Steve, thanks very much for pointing me in the direction of the "Bramble Briar" thread. I will take a look at that for sure. And thanks for the reference to the Carey item. I have looked at that many times and wondered if it could possibly reflect any knowledge of those songs in the American Colony prior to the revolution. I think I came to the conclusion that it was unlikely. Most recently I've been trailing "The Ladies' Case", which shows up there. But I've not found any evidence of it as such in the US. Of course the first verse became a popular floating verse at some point over here. But when and how? Thanks for allowing a little creeping and crawling here. I will look forward to the ongoing discussion.