Hi, folks & Susan. I pass by Mudcat nearly daily, actually, but don't post all that much. Please forgive my delay here but I've been at the hospital with the spouse EMTed over there, having a heart "event." Likely come home tomorrow or the next day & we'll never know what the cause was so not to worry. Sorry for the personal stuff, it's conceivable I'm experiencing some stress. I'll get over it.

Yes, I am "AS" but these were almost all redone as "AJS" since "AS" can be hard to search on.

Not much help for you on this, I'm afraid, Capri. I got the song years ago from the songbook (mostly ballads) of "Ciorst" of the SCA. (Society for Creative Anachronism) None of the songs have any attribution at all. I'm not even sure that "Ciorst" is the exact spelling. Joe Bethancourt of Arizona would certainly know this person.

I cannot find this verson anywhere, either - there doesn't seem to be any version in Herd or Greig from the NorthEast. BUT, I don't think it's made up either. Child's notes don't help but in a much earlier (warm-up, I guess) book set, English and Scottish Ballads of 1857 there are some interesting notes. {BTW, just to keep this personal, this particular book was nefariously donated to me by a very, very old friend in 1959 - I haven't used it much but it just shows to go.}

He gives the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Mrs Brown version in Vol 1, p229. He then gives: The traditional commentary upon this ballad informs us, that the apple was the produce of the fatal Tree of Knowledge, and that the garden ws the terrestrial paradise. The repugnance of Thomas to be debarred the use of falsehood, when he might find it convenient, has a comic effect.
Scott