This song has always annoyed me.  The tune is very marchy-military and the  soldier is a misogynistic twat!  He gets lots of nice things from the fair maiden (boots, coat, gloves … who knows what else) and then buggers off, leaving her in the lurch ‘cos he has a wife already.  So – he’s cheating on his wife AND cheating on what seems to be a nice lady … she who sings the song.  So I’ve given it a new tune and re-written the last verse to give the selfish sodger his come-uppance!  He deserves more disgusting treatment than he gets, to be honest, but it’s the best I could do.

Here’s the mp3 and 

Sheet music here

… and the words alone …

O soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me, with your musket fife and drum?
O no sweet maid I cannot marry you, for I have no coat to put on.
So up she went to her grandfather’s chest
She got him a coat of the very, very best – And the soldier put it on.  

O, soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me, with your musket fife and drum?
O no sweet maid I cannot marry you, for I have no hat to put on.
So up she went to her grandfather’s chest
She got him a hat of the very, very best – And the soldier put it on.  

O soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me, with your musket fife and drum?
O no sweet maid I cannot marry you, for I have no gloves to put on.
So up she went to her grandfather’s chest
She got him a pair of the very, very best – And the soldier put them on.
O soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me, with your musket fife and drum?
O no sweet maid I cannot marry you, for I have no boots to put on.
So up she went to her grandfather’s chest
She got him a pair of the very, very best – And the soldier put them on.

O soldier, soldier, won’t you marry me, with your musket fife and drum?
O no sweet maid I cannot marry you, for I have a wife of my own.

While the soldier relaxed on her fine feather-bed,
Out she went to her grandfather’s shed,
Wishing that this bloody soldier was dead.
But a strange old thought came into her head.

She saw it so clear and she knew what to do.
She stuck him to the bed with some strong Superglue
and that boneheaded soldier met his Waterloo.
She got out some feathers and a bucket of poo ….
….. and the soldier put them on