Harry Cox insisted similarly. An interview with him by Bob Thomson and me in Catfield Norfolk shortly before his death in May 1971, transcript published in Folk Review for February 1973, contained the following assertions from him:--

~~~'Barbara Ellen' now, I remember it. Some people sing that different to what other people do. You might know a different tune. And there's some put another two verses at the end. I never could. 'And from her grave grew a rose'. The other one come in 'Lord Lovely' — 'Where they tied together in a true-love's knot, For true loves all to admire.' That's in another song. They get mixed up, that shouldn't come in 'Barbara Ellen'. That don't belong in that. They belong in 'Lord Lovely'. My uncle used to sing that. I never did go in for that, I don't know why. That was out of my line. That was sung by another fellow, and I didn't want to mix up too many bits.~~~

But it is surely vain to insist that any floating verse belongs in only one ballad, whoever the authority (Tom Munnelly, Harry Cox, whoever!) to urge it.

~Michael~