Folk processing --

Kenneth Peacock's transcription (above) included the name in the lyrics as "Sally Tibbo". I think that "Tibbo" is likely a phonetic rendering of "Thibeault" or "Thibeau", a French Canadian name.

I note that contemporary New England singer David Coffin sings "Sally Tibbs" instead of "Sally Tibbo". Not sure if Coffin (who may chime in here!) was attempting to correct a presumed typo or to make the rhythm less complex with the single-syllable name.

Compare to Gordon Bok's version (which was the first version I heard, back when).

Today I heard Great Big Sea's rendering from a link in the blog I referenced above. Their melody is different than everyone else's (in my not-comprehensive survey).

~ Becky in Oregon