Thousand Pound in Gold- O'Mar(NB) 1927 Barry
A Jolly Soldier- Barnes (NC) 1927 Brown 4D
The Valiant Soldier- Patton (MO) 1928 Randolph A
The Gallan Soldier- Harmon (TN) 1930 Henry
The Poor Soldier- Kennison (VT) 1930 Flanders F
Young Soldier- Varnell (GA) 1932 Henry B
Song of a Soldier- Hartlan (NS) 1932 Creighton
The Poor Soldier- George (VT) 1933 Flanders C
Bold Soldier- Edwards (VT) 1934 Flanders H; Cazden
The Valiant Soldier- Forbes (NC) 1934 Chappell B
The Soldier's Wooing- Bryant (IN) 1935 Brewster
Red River Shore- Morgan (TX) 1937 Lomax
A Brave Soldier- Morris (VA) 1937 Scarborough
Red River Shore- Critchlow (UT) 1938 Lomax
Dear Jewell- Poynter (AR) 1939 Randolph D
A Soldier- Brubaker (OH) pre1939 Eddy B
Dear Soldier- Topper (OH) pre1939 Eddy C
The Bold Soldier- Moses (NH) 1939 Flanders G
Bold Soldier- (NY) pre1939 Thompson
Rich Lady from London- Hicks (NC) 1940 Brown 4A
White River Shore- Ingenthron(MO) 1940 Randolph C
Bold Soldier- Blind street singer (IL) c.1940 Ives
Only a Soldier- Lena Bourne Fish (NH) 1941 Warner
Girl On The Greenbriar Shore- Carter (VA) 1941 REC
The Soldier- Richards (NH) 1942 Flanders A
New River Shore- Meekins (NC) 1943 Brown
The Valiant Soldier- Glasscock (NC) 1943 Brown B
The Bold Soldier- Frye (NC) 1945 Brown D
Bold Soldier- George Edwards (NY) c.1948 Cazden
On Red River Shore- Drake (TX) 1952 Owens
Gallant Soldier- Richardson (VT) 1953 Flanders E
The Soldier's Wife- Griffin (AR) 1953 Parler A
The Soldier's Wife- Pennington (AR) 1954 Parler B
The Soldier's Wife- Glenn (AR) 1954 Parler C
Red River Shore- Glenn (AR) 1954 Parler E
White River Shore- Ingenthron (MO) 1958 Hunter
Red River Shore- Quigley (AR) 1958 Max Hunter
Green Briar Shore- Combs (AR) 1958 Parler D
Valiant Soldier- Delorme(NY) 1960 Pete Seeger REC
Red River Shore- Davis (AR) 1960 Max Hunter REC
The Green Briar Shore- Brandon (ON) 1962 Fowke
Red River Shore- (CA) 1965 Kingston Trio REC
The Raftsman- (WI) 1962 Duell, Sloan and Pearce
Little Soldier Boy- Dunn (TN) 1965 Manning/Burton
Red River Shore- Fife: Cowboy Songs; pub. 1969
Little Soldier- Wallin (NC) 1980 Yates
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Missing versions-
Gentry, Jane Hicks. Smith, Betty N. / Jane Hicks Gentry. A Singer Among Singers, U. Ky, Sof (1998), p164/#24 [1917/07/27] (Lady and the Dragoon)
White, Everett. Folksongs and Ballads, Vol 1. Everett White, Augusta Heritage AHR 007, Cas (1991), trk# 2.05 (Brisk Young Soldier)
Red River shore- Lomax, Alan; and the Dupree Family. Raise a Ruckus Tonight & Have a Hootenanny, Kapp KL 1316, LP (196?), trk# 8 (probably a rendition of an earlier collected version- Critchlow 1938.)
on the Red River Shore
She wrote me a letter,
She wrote it so kind
And in that lettter,
These words you will find.
Come back to me darling
You're the one I adore
SOLDIER AND THE LADY, THE (may be version of related ballad Nightingale, not bold soldier)
Source Leach, Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast (1965) pp.100-101
Performer Letto, Ben
Place collected Canada : Labrador : Lance au Clair
Collector Leach, MacEdward
OLLY SOLDIER, THE
Source Grover, Heritage of Songs pp.92-93
Performer Grover, Mrs. Carrie
Place collected USA : Maine
DRAGOON BOLD, THE
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.117
Performer Peake, John
Place collected USA : Virginia : Hopewell Gap
Collector Morton, Susan R.
SOLDIER SONG
Source Virginia Folklore Society Collection (Univ. Virginia, Charlotteville)
Performer Morris, Mrs. Victoria
Place collected USA : Virginia : Mount Fair
Collector Davis, Arthur Kyle ; Virginia Folklore Society's recording of Victoria Morris singing "The Soldier Boy," a ballad drawn from the
British
SOLDIER WHO IS LATELY FROM THE WAR, A
Source Virginia Folklore Society Collection (Univ. Virginia, Charlotteville)
Performer Grubb, Minter
Place collected USA : Virginia : Back Creek
Collector Peel, Alfreda M.
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