Thanks, Malcom. Not at all inconceiveable that McColl might sometimes be mistaken. It sometimes seems to me that correctness may be a desirable but unattainable goal, songs being as malleable as they are.

Is it possible that in some way Jock Sheep and Broomfield Wager are related ballads? I think The Maid on the Shore is supposed to be a variant or descendent of Broomfield Wager. But it seems to me the spirit is a lot closer to Jock Sheep (or the baffled knight). Am I wrong?