Hi there - hope you dont mind me posting this here, a friend recommended it - I work as a traditional oral storyteller (www.sophiesnell.co.uk) and occasionally weave the odd folk song into my stories.

I have been looking into Sidney Carter's song "Crow on the Cradle" - a protest song from the 60's that has great echos of an older time. I am trying to research it's provenance, as a wiki reference aludes to the fact the song may be based on a much older folk song ? 16th / 17th century?

per Wiki entry for Carter: ""The Crow on the Cradle", adapted from an old folk song"

Does any one know any more about this and whether there is an original song I can track down? Any info on dates / sources / tune or lyrics or any known backstory (even better) would be fantastic.

Many thanks - kind regards, Sophie (robandsophie@hotmail.com)