English balladry is full of accounts of cruel parents, and class snobbery.  This song is one of that genre and goes back at least 2 centuries.  Its spread in England is confined to the southern counties, but it has also been found in Canada and occasionally Ireland and the USA.

For a Gloucestershire tune to this song, see http://glostrad.com/sailor-courted-farmers-daughter/.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 9 April 2016