Hello, everyone. . . sorry I didn't get back to the Mudcat last night. Was having trouble staying on line. To answer your questions, more or less satisfactorily, I suspect:

Wyo, I got the two verses from John Molineux on the occasion of a concert that he gave at a festival in Socourt, France a couple of years ago. I didn't find out until some time later that he'd gotten them from his niece, Jo Freya who is a well-known singer in Great Britain, either solo or as a member of "Token Women" or the "Old Swan Band". Unfortunately, I can't really tell you for sure who wrote them or how long they've been "lost".

Seed, I always sign my posts "cheers" and I can't think why you want to look a gift horse in the mouth, anyway. Does it really matter if they are modern verses? I only wish I could say that I'd written them.

Callie, thanks for jumping to my defense.

Jo, how are things in Normandy these days? Hope you had a good St Pat's day.

Thanks, Joe Offer, once again for correcting the breaks between the lines of the verses; someday I'll get it right! For your information: John Molineux is a fine lap dulcimer player. I found a vinyl recording (entitled "Douce Amère") of his in a bargain bin in a Parisian record shop a number of years ago. I had the great good luck to hear him in concert at a tiny festival in the Vosges mountains, which was when I heard him sing the two verses that I've submitted at the top of this thread.

Now, then. . . all I have, personally, to say about the verses is that if you like them, sing them and try not to worry too much about whether they are "authentic" or not. After all, folks still sing "Darcy Farrow"!

cheers, Aux