The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #80341   Message #1463845
Posted By: Goose Gander
17-Apr-05 - 06:52 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: William Cook
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: William Cook
Yes, that's the one. Like I said, it sounds British to me, but then a lot of 19th American balladry was influenced by broadsides from across the Atlantic. I'm going to keep searching to see if I can find any antecedents. It sounds 'old'- particulary the Library of Congress recording, with a gapped-scale melody and strange phrasing, but all the variants seem to date from the mid-20th century.