Hi,

As I pointed out- and this is still bewildering-- all print versions of Sailor Boy/Sweet William have no stanzas in common with the Died for Love songs. The "colour of amber" stanza is common to the four songs I outlined in the last post but is a tangent. The only possible exception is the "For pen and paper to write a song" which is really a floater (as Steve pointed out) unless placed after she discovers her sailor boy is dead (missing) and before her suicide-- then it's a suicide note/song. It's still a weak connection.

However, traditional versions of Sailor Boy/Sweet William almost all have stanzas of Died for Love and several have the hanging suicide which means they are related to the Cruel Father/Rambling Boy/Butcher Boy/Maiden's Prayer group.

As pointed out in JFSS and other publications, similar melodies are used for both.

Richie