The earliest references I recall seeing depicted the "Greensleeves" as "Camp Followers." Now, that could open a brand new "can" of dialogue. Were camp followers simply prostitutes or were they of a higher calling as they served both the physical and emotional needs of soldiers in the field? As I first heard the story, the green color was to keep them from being mistaken for combatants by either side; a commodity too precious to risk, you see.