John Masefield, "Letters from the Front 1915-17" (1984) [Masefield was visiting a section of the American Field Service ambulance unit: most of the volunteers were American college students]:

"[Sept. 22, 1916]…After that, we took some wounded to an evacuation hospital up the river [Meuse]…. After supper, we sat on benches outside the tent while the men of the section sang. Most of the songs were southern songs, one or two were war songs, like 'My Maryland', & some were comic, but among them sung to a strangely beautiful tune, was a sort of country ballad which moved me very much, it was so real, & so plainly a voice out of common life. It was low enough, but it was real, & it went more or less like this.

        My name is John & I live in the town
        I'm a weaver to my trade
        And the only only time that I done wrong
        Was courting a fair pretty maid.

        I courted her all of the sunny summer time,
        And part of the winter, too
        And the only only thing that I done wrong
        Was to shield her from the foggy foggy dew.

        She came to my bed one cold cold night,
        With tears in her eyes of blue.
        She sobbed & she cried & she nearly died
        To be shielded from the foggy foggy dew.

Then, of course, he took her in, and then at once it goes on.

        I have a little son with eyes of blue
        He works with me in my trade
        And whenever I look in his eyes of blue,
        I think of the fair pretty maid.

There was another stanza, & some of the words I know I have set down wrongly & I cannot give the tune, but it made a deep impression on all of us."