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Subject: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Magpie Date: 22 Jun 00 - 06:54 PM Please someone, can you tell me who wrote High Germany? I've looked in the database, but it doesn't say. I have also searched for previous threads on the song without any luck. And if you have some information on the circumstances around that war, please? Regards Magpie |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Irish sergeant Date: 22 Jun 00 - 08:15 PM Magpie: the Dubliners recorded it some years ago. As i remember, it is listed as "Traditional" as far as writing credits. It is also listed in Volume Two of Jerry Silverman's Folk Song Encyclopedia and carries no credits there either. Given the tenor of the song, the lyrics and a fairly good understanding of European history, I would guess that it dates from the Napoleonic wars Ca. 1795-1815. Hopefully this helps and is correct. If it isn't, any Mudcatters who would know? Neil |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 22 Jun 00 - 08:18 PM The two earliest copies, among several in the Bodley Ballads collection on the web, were printed by Wright of Birmingham (1831-37) and Catnach of London (d 1841). Neither bears an authors name or intitials, and its unlikely this will ever be determined. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: WyoWoman Date: 22 Jun 00 - 08:35 PM Is this the one that starts, "Oh woe be to the orders that took my love from me..."? ww |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 22 Jun 00 - 09:00 PM No; that's a different one, which is on the DT as The Wars of Germany. A version of High Germany is there, too, but whoever posted it has begun the first line with "Oh Colleen, love" instead of the usual "Oh Polly, love", apparantly under the misapprehension that it was an Irish song. (sigh) Malcolm |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,Jim I Date: 22 Jun 00 - 09:19 PM It sounds to me more like a song of the Marlburlian Wars i.e. 1670's to the very early 1700's, mostly fought in 'High Germany' |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Magpie Date: 23 Jun 00 - 02:13 AM Thank you ever so much! I knew the Mudcat would help me out. If you have more info, please feel free to share it with me, OK? Have a nice day / weekend / summer (underline your choice) Love, Magpie |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: IanC Date: 23 Jun 00 - 04:50 AM JimI may be right. The contemplator has some useful information, including a date of 1780 for a version of the broadside, which puts it before the Napoleonic wars. Here. Cheers! IanC |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Irish sergeant Date: 23 Jun 00 - 08:18 PM Again you have proved the value of asking befoore speaking I stand humbling before you and corrected. Neil |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 23 Jun 00 - 09:35 PM I wouldn't jump to that 1780 date too fast. In the source, Sharp's 'One Hundred English Folk Songs', it says circa 1780, and that title looks like one for someone's collection of garlands, not a specific garland. Garlands themselves were usually collections, although some were a single long song (or poem, or tale). Only the info about the H. Such broadside is in JFSS #6, (1906) where Sharp first published the tune and the single verse he had collected in 1904 (the rest in '100 English Folk Songs' is from broadsides). I think the reference is likely to be fouled-up, but without knowing where the garland is to be found, or who the publisher was, there's not much that can be done about it. I'm not buying that early date without better evidence.
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: IanC Date: 02 Oct 01 - 11:51 AM I've only just managed to do a little more research on this song. The earliest broadside date in the Bodleian Collection is for two copies printed by James Catnach at some time between 1813 and 1838. Searching the British Library, there are two potential candidates for the "Collection of Garlands" reference in the BL. These are. Joseph Ritson's "Northern Garlands", subtitled "A Choice Collection of Garlands...", 1793 (an 1810 copy is in the BL). J. Clarke "A Collection of Choice Songs", Stockport ?1800 The former may not contain the song, but I can look at it when I am next in the BL. The latter is described as "containing, 1. High Germany. 2. Mog the Brunette. 3. Vicar and Moses. 4. The Roving Lass." In any event, if things check out, we have now got it back to circa 1800 and, if it's in Ritson, to 1793 ... before the Napoleonic Wars. I'd better check!
Cheers! |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: The_one_and_only_Dai Date: 02 Oct 01 - 11:53 AM I've always assumed it's about the Seven Years' War, as British soldiers didn't get sent to 'Higher Germanie' at any time in the Napoleonic. Whereas Marlborough laid siege to several cities on the Rhine/Donau. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: IanC Date: 02 Oct 01 - 12:09 PM Dai Always seemed likely that it was Marlborough's wars (see above) but BruceO has challenged the earlier date, and I thought it would be worth following it through. I'm aware that the earliest definite date you have for a song is in fact the LATEST POSSIBLE DATE but other people think it's "safer" to stick with this as the earliest it existed. My argument is that you should try to make a best estimate, as sticking to "safe" dates in this way can lead to serious distortions of history which are only occasionally corrected later. There is an interesting example in an Anglo-Saxon poem called "The Dream of The Rood". The earliest known version of this was in an 11th Century manuscript and all sorts of comments were made by scholars, based on the assumption that it was a late piece. They said it was a debased late Anglo-Saxon poem of no literary or historical merit etc. etc. Then someone deciphered a runic inscription on the 7th/8th Century standing cross at Ruthwell near Dumfries, Scotland and found it was a quite similar version of some of the stanzas of the poem.
;-)
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 02 Oct 01 - 09:18 PM Seven years war was well after Marlborough - 1754-63. I've always assumed that this would be the most likely war in this song. Since the King of England was also Elector of Hanover, there was a lot of British involvement in various parts of Germany.
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Oct 01 - 09:56 PM Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index. -Joe Offer- High Germany (I)DESCRIPTION: Young man, conscripted into the war in Germany, bids his sweetheart come with him. She demurs, saying she is not fit for war. He offers to buy her a horse, and also to marry her by and by. She laments the war (and/or her pregnancy)AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: before 1830 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2899)) KEYWORDS: love war soldier HISTORICAL REFERENCES: 1714 - Hannoverian succession causes Britain to become involved in German wars FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES (8 citations): GreigDuncan1 96, "High Germany" (14 texts, 11 tunes) Sharp-100E 56, "High Germany" (1 text, 1 tune) Reeves-Sharp 43, "High Germany" (2 texts) Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 447, "In High Germany" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 679-680, "High Germany" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 279, "High Germany" (1 text) BBI, ZN3231, "O cursed be the wars that ever they began" (?) DT, WARGRMNY* WARGRMN2* Roud #904 RECORDINGS: Jim Bennett, "High Germany" (on PeacockCDROM) [one verse only] Phoebe Smith, "Higher Germany" (on PhSmith01, HiddenE) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2899), "High Germany" ("O Polly love, O Polly love, the rout it is begun"), T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Harding B 11(1536), Harding B 17(127b), Firth c.14(154), Harding B 25(836), Firth c.26(222)[some words illegible], Harding B 11(829), "[The] High Germany" CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. "Jack Monroe" [Laws N7] cf. "William and Nancy I" [Laws N8] cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9] cf. "The Manchester Angel" cf. "Across the Blue Mountain" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Wars o' Germanie" (lyrics, theme) cf. "In Low Germanie" (lyrics, theme) cf. "High Germany (II)" (subject) ALTERNATE TITLES: The Wars of Germany Germany High Germanie NOTES: Sharp cites a date of c. 1780 for this song. That the current forms of the song date from the eighteenth century is almost a historical necessity. The Hannoverian Succession (1714) brought a German prince to the British throne, meaning that English troops might be sent to intervene in German affairs. British interest in Germany ended when Napoleon rebuilt the Holy Roman Empire on his own terms, leaving the Hannoverian princes out of the picture. This was reinforced a few years later, when King William IV died (1837). William's heir under English law was his niece Victoria, but Hannoverian law did not permit a female succession, so the throne of Hannover fell to Victoria's uncle Ernest. And, of course, Hannover, like the rest of Germany, was absorbed by Prussian in the 1860s and 1870s. It's also worth noting that, by the nineteenth century, it was common for the wives of British soldiers to accompany them; the army actually made allowance for a certain number of wives per regiment. In at least one of these cases, that of Fanny Dubberly, she even took a part in the fighting: At Gwalior, India (1858?), cavalrymen of the Eighth Hussars started a charge at the Indian mutineers. Mrs. Dubberly's horse was nearby and joined the charge (without her husband!). It's not clear what she would have done had she caught anyone, since she wasn't really a soldier -- but she did add weight of numbers to the charge. - RBW Last updated in version 2.7 File: ShH56
High Germany (II)DESCRIPTION: A soldier has been called up and must leave his pregnant sweetheart. She would follow him "through France, Spain and even Ireland." He warns of the hardships and that her parents will be angry. She insists. He agrees to take her and will marry her first.AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3897)) KEYWORDS: love marriage request army war parting pregnancy France Ireland Spain lover soldier FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES (1 citation): Reeves-Circle 64, "High Germany" (1 text) Roud #1445 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3897), "The True Lovers" or "The King's Commands Must Be Obey'd" ("Abroad as I was walking alone"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 15(335b), Harding B 11(3898), 2806 c.18(317), "The True Lovers" or "The King's Commands Must Be Obey'd"; Harding B 15(161b), "The King's Commands Must Be Obeyed" or "The True Lovers" NOTES: There is no statement here about cross-dressing but she "will go For to fight ... [any] daring foe." - BS The two songs we index as "High Germany" both involve soldiers leaving sweethearts, and I suspect they frequently mix. I will not guarantee that all versions are properly filed. Roud seems to have a few confused versions, too. A characteristic of this song is that it usually starts with a line such as "Abroad as I was walking, and a-walking alone"; the other opens with lines such as "O Polly, dear Polly, the rout it is begun" or "Busk, my bonnie Betsy, busk, and buckle braw" or "O, cursed be the wars love that ever they began." And, yes, I know that's not much to go on! - RBW Last updated in version 2.7 File: ReCi064 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2014 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: toadfrog Date: 02 Oct 01 - 11:00 PM There were also a Scottish and (I believe) an English regiment with Gustavus Adolphus, so some of the songs could be even older. The idea of a woman putting on men's clothing to follow her lover is a whole lot more plausible in mid-Seventeenth Century context, where war was extremely irregular and chaotic, than with more regular armies like Marlborough's. So far as I am aware, few if any British soldiers actually fought on the Continent in the Seven Years' War; they used Hessians and Hanoverians. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: The_one_and_only_Dai Date: 03 Oct 01 - 03:56 AM Oops, I think I meant the War of the Spanish Succession. I'm not big on C18th history (although I am quite big around the waist). Or maybe I did mean the SYW. But anyway, there wasn't any British involvement in central Europe in the Napoleonic Wars. I think. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Oct 01 - 05:57 AM All those wars sometimes get lumped together as the Second Hundred Years War. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: The_one_and_only_Dai Date: 03 Oct 01 - 06:01 AM That'll be the one that started in 1705 and ended in 1945, then... |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: toadfrog Date: 03 Oct 01 - 07:01 PM Joe: The Traditional Balad Index is a bit off. The Hannoverian princes left the picture after 1866, when Prussia annexed Hannover. It lost its direct union with England in or about 1830, when the King's brother, Ernst August, was sent off to rule Hannover. The London Times hailed his departure, describing Ernst August as "a man guilty of every crime but suicide." On arrival, he promptly abolished red tape, red military uniforms, and the Hannoverian constitution. But for the life of me, I cannot think of a single war between 1714 and 1939 that would have caused English or Scottish soldiers to fight in Germany. It was much easier to use German proxy soldiers. So perhaps the date of the song might not correspond to the date of the events it describes. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Oct 01 - 07:16 PM No, that'd be the Third Hundred Years War, dai, which is just entering another phase. (Different enemies, but each episode grows out of the ones before.) The First and Second Hundred Years War were both English versus French. (With various other people involved, with Perfidious Albion changing sides occasionally - but with the constant element being English versus French.)
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,amandaglennon@hotmail.com Date: 01 Jul 02 - 11:02 AM Hi Does anyone have the words of the second version of high Germany. I think it's also known as "The True Lovers" |
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Subject: Different version of High Germany From: GUEST,amandaglennon@hotmail.com Date: 01 Jul 02 - 11:04 AM Hi Does anyone have the words of the second version of high Germany. I think it's also known as "The True Lovers" |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Noreen Date: 01 Jul 02 - 01:03 PM Bit more information, please- how does your version start? |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,amandaglennon@hotmail.com Date: 01 Jul 02 - 05:31 PM Noreen I don't know how the start of it goes but there's something like this in it "I was just seven when Margaret was evelen" |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Herga Kitty Date: 01 Jul 02 - 06:59 PM Well, any English or Scottish regiments with Gustavus Adolphus in the 30 Years War (1618-1648) would probably have been mercenaries. I think the verse about pressing men out of England to fight in Higher Germany is very iffy..... Kitty |
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Subject: Lyr Add: MALBROUCK S'EN VA-T-EN GUERRE From: Haruo Date: 01 Jul 02 - 10:48 PM Speaking of the Marlburlian wars, I find it odd that "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre" is not in the DT (nor even apparently among the unharvested lyrics as far as my lame and limited search powers show). Back in 1998 Frank Phillips said he would post a version the next day, but I don't see it or any other. ingeb.org has numerous stanzas in French (18) and German (15), but doesn't use the most common spelling (which means if you Google search for "Malbrouck" it won't come up. I'll just post the first verse at the moment, and allow the Folk Process to do its work. MALBROUCK S'EN VA-T-EN GUERRE Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine, Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Ne sait quand reviendra. Ne sait quand reviendra, Ne sait quand reviendra. Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine, Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Ne sait quand reviendra. I'm pretty sure a short version of it in English and French is in one of the Fireside Books of Ms. Boni's (either Folk Songs or ¡American! Songs). The tune is one of those little-kiddie-ditty workhorses like "the old grey mare" or the "Ah! vous dirai-je maman" that we've been going over lately in the twinkle twinkle threads. English-speaking children are perhaps most likely to learn it first as "The bear went over the mountain". According to babelfish, the first stanza (given above) means: Malbrouck from goes away hold war, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine, Malbrouck from goes away hold war, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine, Marlbrough from goes away hold war, Does not know when will return. Typically dense Gallic prose, hein? (Actually I was hoping it would provide some light on the meaning of "mironton, mironton, mirontaine", but I guess they are slated to remain nonsense syllables.) Liland |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Bob Bolton Date: 01 Jul 02 - 11:27 PM G'day Liland, I'm interested to see your posting of Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre. I published, in Mulga Wire, ... some 20 + years ago ... an article by an Australian folklorist (John Meredith) suggesting that Marlbrough ... was the first European folk song known to have been sung in Australia - and that it was, in part (ie; the tune, at least) the first to have been passed on the the aboriginal inhabitants! In 1788, the "First Fleet" - the 11 English ships carrying the first settlers, soldiers and convicts - had first anchored in Botany Bay ... quickly abandoned in favour of Port Jackson/Sydney Cove. While they were still in Botany Bay, the French expeditionary fleet of La Perouse sailed into Botany Bay. The officers socialised with the French ... including some after dinner singing - and Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre turned out to be the only song well-known to both nationalities. It was recorded by several of the officers, that the natives of Botany Bay were heard to singing the tune of Marlbrough ... as they rowed their canoes about Botany Bay in the ensuing weeks. (I will dig out my archive copy and see if there is anything else relevant to justify posting the text (and the presumed tune). Regards, Bob Bolton |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Wilfried Schaum Date: 02 Jul 02 - 03:07 AM Liland - Babelfish translation shows well why it is better to rely on native speakers and translators. The first stanza goes: Marlbrough went out to war, Don't know, when he'll return. The "Mironton ..." is the usual onomatopoetic filling stuff like "folderol" or "tralala". I remember to have sung the song in the German version (nearly half a century ago) with the Boy Scouts. The German version, like the original French one, is about Marlbrough's burial; the German version seemed shorter to me having read ingeb.org (where is my scout song book?) Note that at ingeb.org not the German version is given, but an artful poem of the 19. century about the battle of Höchstädt. It can be sung to the Marlbrough tune but has nothing to do with the folk song. Wilfried |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: rich-joy Date: 02 Jul 02 - 04:56 AM Somewhere in the dim, distant past, I read that "Marlbrouk s'en va t'en guerre" ("We Won't Go Home Till Morning") was from where our Birthday favourite "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" was derived ... is this currently thought to be the case??? Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Jon Bartlett Date: 02 Jul 02 - 05:17 AM Bob Bolton, the astonishing thing is that there is contemporaneous evidence for the same song functioning in the same way on contact with First Nations people on the NW coast of America. The reference is I think in one of the Spanish texts describing the voyage of the SUTIL. Give me a day or so to hunt this down. (I remember spotting the Australian reference in "The Fatal Shore", but didn't check Hughes' footnote on his source). Incidentally, I don't think the song has anything to do with Marlborough: unless there's a Dutch etymology behind it. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Haruo Date: 02 Jul 02 - 01:00 PM Nothing to do with Marlborough? I'm eagerly waiting to learn how so. (And how a Dutch etymology would affect the matter.) I'll notify my Chinook Jargon and Salishanist chums about this thread, maybe somebody in that line will have some input on the NW Coast contact thing. rich-joy, are you suggesting that the "he" in "For he's a jolly good fellow" was originally Marlborough? Or do you just mean it's basically the same tune, which is, I think, clear. (Unless Jon G. Bartlett wants to suggest that the tunes are unrelated, unless possibly one of them has been through a shape-note recension...) ;-) Liland |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Haruo Date: 02 Jul 02 - 01:37 PM I've created a new thread for Malbrouck lyrics so this one can maybe drift back towards Germany. Liland |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Martin Graebe Date: 02 Jul 02 - 03:27 PM Roy Palmer in 'The Rambling Soldire' goes for the Seven Years War. But that is for the 'other' broadside version starting 'Abroad as I was travelling, I was travelling all alone' which is aka 'The True Lovers or the Kings/Queen's Command'. Baring-Gould in 'A Garland of Country Song' also gives this, though his note starts, unpromisingly: 'This song, in hopelessly bad metre and of no poetic merit .... etc', though he does describe the tune as peculiarly fine. He collected it from Will Aggett of Chagford in October 1890. He also mentions, more crucially to this thread, the 'real' High Germany ie 'O Polly love! O Polly, love! the rout it is begun' which he didn't collect but which he had a broadside for (Such #329) and which he also discovered in 'A Collection of Choice Garlands' publ c1780. Martin |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Susanne (skw) Date: 02 Jul 02 - 07:42 PM With all this thread creep Amanda(?) is still waiting for an answer: The song you quote is not an old one but about World War I, written fairly recently by Pete St John, and known variously as 'When Margaret Was Eleven' (thus on Pete's website) or 'Tunes of Glory'. For some more info see My Songbook. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST,amanda Date: 03 Jul 02 - 04:16 AM Susanne Thanks a million. That's the one I was looking for. Thanks again Amanda |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: rich-joy Date: 03 Jul 02 - 08:23 AM Liland : I wasn't suggesting either : I was just curious : I don't actually know the French song in question, or its tune (shock! horror!) : but I am interested in the derivation of "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" I guess ... Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 24 Oct 04 - 07:59 PM Refresh |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: GUEST Date: 29 Jul 09 - 09:04 AM Between 1759 and 1761 British troops were involved in several battles in 'High Germany'including the battles of Minden,Emsdorf,Warburg,Kloster Kamp,Vellinghausen,Wilhelmstahl, all part of the Seven Years War (F&I War was the US leg of the same conflict). Hannah Snell was a famous cross dresser serving with the Marines mid century. I'll go with it being about the 7yw |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: ard mhacha Date: 30 Jul 09 - 06:24 AM Luke Kelly`s fine rendition of this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3tUeMviMqk |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: ard mhacha Date: 30 Jul 09 - 06:28 AM Try this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3tUeMviMqk |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Anglo Date: 30 Sep 10 - 11:33 PM So are BMWs built in HIGH Germany. My geography fails... |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Oct 10 - 12:07 AM BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works. Bavaria is high in altitude and low in latitude. Take your pick, John. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: jeddy Date: 01 Oct 10 - 01:07 AM thankyou for this thread! i love this song, but the best version i have ever heard is by whorticulture. can't find it on youtube :( joe is there any chance of an upload function from our pcs? don't know about anyone else but i would love that! i have learnt( learned?)so much! take care guys, you have restored a little faith ! jade x x x x x x |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Richard Bridge Date: 01 Oct 10 - 03:44 AM If you are trying to trace Whorticulture renditions you might ask Jon Loomes. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Singing Referee Date: 01 Oct 10 - 04:05 AM First and still best version I've heard was sung by Tony Rose in our school hall when he was a teacher at Latymer School in Edmonton North London in 1965/6. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: jeddy Date: 01 Oct 10 - 07:37 AM thanks very much richard! on the case now. take care jade x x x x x x |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Les from Hull Date: 01 Oct 10 - 11:21 AM Wikipedia goes for the Thirty Years War! Although not involved officially many English and Scots fought against the Holy Roman Empire, and many Irish fought for it. You pays your money... |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Lighter Date: 01 Oct 10 - 02:18 PM The story of Hannah Snell may well be relevant to the song, at least as inspiration. Snell served as a Marine in India, not Germany, but her adventures were revealed in 1750 to a fair amount of publicity. That same year she was even granted a government pension for her military service. |
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Subject: RE: High Germany, who wrote it? From: Les from Hull Date: 01 Oct 10 - 04:26 PM In the song the narrator is trying to get Polly to come as a camp-follower or wife, not as a soldier. With each regiment 6 wives for every 100 enlisted men were allowed to accompany the baggage train. They assisted with cooking, washing clothes and attending the sick and wounded. |
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