I remember this from the Pete Seeger record mentioned above. It seems to me that he sang it a capella and then perhaps played it on a whistle. My recollection is that there was no accompaniment. (And in fact the whistle part may just be in my own version).

The haunting quality of the tune in Seeger's version results, I think, from its harmonic simplicity. I hear only one chord change, which would be going a full step down on guitar when you get to the words "crack upon the floor."

Specifically, if you accompanied the song in G (and it would be a very spare accompaniment), when you got to that phrase, you'd go down to F, and then return to G. (Or if you played in A, you'd go down to G and then back to A).

Hope this helps. If you like this tune, and if Archie's version is anything like Pete's, you should find the "Love Songs for Friends and Foes" album -- he has at least one other song on that album that has the same feeling. As I recall the words are "my true love came to me/she softly came in/so softly she came that her feet made no din/she turned her head toward me/and this she did say/it will not be long, love,/'fore our wedding day."

Skip Landt