Sorry - got cut off in the middle. I was wondering about the connection between these verses and the first verse to the trees they do grow high. Why is it considered bad luck to love a young tree? Was it considered bad for the lad to have been wed so young in the trees song? They never mention the cause of the young man's death in the three versions I know of the song.

"All 'Round My Hat" is another song that uses the willow as a symbol of false or absent love, as does "The Seeds of Love".

I just looked up the version of "All "Round My Hat" and found that it's fairly different from the one I sing.

All "Round My Hat"

All 'round my hat I will wear the green willow
If anyone should ask you the reason why I wear it
It's all because my true-love is far, far away

My love he was fair and my love he was kind, too
And many were the happy hours between my love and me
I never could forbid him whatever he'd a mind to
And now he's far away, far across the stormy seas

Oh, will my love be true and will my love be faithful
Or will he find some other girl to court where he's gone
The girls will all run after him, so pretty and so graceful
And leave me here lamenting, lamenting all alone

The first verse is used as a chorus.