Oh, it's getting quite late and I'm a little tired. I apologize for any spelling mistakes made. (I think I confused sung and sang. English is not my first language, sometimes I make silly mistakes like that).

I happened to see your enquiry about the Down Derry Down tune and thought "wait a moment, this is one I should know a thing or two about."

The tune took my fancy when I first heard it in a variant of Drimindown, so I started looking for as many field recordings of it as I could find.

Next time I'll take my time to proof read before I click on "submit message".

I also remembered a version of The Three Ravens from the Flanders collection that uses what could be considered a variant of the chorus:
https://ia801203.us.archive.org/25/items/HHFBC_tapes_C09A/C09A%20sideB.mp3

Here it goes "Hi-Dum, Di-Dum Derry Hi Ho".

I know that another similar British text from John Holmes, Round-hay, Derbyshire, used Down Derry Down in its place.

The tune is different, though. It is the first song on the tape, it starts at 1:12. It is remarkable for being one of the few recent texts to make mention of a lady full of grief who for the love of the slain soldier/knight died.


Now this is completely unrelated to your enquiry, but say, you wouldn't happen to know of any songs from "recent" oral tradition that use the tune "Packington's Pound"?

It was a popular ballad tune in its time, but other than a bawdy version of Brian O Lin, called "Brinzi O' Flynn" recorded by Sam Eskin in 1942 from a British seaman in San Francisco I have not been able to find any trace of it in modern tradition.

I was reminded of that tune while writing this. If it doesn't belong here I can also create a new topic for that. I just thought it couldn't hurt to ask.