Brother Green

DESCRIPTION: The dying singer asks Brother Green to write a letter to his wife, "For the southern foe has laid me low." He prays for his family, tells his wife not to grieve, and remembers his brothers who are fellow soldiers for the Union. He prays (and dies)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar dying soldier
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,Ro,SE,So)
REFERENCES (21 citations):
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, p. 377, "Brother Green" (1 fragment)
Randolph 211, "Brother Green" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Riddle-ASingerAndHerSongs, pp. 38-39, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moore/Moore-BalladsAndFolkSongsOfTheSouthwest 180, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Owens-TexasFolkSongs-1ed, pp. 274-275, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Owens-TexasFolkSongs-2ed, p. 77, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hubbard-BalladsAndSongsFromUtah, #149, "Brother Green" (1 text)
Eddy-BalladsAndSongsFromOhio 111, "The Song of Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wyman/Brockway-LonesomeSongs-KentuckyMountains-Vol1, p. 18 "Brother Green, or the Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuson-BalladsOfTheKentuckyHighlands, pp. 193-194, "Brother Green" (1 text)
Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads, pp. 13-14, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 212-213, "Brother Green" (1 text)
Roberts-SangBranchSettlers, #24, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 72, "Brother Green" (2 texts)
Gainer-FolkSongsFromTheWestVirginiaHills, pp. 153-154, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 393, "Brother Green" (1 very full text plus mention of 2 more)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 393, "Brother Green" (2 tunes plus text excerpts)
Brewster-BalladsAndSongsOfIndiana 47, "Brother Green" (1 text)
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 250-251, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-SoldierSongsAndHomeFrontBalladsOfCivilWar, p. 15, "Brother Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Richard M. Dorson, _Buying the Wind: Regional Folklore in the United States_, University of Chicago Press, 1964, pp. 397-399, "Brother Green, or The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST R211 (Partial)
Roud #3395
RECORDINGS:
Carter Family, "The Dying Soldier" (Montgomery Ward M-4735, 1935)
Clarence Ganus, "The Dying Soldier" (Vocalion 5396, 1930; rec. 1929)
Buell Kazee, "The Dying Soldier" (Brunswick 214, 1928; on TimesAint01, KMM)
Doug & Berzilla Wallin, "Brother Green" (on FarMtns3)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Barbara Allen" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Go Tell Little Mary Not to Weep
NOTES [54 words]: Various legends swirl about the origin of this song; they are not compelling. Although every text known to me is from the Civil War (usually Union; Randolph mentions a Confederate text), the name, style, and reference to the Virgin Mary (in some versions; others manage to cover it up) lead one to suspect Irish ancestry. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.3
File: R211

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