Southern Soldier Boy, The (Barbro Buck)

DESCRIPTION: "Barbro Buck is my sweetheart's name, He's off to the wars and gone, He's fighting for his Nannie dear, His sword is buckled on. He's fighting for his own true love, He is my only joy, He is the darling of my heart, My southern soldier boy."
AUTHOR: Words: Captain G.W. Alexander
EARLIEST DATE: 1864
KEYWORDS: love separation Civilwar
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 238, "Barbro Buck" (1 text)
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 196, "Barbara Buck" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 148-150, "The Southern Soldier Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-PoemsAndSongsOfTheCivilWar, p. 216, "The Southern Soldier Boy" (1 text)
ST R238 (Full)
Roud #3428
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boy with the Auburn Hair" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
War Song No 2 of the 69th Regiment ("Come all, you Irish hayroes, where iver that you be") (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, p. 168)
NOTES [86 words]: In the original Confederate version of this song, the hero's name is "Bob Roebuck." Tradition, however, has fairly consistently perverted this into "Barbro Buck."
The song was made popular by its appearance in the play "The Virginia Cavalier," a popular hit in the Richmond theatre. The original version was patriotic and political; this has faded from many of the traditional versions.
There are other pieces called "The Southern Soldier Boy" (e.g. by Father Ryan); I've yet to see one with the power of this one. - RBW
Last updated in version 3.5
File: R238

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