G'day John,

I know the problem of repeatedly looking/listening to the same thing ... "glazed with familiarity" is my personal take on the effect.

The broadside, to which you link, has several interesting (presumed) "typos"! Both rhyme and some of your alternate versions suggest the person setting type for the broadside misread "chubby" as "chilly" in line 1 ... then "chuck her" as "chatter". Then possibly, in line 5, the already archaic "spend" was read as "spit" ... and, to draw the bow near breaking point, perhaps "laid" in the sixth line was written out as "did,".

This all suggests that the small sheet (maybe a "pamphlet" - given the ultimate derivation from Pamphilus sue de Amore) was a quick favour by a typesetter - for a friend who wasn't the clearest of writers ... So who was it complained that setting down "folk songs" in print would "kill" them, by precluding any changes!

BTW: Have you had direct contact with Rob Willis, who worked with John Meredith on this collection ... and who knew Ebb Wren for years? I'll e-mail contact details directly to you, in case you don't have them.

Regards,

Bob