The tune for this is so well known that it is rarely noted by folk song collectors, and yet an old folk song it is with printed versions going back over 200 years to the late 18th century. The tune has been used as a vehicle for various songs over the years, from the cheerful “The Women Flogger’s Lament of Marlyebone Workhouse” to bawdy rugby club version concerning the misadventures of three young ladies. It also has been used as a Cotswold Morris tune.
Notes by Gwilym Davies 8 September 2015