The Female Drummer
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1956.123.A5
Original Tape ID
Summary
A song in which a young girl runs away from home to become a soldier. She ends up in London, where she is taught to play the marching drum.
Although she pretends to be a young man, she is so beautiful that another girl falls in love with her. When the soldier maid reveals that she herself is a woman, she is betrayed to the officers. They are kind, however, and are genuinely sad to lose such a good drummer.
She is cashiered from the army, but given pensions from both the king and the queen. She is told that if she ever gets married and has a son, she should send him to learn to play the drum.
Item Notes
Four verses with choruses. The chorus between verses two and three is missing.
Very similar to version A in Greig Duncan vol. 1, song 182. See 'Tocher' 43 (1991) for a transcription.
Recording Location
County - Perthshire
Parish - Blairgowrie
Village/Place - Blairgowrie, berryfields
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good