Give Us a Song

DESCRIPTION: "'Give us a song,' the soldier cried, the outer trenches guarding." On the eve of an attack against the Russian forts the soldiers sing 'Annie Laurie' and think about Irish Norah or English Mary. The soldier is killed by mortar fire.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (Greig/Duncan1)
KEYWORDS: love battle death music Russia
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greig/Duncan1 108, "Give Us a Song" (1 text)
Roud #5786
NOTES [91 words]: Greig/Duncan1: "The song seems most likely to refer to the unsuccessful assault of 18 June 1855 but it could apply to the attack later that year on 8 September immediately before the Russians abandoned Sebastopol." - BS
I would hesitate to attribute it to any particular event; there were so many small clashes in the siege of Sebastopol that the "candidate" attacks must number in the dozens. But it is patently a Crimean War song: Even if you ignore the mentions of the Russians, the description of fortifications and mortars assures that. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD1108

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