Quote from post above:

"The song generally referred to as 'The Unfortunate Rake' has appeared on hundreds of broadsides, which is why it is regarded as the widest travelled and adapted of all our folk songs
Go check on Mainly Norfolk"

I checked here (again in case it had been updated since I last looked)

https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/theunfortunaterake.html

This web site provides no evidence that a song entitled 'The Unfortunate Rake' appeared on any broadside.

It asserts that liner notes written by somebody called 'Goldstein' are essential reading. They are useful notes in that they lead to various articles on the topic, but unfortunately they do not accurately sum up what it says on all those articles.