Whilst 32 is undoubtedly of great ancestry as a story, its existence as a ballad in Scots is rather suspect as far as oral tradition goes

I'm aware of that, but there's a quality in the language / imagery I find entirely beguiling; and so beguiled I am oddly, if not entirely, convinced that, whatever the actual & or dodgy provenance, here is something that, in modern parlance, kicks ass in the ballad stakes. As I once wrote of 32 - a rollicking yarn of the supernaturally grotesque with strong comedic elements suggestive of parody.