Shall we start a new thread? The 81+ messages are kinda bogging down the old one.

I'm constantly amazed by the variety of songs about women dressed as men. Sure, the majority of them (like "The Ranger's Command" and "The Finest Flower of Serving-Men") are about the man going off to battle/sea/the open range, and the woman dressing as a man so she can stay with him, without his knowledge.

But then you get ones like "The Drummer Girl," who (at least in the versions I've heard) takes on her "fine cap and feathers;/Likewise {her} rattlin' drum" either just because she feels like it, or because she needs the pay.

Let's see, what other reasons have come up?