It may be stated on other threads, but not here, apparently. The song has long been a collection of commonplaces, 'floaters' in common parlance. Most of them can be traced back to at least the 17th century, which is why some confusion occurs between 'Water is Wide' and 'Waly Waly'. Laments, such as the many members of the Died for Love family, often accrue a large selection of these commonplaces. They sometimes get crystallised for a while such as the printing of Ramsay, but usually varied oral versions continue at the same time.