Annotation:Old Soldier (2) (The)
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OLD SOLDIER (WITH A WOODEN LEG) [2], THE. AKA and see "Red Haired Boy," "Wooden Leg." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, West Virginia. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A version of the "Gilderoy" tune family, with several alternate titles being taken (especially in West Virginia) from one set of lyrics (see below) set to the tune (i.e. "Wooden Leg", "Old Soldier," "Old Solider with the Wooden Leg" etc.). See Bayard's (1944) note for "Annotation:Gilderoy (2)" (Guilderoy) for more information.
There was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg,
He had no tobacco and tobacco he would beg.
Says this old soldier: "Won't you give me a chew?"
Says t'other old soldier: "I'll be darned if I do." .... (Ford)
Also, another set of lyrics:
Oh, there was a little hen and she had a wooden foot,
And she laid her eggs in the mulberry root.
She laid more eggs than any hen on the farm,
Another little drink wouldn't do us any harm.
Chorus:
Save up your money, and save up your chalk,
And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box. .... (Ford)
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; p. 38.
Recorded sources: