Tune: Mount Your Baggage
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
When the drums do beat,
And the cannons rattle,
Thou shalt sit in state,
And see thy love in battle.
Chorus
5 O mount and go,
Mount and make you ready,
O mount and go,
And be the Captain’s Lady.
When the vanquish’d foe
10 Sues for peace and quiet,
To the shades we’ll go,
And in love enjoy it.
O, mount and go, &c.
Henley and Henderson suggest that a broadside called The Liggar Lady is probably the basis of this song (Vol. 3, p. 344). Kinsley also accepts this (Vol. III, p. 1332). The finished work differs significantly from the traditional one.