"Several contributors to this thread have referred to episodes within this ballad as though they belong to this ballad alone. The majority of the older ballads of the 16th/17th centuries are riddled with commonplaces,"

I remember my daughter, who is now a 14 year old Baby Goth, nicking one of my Christy Moore cassettes when she was about 6 years old. I used to hear the strains of Little Musgrave emanating from her bedroom, and singing the song became her party piece (though she'd never admit it now).

I remember, some years later, when she'd heard a number of other English songs, she asked me, "What is it with the cheek and chin? It's ALWAYS cheek and chin."

Welcome, my love, to the Floating Verse.

*I'd like to think that those early experiences with tragic/morbid traditional songs have led her, in a somewhat unexpected way, to her current Gothy sensibilities...