I have a Squidoo lens at http://www.squidoo.com/the-maidens-promise that tells the story of another version of this song, which we have tried to find clues on for years. We keep finding these close matches, but not the same words. Grandma was always good to keep the words to the songs from changing, all the years she sang them. So, I know this version was something she heard. Please check out the link above and let me know if anyone relates to the small differences.