Jim 3.37. Yes you have a point, Jim. I think there was a musical equivalent of Ramsay that published the tunes which may have had some influence, but it does suggest to me that the standard song was well-known in polite circles perhaps before Ramsay's printing.

Richie, the letter writing is in the Forget-me-not Songster version which has lots of extra verses. When these people claim that their family version goes back several centuries they are not factoring in the likelihood of influence from other versions, some from more recent print like the FMNS version, especially with such a widespread popular ballad as this.

'That's where I got my learning' of course is an echo of 'where I was bound'

Jim, you may well be right about it starting out as a burlesque. I certainly think that's how pieces like Lord Lovell and George Collins started out. However these ballads slipped easily in and out of comedy and tragedy. One man's tragedy is another man's comedy