Soldier, soldier won't you marry me

"Soldier, soldier won't you marry me" is a traditional song.[1] Among many arrangements, Peter Pears made an arrangement of the song in 1936.[2]

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

David Toop - Sinister Resonance: The Mediumship of the Listener Page 110 1441194932 2010 "The first line and repeated refrain of one of the first songs I learned as a child at primary school in the 1950s lingers in my memory: 'Oh, soldier, soldier, won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?'"
The Travel Diaries of Peter Pears, 1936-1978 0851157416 Peter Pears, Philip Reed 1999 - Page 6 "The programme also contained an arrangement by Pears of the Appalachian song 'Soldier, soldier won't you marry me', dating from July 1936."

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[1] David Toop - Sinister Resonance: The Mediumship of the Listener Page 110 1441194932 2010 "The first line and repeated refrain of one of the first songs I learned as a child at primary school in the 1950s lingers in my memory: 'Oh, soldier, soldier, won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?'"

[2] The Travel Diaries of Peter Pears, 1936-1978 0851157416 Peter Pears, Philip Reed 1999 - Page 6 "The programme also contained an arrangement by Pears of the Appalachian song 'Soldier, soldier won't you marry me', dating from July 1936."