The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #145512   Message #3422068
Posted By: Steve Gardham
18-Oct-12 - 12:24 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Child Ballads: US Versions Part 3
Subject: RE: Origins: Child Ballads: US Versions Part 3
Richie, my advice would be to treat Waly Waly as a separate song from the Child Ballad unless there is some evidence of the plot of JD in there somewhere. If you like I could post the fullest version I have from early print of Waly Waly to use as a template. Another alternative, if you are desperate to include all the Waly Waly versions, is to include them as secondary songs as did the early American collectors who were desperate to include anything vaguely related to a Child ballad. The best way I know of looking at WW in relation to JD is to accept WW as a song within a ballad. Most of the songs you list above are easily seperable from the Waly Waly songs and I have done in-depth studies on most of them. The sharing of tunes has little relevance without other evidence.