Well, if we can bring another Stewart into the discussion, on his Donegal Rain CD, Andy M. Stewart sings almost the same version as Sheila and Belle Stewart - BUT Andy sings "It was there I spied a weel faurt maid." Andy M. Stewart calls it "Queen Amangst the Heather." The Sheila Stewart recording is on a CD called From the Heart of the Tradition. I take it that Sheila is Belle's daughter - any chance Andy M. is in the same family?

And on top of that all, on his The Man With a Rhyme CD, Archie Fisher sings more-or-less the Stewart/Stewart/Stewart version (with a slightly different tune) and HE sings "It was there I spied a weel faurt maid." So, the women sing "lovely," and the men sing "weel faurt."

-Joe-