Paisley Officer, The (India's Burning Sands) [Laws N2]

DESCRIPTION: Henry, an officer from Paisley, meets and falls in love with Mary. His regiment having been called to India, (they are married and) she dresses as a soldier to accompany him. He is fatally injured; she is killed caring for him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks, plus Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan, who also mention a manuscript copy dated 1884); there are sundry 19C broadsides
KEYWORDS: courting marriage cross-dressing soldier death battle India
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Laws N2, "The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands)"
Greig/Duncan1 185, "The Paisley Officer" (2 texts)
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, pp. 308-310, "The Paisley Officer" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H120, pp. 332-333, "Blythe and Bonny Scotland/India's Burning Sands" (1 text, 1 tune, composite)
Graham-Joe-Holmes-SongsMusicTraditionsOfAnUlsterman 34, "India's Burning Sands" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride-FlowerOfDunaffHillAndMoreTradSongsInnishowen, pp. 65,75, "The Paisley Officer" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior-TraditionalSongsOfNovaScotia, pp. 192-193, "The Paisley Officer" (2 texts)
Creighton-MaritimeFolkSongs, pp. 158-159, "The Paisley Officer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie-BalladsAndSeaSongsFromNovaScotia 51, "Bonny Scotland" (2 texts)
Guigné-ForgottenSongsOfTheNewfoundlandOutports, pp. 191-195, "In Bright and Bonny Scotland (The Paisley Officer)" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Ives-FolksongsOfNewBrunswick, pp. 153-157, "The Paisley Officer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan 86, "The Village Pride" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks, pp. 85-87, "In Blithe and Bonnie Fair Scotland" (1 text)
Flanders/Ballard/Brown/Barry-NewGreenMountainSongster, pp. 19-21, "India's Burning Sangs" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 438, PAISLYOF
Roud #550
RECORDINGS:
Sara Cleveland, "In Bonny Scotland" (on SCleveland01)
Charlotte Decker, "In Bright and Bonny Scotland" (on NFAGuigné01)
Warde Ford, "India's Burning Sands" [fragment] (AFS 4199Bx1, 1938; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Mrs. Ghaney, "Bonny Hills of Scotland" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
John James, "Bonnie Hills of Scotland" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
John Kehoe, "Bonny Hills of Scotland" (on MUNFLA/Leach)]
Eta Nash, "The Bonny Hills Of Scotland" (on ITMA/CapeShoreNL)
Theresa White, "On the Bonny Hills of Scotland" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(234a), "The Paisley Officer," Sanderson (Edinburgh), 1830-1910; also 2806 c.14(124), "The Paisley Officer"
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(198), "The Paisley Officer," unknown, c.1840; also L.C.178.A.2(198); RB.m.169(070), "The Paisley Officer"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear"
cf. "The Fair Town of Greenock" (theme)
cf. "The Lad in the Scotch Brigade (The Banks of the Clyde)" (theme)
NOTES [79 words]: The description of this song at the Bodleian site associates this with the Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1858) -- but note that the National Library of Scotland broadsides probably predate this. - BS, RBW
For notes on legitimate historical examples of women serving in the military in disguise, see the notes to "The Soldier Maid." - RBW
One of Guigné-ForgottenSongsOfTheNewfoundlandOutports's texts is a verse from a Newfoundland version collected by the Fudges during the 1960s. - BS
Last updated in version 4.5
File: LN02

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