Deserter from Kent, The

DESCRIPTION: A deserter comes to join the harvesting. He talks too freely to a man in the tavern, who informs on him. He is arrested, taken to jail, then marched through the streets as he is returned to his regiment. The singer curses all informers.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907
KEYWORDS: army desertion betrayal soldier curse
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) New Zealand
REFERENCES (5 citations):
VaughanWilliams/Lloyd-PenguinBookOfEnglishFolkSongs, pp. 32-33, "The Deserter from Kent" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacColl/Seeger-TravellersSongsFromEnglandAndScotland 87, "The Deserter from Kent" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dallas-TheCruelWars-100SoldiersSongs, pp. 165-166, "The Deserter from Kent" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colquhoun-NZ-Folksongs-SongOfAYoungCountry, p. 62, "May the Devil Reward" (1 text, 1 tune, with significant changes to fit New Zealand) (p. 38 in the 1972 edition, where the title "The Gay Deserter" is used)
DT, DESERTR
Roud #2510
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rambling Royal"
File: VWL032

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