>> Are you around BP? <<

Yes Duncan, I'm around all right, in fact I just beat you to the draw! The 'extra' verse to 'Bonny George Campbell' was written out on a beermat for me (actually the whole song was) by Anne Alderson at the legendary Collingwood Folk Club - the Wilsons' former home patch - in 1981. It didn't occur to me at the time that one verse might not be traditional, although I could probably spot it if the same thing were to happen now. And then the same thing goes and happens to you - the Beermat Tradition may be new phenomenon worthy of learned discussion. Having said that, I now wonder whether the ballad works better without the 'explanation' - the sparseness of the storyline just adds to the mystery.

As to my own versions of Child Ballads, I do anything and everything from taking a source singer's text verbatim, to inserting occassional 'missing' verses from alternative texts, to recasting the whole thing with traditional verses where possible and made-up ones if not - see 'Sir Aldingar' - to writing a whole new set of verses ('Six Nights Drunk'). The master plan is to set out some of the assembly instructions on my website alongside the lyrics, so anyone can see the processes laid bare.

And, like you and Nic, I do sometimes make unconscious changes as well. Don't we all?