Deserter's Song

DESCRIPTION: "I'd rather be on the Grandfather Mountain A-taking the snow and rain Than to be in Castle Thunder A-wearin' the ball and chain."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: prison prisoner Civilwar
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 384, "Deserter's Song" (1 fragment)
Roud #11752
NOTES [46 words]: Castle Thunder was a Confederate prison, used to hold captured Northern civilians.
Given the fragmentary state of the Brown text, it's not clear if this is a song in its own right or if the mention of Castle Thunder is just a zipped in reference to the Civil War prison. - RBW
File: Br3384

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