Hi, Richard. I do have someone else working on The Liverpool Lodger at the moment - another Liverpudlian as a matter of fact - but please don't let that put you off.

We've already got two versions of The Old Baby Farmer up on the site, and it's possible that we'll get another Jealous Annie too. Personally, I've got no problem with that at all, as I think it's often quite interesting to compare and contrast the way two different artists treat the same set of lyrics and the same story. Let a thousand flowers bloom, that's what I say.

The Sister & The Serpent's original 1850 sheet, for them as don't know, suggests its lyrics be sung to an air called The Waggon Train, which I've never been able to track down. I don't know if Irene ever tried to trace it or not, but she did tell me she was using a tune of her own for the recording.

I'd still be very interested to know more about The Waggon Train if any Mudcatters can shed light on it. The tune intended must have already been popular by 1850, and suitable for the lyrics here: http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-sister-and-serpent.html