Being a good Sicilian-American, I can't let this theft of a good Italian murder plot by the English and Scots go unnoticed. One of the major sources for the ballad listed by Child and others is an Italian/Sicilian ballad about a poisoned lover. We Italians have ALWAYS been fond of poison as a means of ridding ourselves of unwanted people...remember the Borgias? Martin Carthy recorded a version in which the poisoner was the wicked stepmother, but the girlfriend is the culprit in most versions.