My Bonny Brown Jane

DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls courting a girl with a "false flattering tongue." He courts Jane, but another earns her love. He enlists in the army "to fight for my queen in a far country." Lonely at night, he prays "for her welfare; what can I do more?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love rejection soldier floatingverses
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H613, p. 396, "My Bonny Brown Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7000
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "The Comely Young Dame" (on IRRCinnamond02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "William and Nancy (II) (Courting Too Slow) [Laws P5]" (lyrics)
cf. "The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass)" (theme)
NOTES [28 words]: This has many lyric similarities to "William and Nancy," and also a bit of "The False Bride." But the ending about enlisting as a soldier makes the song distinct. - RBW
File: HHH613

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