Unreserved apology for stooping to such a wisecrack and freely admitting to my own insanity. But to produce such an interesting response it was worth the dig.

I apologise also for accusing you of embellishment without any evidence. I agree that the stories and ballads need little help from us lesser mortals.

However I still disagree over the idea of multi-layered ballads. For me they tell a simple straightforward story and I love them for it. I think we are using different definitions of 'imagery'. I was using it in a literary sense, e.g., similes, metaphors, allegories.

Yes meanings in ballads can alter from version to version, that's part of the folk process, and listeners can make slight differences in their interpretations, but by and large the story is simple and straightforward.

How you can say that the 'conception set up' part of the ballad is an interloper certainly beats me. It was there in what I take to be the original, i.e., the 17th century broadside. The Scots additions from Child 21 are certainly embellishments if not interlopers. Some would say an improvement. We are all entitled to our opinions here. Like you I go for the stark simple versions pared down to the bare bones, like the version I sing.