Hi Fergus,

This is also known as Time To Remember the Poor/A Winter Piece (Roud Index number 1121), and as you say it appeared on a lot of broadsides. Frank Kidson included it in his 'Traditional Tunes', pp.170-171. It was collected for Kidson by Charles Lolley from an unnamed East Riding singer.

Waterson:Carthy sing it on their Topic CD Holy Heathens and the Green Old Man. Reinhard Zierke has transcribed their version on his website here Time to Remember the Poor.

The Mellstock Band with Dave Townsend have also recorded the song on their Wild Goose Records CD 'Tenants of the Earth' but that seems to be no longer available. There is another modern recording on Golden Hind Music on the CD Just Say Nowell.

Baring-Gould collected a version of this song from John Taylor of Postbridge which Martin Graebe has posted online Time to remember the poor. This is also in the DT database. There is a Mudcat thread with some very useful information from the late Malcolm Douglas and Sandy Paton, as well as the very much alive Joe Offer, Nutty, Anglo, Jon Bartlett, Kendall, Bruce Murdoch and Jim Dixon.

Alfred Williams collected it as well in Wiltshire, but unusually for him he didn't make a note of who sang it for him. See That's the time to remember the poor.

Its a really good song that could do with a revival - it seems as if it was very popular at one time, but then it almost completely disappeared.

By the way there are some amazing misprints in the Bodleian version of The Wish, especially "the poor timid heir"!

Matthew Edwards