The Soldier and the Maid- A.L. Lloyd (Lon) 1956 REC
[From the 1956 Tradition album "The Foggy Dew and Other Traditional English Love Songs" by A.L. Lloyd. His comments in the liner notes follow. See also ENGLISH STREET SONGS 1960; Riverside RLP 12-614 12" 34.
R. Matteson 2018]
The encounter of the licentious soldier with the obliging young girl was an old story when Roman troops patrolled the great wall between England and Scotland. For newer versions, listen to the gossip around any army camp, any day, anywhere. Of the many ballads in the family of The Trooper and the Maid, this is perhaps the best. The song glides along the razor-edge between merryment and cruelty and maybe that has commended it to the imagination of many singers. This is another of those ballads which words are usually “cleansed” in print.
The Soldier and the Maid- as sung by A.L. Lloyd in 1956. No source given.
As I went out on one May morning,
On one May morning early,
I met a maid upon the way
And oh she was her mother's darling.
Chorus (repeated after each verse):
With me toorin ah, fol the diddle ah,
Starva lump fol the daddy o
Her shoes was bright, her stockings white,
And her hair hung down her shoulder.
She had a black and a rovin' eye
And all her teeth they shone like silver.
“Where are you going, my pretty little miss,
Where are you going, my honey?”
She answered me quite modestly,
“I'm on an errant for my mummy.”
“How old are you, my pretty little miss,
How old are you, my darling?”
She answered me quite modestly,
“Well I'll be sixteen year come a Monday morning.”
“Could you fancy a man, my pretty little miss,
Could you fancy a man, my honey?
She answered me quite modestly,
“Well I daren't for my mummy.”
“But if you'll come to my mummy's house
When the moon shines bright and clearly,
I will come down and let you in
So my mummy shall not hear me.”
Oh I went to her mother's house
When the moon shone bright as dawning.
She did come down and let me in
And she rolled in my arms till the morning.
About the hour of six o'clock
We heard the bugles blowing.
The little gal gave a thrilling cry,
“Oh by Jiminy I am ruined!”
“So now farewell, my pretty little miss,
And let this be a warning.
The drum and fife is my delight
And I'll be back for your mummy in the morning.”