Music and words dictated by James Parsons, hedger, Lew Down; he had learned it from his father. "The Singing Machine"

A second version of the melody was obtained from Bruce Tyndall. Esq., of Emouth who had learned it from a Devonshire nurse in 1839 or 1840. The melody was but a varient. It had lost the E natural that comes in so pleasantly.

The tune was certainly originally in the Dorian mode, the Eb being an altertion of a modern singer. We did not, however, feel jutified in restoring the ir to its early form, as we had no authority for so doing.

The words of the song are to be found in a collection of early ballad books in the British Museum, entitled "The Court of Apollo." There it consists of si verses, the first three of which are almost identical to ours. In "The Songster's Favourite Companion," a later collection, the same song occurs. There it is in three verses only and in a very corrupt form.

We are inclined to think that the song dates from the time of James I. or Charles I.