But the woman in Henry's "Tam Boy" isn't his mother and there's no uneasy love. She's a prospective employer. And nobody gets poisoned. And the dinner has no sinister significance.

Qeustion: Why do people think it's so important to show that "Billy Boy" (or "Tam Boy") is "really" a folk-processed version of "Lord Randall"?

Are there no clearer, less dubious examples of song mutation?