A friend of mine developed a fascinating misconception about Easter lilies by having too much of the wrong kind of information. She was an American academic political scientist and had never visited Scotland at Easter before.

"Why are there so many Sinn Fein supporters here and why are so many of them old ladies?"

She knew about lilies as a symbol of the Easter Rising but not about daffodils as a fundraiser for the Macmillan cancer nursing charity.

So let's theorize that McTell's song is either about Irish Republicanism or the heroine is a cancer widow. Pass it on.