Ah, Fred, I hadn't realised it was on the first Carthy LP with the palette - before my time. He re-recorded it in the late 70s, but I can see how that first LP would have spawned a lot of copies.

On the 'done to death' issue, although I've always believed in seeking out unfamiliar versions of songs, one nice thing now is that many of the flogged equine carcasses of the 60s come up smelling of roses to the present younger generation of singers, who are approaching many old chestnuts with fresh thinking and a lack of all our baggage.

Talking of 'The Wild Rover' (which I will probably be at greater length when the paper comes out), here's a nice version by the present librarian at the VWML and her partner.

Laura Smyth and Ted Kemp: The Wild Rover