Ben Battle (Faithless Nelly Gray)

DESCRIPTION: "Ben Battle was a soldier bold, And used to war's alarms, But a cannon-ball took off his legs, So he laid down his arms." His girlfriend Nelly Gray despises his peg legs. He hands himself. They bury him in "four cross-roads"
AUTHOR: Thomas Hood (1799-1845)
EARLIEST DATE: 1832 (The Vocal Annual, according to Jackson-EarlySongsOfUncleSam)
KEYWORDS: humorous soldier injury rejection suicide death burial
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-EarlySongsOfUncleSam, pp. 168-170, "Faithless Nelly Gray" (1 text)
Roud #13385
File: JESU168

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