Dave Rado. "I've never heard it sung in any folk club (but I'm about to put that right by learning it and singing it myself)."

By all means do so. It was immensely popular at one time, to the extent that you couldn't get in a folk club for folk singers whose sole aim in life seemed to be to sing Lovely Joan.

As a result, and like many another masterpiece, it died the death and everybody stopped singing it.

Shame.