Lighter - Don't think that the case re BARBARA ALLEN'S ORIGINS. Earliest known REF TO IT is, I realise, PEPYS HAVING RECORDED hearing actress Mrs Knipp singing it (2 January 1665), but he calls it "the Scotch song of Barbara Allen", which shows that he realised it didn't originate with her or the performance he was attending.

[Apologies for confusion with shift-lock above - didn't intend to SHOUT!]