Gee, the Traditional Ballad Index doesn't have much on this song:

Trooper Cut Down in His Prime, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a trooper "wrapped up in flannel yet colder than clay." He dies as "the bugles were playin'," and details of the burial are given. His gravestone warns, "Flash-girls of the city have quite ruined me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979
KEYWORDS: death disease whore burial funeral soldier
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Darling-NAS, p. 6, "The Trooper Cut Down In His Prime" (1 text)
Roud #2
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Streets of Laredo" [Laws B1] (tune & meter, plot) and references there
cf. "The Unfortunate Rake" (tune & meter, plot)
cf. "The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime)" [Laws Q26] (tune & meter, plot)
cf. "The Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" (tune & meter, plot)
NOTES: One of the large group of ballads ("The Bard of Armagh," "Saint James Hospital," "The Streets of Laredo") ultimately derived from "The Unfortunate Rake." All use the same or similar tunes and meter, and all involve a person dying as a result of a wild life, but the nature of the tragedy varies according to local circumstances. - RBW
File: DarNS006

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2015 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

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Here are the lyrics in the Digital Tradition. See any errors?

THE TROOPER CUT DOWN IN HIS PRIME

As I was a-walkin' down by the Royal Arsenal,
Early the morning though warm was the day,
When who should I see but one of my comrades,
All wrapped up in flannel and cold as the clay.

CHORUS: Then beat the drum slowly and play your fife slowly,
And sound the dead march as you carry me along;
And fire your bundooks* right over my coffin,
For I'm a young trooper cut down in my prime.

The bugles were playin'; his mates were a-prayin'.
The chaplain was kneelin' down by his bed.
His poor head was achin'; his poor heart was breakin',
This poor young trooper cut down in his prime. (CHORUS)

Get six of my comrades to carry my coffin,
Six of my comrades to carry me on high;
And six young maidens to carry white roses,
So they won't smell me as they pass me by. (CHORUS)

Outside of the barracks you will find two girls standin',
And one to the other she whispered and said:
"Here comes the young swaddy** whose money we squandered.
Here comes the young trooper cut down in his prime." (CHORUS)

On the cross by his grave you will find these words written:
"All you young troopers take warnin' by me.
Keep away from them flash-girls*** who walk in the city.
Flash-girls of the city have quite ruined me." (CHORUS)


*-bundooks - from the Hindustani banduk, a rifle or musket
**-swaddy - English slang for soldier
***-flash-girls - street girls (probably prostitutes)

(Sung by Ewan MacColl) Time: 4:26

This British soldier's variant of the "Rake" ballad is reported as "...probably the oldest of British barrack-room favorites." Old army regulars claim that the song originated in the first expeditionary force sent to France during World War I, but it was likewise known among soldiers during the Boer War, as evidenced by MacColl's having heard an almost identical version sung by a ninety-year old actor, Norman Partridge, dating from the South African campaigns.

The trooper's death results from his consorting 'with "flash-girls", an oblique reference to death from venereal disease, though such "disordering" is not itself mentioned.

This recording may also be heard as part of an album of British soldier's songs, entitled Bless 'Em, All (Riverside RLP 12-642), sung by Ewan MacColl, and is reproduced here with the permission of Riverside Records. Guitar accompaniment for this number is supplied by Peggy Seeger.

@death @soldier @sex @disease
DT #350
Laws B1
filename[ LAREDST7
AJS
oct99

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Note above that the Traditional Ballad Index has only one citation, Darling-NAS (New American Songster), p. 6, "The Trooper Cut Down In His Prime" (1 text)

This text is almost identical to the lyrics in the Digital Tradition, and is apparently from Ewan MacColl.