Jim - that's great. Thanks again for your research which must have taken a lot of effort and perseverence.

In following this thread I looked at some versions on the Bodleian Ballad website and noticed some of the changes in Watt's original text as it moved south. Watt had written "... Not a friend to condole, even those that might, they winna." Croshaw of York might have got his words directly from a Scottish singer and mis-heard them. He happily printed "... even those at Mount Minna". When it reached London, J. Pitts recognised rubbish when he saw it, and must found someone who knew the words better. He printed ".... even those that might win her". There is also Catnach's version (Jim's post above, 27 Aug 07) "... those that might, they will na", which is as close as a Sassenach would have got. So if you find (as I do) that the 'standard' "... even those that would be with her" is rather weak, there are these three attested variants to chose from. But if you choose Mount Minna you'd better have a story about it ready for the pesky pedant in the audience, like me, who will demand to know where it is.

For some reason, Watt called Louisa 'Louisiana'. Croshaw used the spelling 'Luciana'. Catnach (whose broadside was pretty close to the original) called her both 'Anna' and 'Lucanna' in the same song, so obviously he was quite confused. Until I saw Croshaw's broadside I had always wondered where on Earth Lucanna was. Somewhere close to Mount Minna as it turns out. A line about Lucanna or Lucania still survives in some versions, such as Mary Black's.

Watt did not write the lines about the King of Rome and the Prince of Gehenna and they do not appear in any English broadsides I have seen (though I use only the Bodleian website). As support for Bonaparte was strong in Ireland I assume these lines were written there.