Although Sheffield is the setting for Wiggy Smith’s version of this tale, other versions favour Leicester or Cheshire. It is one song that is still likely to be collected these days, particularly from gypsy singers, such as Wiggy. The song itself is nearly 200 years old and is almost exclusively a song from England, apart from one Canadian version collected in the 20s.

The tale is related to Roud 2637 “Jack and the Robber”, except that in this version, the victim is female whereas in Roud 2637 the victim is invariably male.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 2 July 2015