Hi,

TY Gutcher. Chappell postulated that the original town was Carlisle. Several of the plot lines in Buchan's version are unique; The flirtation with Miss Morton which causes the riff between the lovers; the alternate proposal to Babie by Sir James; and Captain Green's suicide (last stanza). Much has been added.

Curiously, the name Sir James is also found in a version by Almeda Riddle, of Heber Springs, Arkansas:

VERSE 2: Twas all in the merry month of May
Green buds all a swellin';
When young Sir James, on a death bed lay
With love for Barbra Allen.

I've always felt that the lover's name should be John (Sir John, Johnny) or Jimmy (Jemmy) not Willie (William).

Richie