John, "Strands of Malligan" is certainly one of the family I noted above, but I don't have any specific information on it. Thanks for pointing out the text in Sam Henry's collection. I had overlooked it.

These songs I mentioned probably can't be called variants of the same song, but they have a basic similarity. They all involve a description of a nearly ideal place to live, but not quite what I would call Utopia, because there aren't of the fabulous elements in them that we find in Utopia songs (see 'Utopia' on my website in Scarce Songs 1).

There are other elements added on in various versions: Pretty maids abound for young men to pursue, or the narrator's regret at having to leave the place, and sometimes his sweetheart, or his desire to return to same, or to his sweetheart there. In the untitled one from "An Astronomer's Wife" [seemingly dated to about 1840] on my website, it'a an untrue Polly that appears at the end. In "Green Mountain" in 'Folk Songs out of Wisconsin', p. 120, 1977, brought from England before the American Civil War, the place is 'Mountain Green', and the narrator wants to go back there to his true love.

Gavin Greig gave a short discussion with several texts and excerpts of some songs in 'Folk-Song of the Northeast', Article 32 [and I didn't realize until I just reread it how much I've imitated it]: Bonny Udny/ Paisley, Bonny Portmore/ Boys of Kilkenny.

In JFSS 10, p. 53, [1907] is "Oh, Yarmouth is a pretty town, And shines where it stands", but only the 1st verse is relevant to other songs noted here. "Bristol City" in 'English County Songs', p. 162, 1893, has only a last verse related to these other songs.

I have speculated on my website (and it is only speculation) that we may be missing some early prototype commencing, "On yonder(s) high mountain", where we have several copies of a tune of that title, 1729-31. C. M. Simpson in 'The British Broadside Ballad and Its Music', notes the similarity of the tune to the older "Love Will Find Out the Way". Wm. Chappell gave the tune in PMOT II, 682, and it's on my website as an ABC in file S1.HTM.