X:92010670
T:RVW2/1/67 The Young Soldier
F:http://www.vwml.org/record/RVW2/1/67
C:Sung by Mr. Flint, a shepherd, (came from West Grinstead, Sussex)
C:Taylor's Farm, Lyne, Surrey, August 20th 1907
Z:Transcribed by Lewis Jones and Simon Furey.
L:1/8
Q:"(Editorial suggestion)" 3/8=40
M:6/8
K:Edor
B/A/ | GAB DE(F/G/) | AFG E2E/F/ |"^(a)" GA(B/c/) dBB |
w: O a jol-ly young sol-dier a_ let-ter did write to his own dear-est_ true love, his
ecA B2 d/c/ | BAF DE(F/G/) | AFG E2 |
w: joy and de-light; O a jol-ly young sol-dier a_ let-ter did write,
|: E/F/ | GAB dBB | ecA B2 :|
w: and as soon as she saw it his writ-ing she knew,
d/c/ |BAF DEF/G/ | A F G E2 |]
w: saying it comes from my true love from the mountains of Vi-go.
W:
W:1. O a jolly young soldier a letter did write
W:To his own dearest true love, his joy and delight; 
W:And as soon as she saw it his writing she knew,
W:Saying it comes from my true love from the mountains of Vigo.
W:
W:2. O take this kind letter, take it as a friend,
W:Here's never no good fortune, here is to our end,
W:Here's captains and colonels and ensigns also,
W:We must lose our sweet lives on this mountain of Vigo.
W:
W:3. Don't you see our British soldiers down by yonder hills
W:The French cannot touch them with their cannon balls.
W:
%%begintext
%%Editorial notes: This piece presents a number of difficulties. First, it is misnamed as
%%"The Jolly Sailor" in the VWML catalogue. Secondly, there is a section in the score without
%%words but marked with a ditto symbol in line with the lyrics. The editors have interpreted 
%%this as an instruction to repeat the previous lyrics. Thirdly, the text stops in the middle
%%of the third verse, thus making it just a fragment. Nevertheless, the piece is recognisable
%%both from the words and the tune as a version of "It's of a Young Soldier" collected by 
%%W. Percy Merrick from Henry Hills of Lodsworth, Sussex in 1900 (Roud 1719).
%%endtext