The Wild Rover

I sing The Wild Rover but not the standard version. I sing a version with has the same story but with a totally separate tune and significantly different words and an entirely altered but also very singable chorus. I sing it for two reasons:-

* It's a very interesting song and so different from the standard version that, in itself, it is a lesson in how oral transmission works.
* The song was collected from the very fine Lewes singer George Townshend by Ken Stubbs.... and where was it collected? In the pub called The Royal Oak in Station Street in Lewes that our folk club moved to a mere 22 years ago.

We booked Andy Turner at last year's Lewes Folk Festival and in his solo concert he sang a third version of The Wild Rover quite different again from the other two. I think I remember him saying that he learned it from Sam Larner.

Look beyond the obvious and you find some fascinating stuff.