This is an interesting song from the standpoint of whether it could be considered traditional or not. I have heard versions of the song which I assumed had been learned from oral transmission and tune and words were changed a little. The folk process is at work on the song even though the original words and music are out there for anyone who cares enough to find them. The later versions I have heard are not as appealing to me as the version I heard Bob and Evelyn Beers sing at a Folklore Society of Greater Washington gathering many, many, many years ago when I fell in love with the song forever.