As Mr. Red says, a different song, though, like many others, it does have a trooper in it. In the DT:

TROOPERS HORSE From Lloyd's Folksong in England
TROOPER WATERING HIS NAGG From Pills.

On the other question: for myself, I can't understand how anybody who really loves the music can fail to want to know as much as possible about it; and that includes where, and who, it came from. It's not a choice between music and "bibliography" (though I prefer "provenance"; the simple courtesy of properly acknowledging your source) -it's all part of the greater whole. If it's traditional music, then it has a history and a context; ignore them, and you run the risk of turning the song into an ephemeral commodity like a pop song, however well you play and sing it.

I don't expect everybody to agree with me, but I don't accept that an interest in the background of a song implies any lack of interest in or appreciation of music or musicianship. My own experience has been quite the opposite; appreciation is enhanced, not diminished, by the greater understanding it can bring.

Peter Hall, a founder-member of the Gaugers, printed a set of this song in The Scottish Folksinger (Norman Buchan & Peter Hall, 1973); it came from Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs (edited by Alexander Keith from the Greig collection). Full details as to source will be in the volume of the Greig-Duncan Collection referred to above. There is no indication of a chorus, though the second verse is used as such by many Revival singers.

THE TROOPER AND THE MAID

A trooper lad cam' here last nicht,
Wi' ridin' he was weary,
A trooper lad cam' here last nicht,
Fan the moon shone bricht an' clearly.

"Bonnie lassie, I'll lie near ye noo,
Bonnie lassie, I'll lie near ye,
An' I'll gar a' your ribbons reel
Or the mornin' ere I leave ye."

She's ta'en his heich horse by the heid,
An' she's led him to the stable,
She's gi'en him corn an' hay till ate,
As muckle as he was able.

She's ta'en the trooper by the han',
An' she's led him to her chamber ,
She's gi'en him breid an' wine to drink,
An' the wine it was like amber.

She's made her bed baith lang an' wide,
An' she's made it like a lady,
She's ta'en her wee coatie ower her heid,
Says, "Trooper, are ye ready?"

He's ta'en aff his big top coat,
Likewise his hat an' feather ,
An' he's ta'en his broadsword fae his side,
An' noo he's doon aside her.

They hadna' been but an oor in bed,
An oor an' half a quarter,
Fan the drums cam' beatin' up the toon,
An' ilka beat was faster.

It's "Up, up, up" an' oor curnel cries,
It's "Up, up, up, an' away,"
It's "Up, up, up" an' oor curnel cries,
"For the morn's oor battle day."

She's ta'en her wee cloakie ower her heid
An' she's followed him doon to Stirlin' ,
She's grown sae fu' an' she couldna boo,
An' they left her in Dunfermline.

"Bonnie lassie, I maun leave ye noo,
Bonnie lassie, I maun leave ye,
An' oh, but it does grieve me sair
That ever I lay sae near ye."

It's "Fan'll ye come back again,
My ain dear trooper laddie,
Fan'll ye come back again
An' be your bairn's daddy?"

"O haud your tongue, my bonnie lass,
Ne'er let this partin' grieve ye,
When heather cowes grow ousen bows,
Bonnie lassie, I'll come an' see ye."

Cheese an' breid for carles an' dames,
Corn an' hay for horses,
Cups o' tea for auld maids,
An' bonnie lads for lasses.

fan = when
Or = ere
heich = high, tall
till ate = to eat
muckle = much
fae = from
grown sae fu' = grown so full, big
couldna boo = couldn't bend
heather cowes = heather twigs
ousen bowes = oxen yokes

Other terms have already been explained, though dames in this particular case are probably married women.

The tune is exactly the same as that given with the DT file: TROOPER AND THE MAID; as Clinton says, that text has been partly anglicised for some reason, and appears to be a slightly altered and shortened arrangement of the Last Leaves set.

John Ord included a short set, without the bedroom scene or the tune, in his Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930). He didn't indicate a source for that particular one, but it appears to be a cut-down copy of Child's version A (from Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland).

There's a related English set in the DT, incidentally, though without a tune: THE LIGHT DRAGOON. It was transcribed from a Mike Waterson record; he in turn got it from a 1951 recording made by Peter Kennedy and Alan Lomax of Harry List of Sweffling, near Framlingham in Suffolk (Folk Songs of Britain vol. 2: Songs of Seduction; Caedmon TC 1143 / Topic 12T 158/ Rounder CD 1778). You can hear a brief sound clip (Real Audio) here:

The Light Dragoon Sung first by Harry List, then by his son Fred. The clip is from part 3 of Keith Summers' Sing, Say or Pay! A Survey of East Suffolk Country Music at Rod Stradling's Musical Traditions. Normally I wouldn't link directly to the sound sample, but in this case the link is missing from the article, so it's the only option.