The fact that Danny’s 11-verse rendering is the only collected version of this ballad is remarkable. The story refers to a crime of 1818 when William Warner, Thomas Ward and Thomas Williams were convicted of robbery and assault on George Greenway. The three were tried and hanged. An original broadside of the incident has the snappy title “The Lamentation of W Warner, T Ward and T Williams who were executed at Warwick, August 14, 1818”. Mr Brazil’s version shows signs of having gone through some oral process, but one can assume that the song has been passed through the family for nearly 200 years.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 18 May 2015