Hi,

TY for the info about Tommy Dempsey's version. I'm sure that will be part of the study later. Percy Grainger, a friend of my grandparents, also did an arrangement in 1912.

You quoted Wiki's entry for Seventeen come Sunday which states, "The words were first published between 1838 and 1845."

So far in the first days of our study we have 6 Scottish versions earlier that 1838 and we haven't even discussed the "Lady and the Soldier" versions:

A. Waukrife Mammy;
   a. "Wakerife Mammy," dated c.1750 from Thomas Lyle's 1827 book "Ancient Ballads and Songs: Chiefly from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce Works."
   b. "Waukrife Minnie" taken by Robert Burns from Martha Crosbie of Nithdale circa 1788.
   c. "The Lassie Lost Her Maidenhead a' for Her Waukrif Mammie" dated 1795 (Edinburgh?) published in "Four Excellent New Songs: The Lassie Lost Her Maidenhead a' for Her Waukrif Mammie. Johnie Cope. Rinorden, Or The Mountains High The General Toast. Entered and Licenced."
   d. "Waukrife Minnie," published 1825 but older; two stanzas given by Alan Cunningham, supposedly from tradition in "The Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern" Volume 2, p. 244-245.
   e. "The Well Pay't Dochter,"- from Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads and Songs: edited E. B. Lyle; Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1975.
   f. "The Waukrife Mammy" dated 1830 from a Scottish Chapbook (no publisher given) Printed for the booksellers; Falkirk. Two Old Songs- The Perjured Maid, The Waukrife Mammy; http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/rbc/id/2273/rec/2
   g. "My Rolling Eye" dated c. 1850. Taken from Alexander Smith of Perthshire by Robert Ford. Published in Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland: With Many Old and Familiar Melodies edited by Robert Ford, 1899.

The first five all pre-date the early date of 1838. Hopefully we'll find more, I'll post some of the other early versions soon,

Richie