Soldier, soldier won't you marry me

"Soldier, soldier won't you marry me" is a traditional song. Among many arrangements, Peter Pears made an arrangement of the song in 1936.

The main story to the song is a woman is asking a soldier to marry her, but he says he cannot as he has no nice clothing to put on (hat, coat, boots, etc). She decides to give him each item he asks for from her grandfather's old chest, containing his old, best clothes. Each verse is a different article of clothing. The last verse, she asks once again for him to marry her, but the soldier, all dressed in the woman's grandfather's clothing, refuses once more – as he is already married.

References

Category:English folk songs
Category:English-language songs
Category:Year of song unknown
Category:Songwriter unknown