Not sure about the music hall connection with the Welsh, although far from impossible. As mentioned earlier, those from whom it was collected claimed to have learned it in school - and garbled it because they were Welsh speaking (monoglot) kids thrown into an English-only environment. If it was being taught in schools, I hestitate to think that it came *directly* from the music halls ... although there are quite a few tunes used in Welsh folk music that do trace back to music hall (and even American minstrel shows - another thread someday, perhaps).

I *must* get Phyllis in on this. I shall e-mail her! It's as good an introduction to mudcat as she's gonna get!

sian