First time I ever heard the song was on Jean Ritchie's first LP, an Elektra 10-inch issued in the early 50s, to a lovely minor-key tune. People (including me) heard it and learned it, and it spread from there.

It didn't come down in her family though; the LP notes say she "learned it from an Irish girl in New York."

She calls it "O Love Is Teasin'." At least within the American folk scene, I have not found any earlier version using that title. I think Jean probably deserves credit for introducing the song in the US.