It could have been influenced by one of the many 'Oak and the Ash' songs but in all of these the song/chorus is about longing to be back in one's own country, rather than dying. Could it be related in some way to the 'Lone burial' 'Home, home on the range' series of songs? A longshot again. I've never heard of an English/British oak being referred to as 'red'. Could it have been old oak tree?