A series of links has led me, the way they do, to this ancient thread, which dates from long before I even discovered Mudcat. I refresh it to add a point about this particular song,"I Once Lived In Service".

I said to Pete when The Transports first appeared that he claimed that all the tunes were his own composition, apart from some traditional airs used in the narration passages; but that this tune struck me as very close to "The Fair Maid On The Shore". He replied that he didn't even know that song, and asked how it went. When I had sung a couple of lines, he said "Yes, it is very like it. I suppose I must have heard it once without being aware, and it came back to me when I put the tune to 'Once Lived In Service'."

I have never iirc seen or heard this derivation suggested before, so think this bit of conversation I recall with Pete all those years back worth putting on record here, for any scholarly or evidential value it might have for Bellamy scholars.

≈Michael≈