Thanks Steve. I will be very interested to see it and it will be a valuable contribution to this topic.

I googled British Harmony in hopes of finding the melody used in London's pleasure gardens but didn't find it. Is it available anywhere on-line?

I did find the song in the Bodliean Ballad website (by typing “thyme” into the search box) and it came up under the title “Sprig of Thyme” (published by Bebbington, Manchester, in the 1850s, and sold in Leeds). It has six verses, one of which has floated in and has nothing much to do with the song. The rest of the text is fairly close to modern versions. No tune is named.

The plant symbology in the song is both fascinating and beautiful. I was intrigued by Jim Carroll's entry of 18th March which pointed out that thyme stands for (or can we say “also stands for”) strength of character. Presumably a herb of both Mars and Venus could also represent virginity in the Battle of the Sexes, and either attribute (and “Time” as well of course) could be read into the way thyme is used in the song. Some internet sources (I looked at angelfire.com) say that “Thyme” derives from the Greek thymon, meaning courage; however the etymological dictionary I often use at etymonline.com, which always seems to be thoroughly researched, says that thymon comes from a very ancient root meaning something like “to rise in a cloud”, possible indicating either a strong scent or use as incense. Does anyone speak Ancient Greek?