The song was recorded by us from Blind Travelling woman, Mary Delaney in London in the 1970s - Mary seems to have been the sole source of the song
She was an incredible woman, blind from birth, she reared 16 children on the road, eventually single-handed when her husband left her
She was a wonderful singer with a large repertoire of traditional songs
She died some time in the 1990s on a site in Cork
She can be heard singing this and many other songs on the double CD. From Puck to Appleby (Musical Traditions records)
These are the notes from the album

23 - WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN WE'LL HAVE NO MONEY? (Roud 16879)   Mary Delaney

What will we do when we'll have no money?
All true lovers, what will we do then?
Only hawk through the town for a hungry crown,
And we'll yodel it over again.

What will I do if I'd marry a tinker?
All true lovers, what will we do then?
Only sell a tin can and walk on with me man,
And we'll yodel it over again.

What will we do if we marry a soldier?
All true lovers, what will we do then?
Only handle his gun and we'll fight for the fun,
And we'll yodel it over again.

What will we do if we have a young daughter?
All true lovers, what would we do then?
Only take it in hand and walk on with me man,
And we'll yodel it over again.

We have not found this song elsewhere, either in print or in a recording, but it bears such a striking resemblance to Mrs Elizabeth Cronin's What would you do if you Married a Soldier (Roud 3051) that it is probably a traveller's remake of the same song. Mary has a number of similar pieces: I've Buried Three Husbands Already and If Ever You Go to Kilkenny, etc., and, despite the fact that her speciality is the long, free ballad, she takes great pleasure in singing these made-up snatches and often is not able to finish them for laughing. On another occasion, Mary gave us this alternative to verse four;

What will we do when we'll have a young daughter,
All true lovers, what will we do then,
Bring it on on my back and walk on for the crack,
And we'll yodel it over again.

Other CDs: Elizabeth Cronin (What Would You Do if You Married a Soldier) - Rounder 1742.

Jim Carroll