The song comes with various titles. Singers usually call it “Box on her Head”, whereas it was “The Undaunted Female” or “The Staffordshire Maid” in broadsides, which date from the early 19th century. The song was in oral tradition until recent times. Its currency is limited mainly to England. The gypsy Danny Brazil sang a version. Collected versions abound, mainly in England and even up to recent times. The texts from oral tradition follow the broadside text fairly closely.
Notes by Gwilym Davies