Dan ...

Thanks for the kind words regarding my posting. It was intended to be helpful and if at least some people found it so, then it hasn't been wasted.

I've been known to get quite heated about the issue of people changing songs to suit themselves. (There is a fairly infamous episode at my now-wife's birthday party some years ago where I ordered someone to leave because they were attempting to chime in with me on a song, but insisted in taking it off on their own particular tangent much to my annoyance. Needless to say the drink was in, the sense was out and I reacted out of all proportion.)

In this particular case I don't think it's a case of an incorrect rendering of a song ... just the rendering of a different version. I'm quite prepared to accept the arguments of those who claim that the Scottish/Northumbrian version is the source version. But I would give the Irish version a right to co-exist alongide it as a variant in its own right.

And let's not overlook the important thing which strikes me as I review all of the debate about this number.

There are a large number of people scattered throughout the world who care sufficiently passionately about this genre of music to argue amongst themslves about matters which to the uninformed and uninterested observer must seem like mere minutiae. These are the very people who will ensure that folk and traditional music does not die and that many generations hence people will still sing about Jock Stewart and his dog (and maybe some more versions of the song will emerge in the ensuing period and give rise to more heated debate).