In answer to GUEST posting 14 Sep 20 - 05:08 AM...

I heard Sheila tell this anecdote at a concert, probably at the Tolbooth in Stirling about 15 years ago. That's not to say that that's the origin of the song... check the website Mainly Norfolk for more info. It says there:

"Sheila Stewart sang Jock Stewart in a 1999 recording by Doc Rowe in her home in Blairgowrie on her CD And Time Goes On: Songs and Stories. Doc Rowe commented in the album notes:

Popular on the folk scene, this song was found by the Stewarts in their letterbox when they returned from shopping one day! An anonymous writer simply stated that it was written for [Sheila's father] Alec, a fine piper and storyteller. Versions are found in Ireland."