What do I want? words, or tunes? Well it all started with a joke: they called me Captain Kidd - so for my joke I thought I'd do a webpage on him. But so hated the lyrics of that lying song that I would write my own. So had to start studying poetry. And then I thought which tune is best? So that's how it all started, with the tune.

I've always loved Early Music, but now I've had to taken up serious study of music theory. But when I wandered off into kiddlyrics I found that I have now had to take-up the study of History too!

"Let me have a read when you're done" well you can see so far at kiddmusic but much of what's there is WRONG and needs revision. It's hopelessly out of date because my wife complains when I spend all weekend typing, so I have to get up whilst she's asleep to do type it.

Thank you for all the notes you sent. I'm elated to read that Ms. A.G. Gilchrist said "This sounds to me like a Scottish tune" for, as I mention on my site, I'm jumping to the conclusion that these songs all have a Celtic root, because of the meter and rhyme being like Lymericks. No this isn't a silly joke, I'm serious this time. Lymericks were originally a fireside game our Celtic ancestors played and I believe these songs have sprung from that game.

And thank God you mentioned Miss Gilchrist, for 'The Journal of the Welsh Folk Song Society' must be where Professor William Bonner got a lot of his info from for his book 'Pirate Lauriate' (1947 Rutgers University Press). Bonner mentions "Anne Gilchrist, a scholar of English folk song" in connection with 'My luves in Germanie' but his footnotes were inadequate for me to locate her work.

Gilchrist thinking that 'My lufe is Lyand seik' may have suggested Hector Macneill's 1895 'My luves in Germanie' has proved to be unfounded because Macneill only adapted an earlier "Germanie Thomas" written by Thomas Traill about 1630. See my disourse and ABC in Mudcat thread 0.7742 RE: 'My love's in Germanie'.Some criticize my unwarranted assumptions. But I'm just an Artist - and that's what Artists are for - isn't it? Indeed I pray for an Assumption by my belief: I believe Thomas Traill 's song is a rewrite of an even older song - just like 'Mantra Gwen'! And long ago there was One First Song. And Oh what was that Ancient Song? And shall we not all sing it as we sail for Tir Nan Og ?