Donald A. Duncan wrote:
>
> John Moulden writes:
>
> > > Irish, though printed in London. "Rine" = Ryan
> >
> > I thnk this would be better put as a conjecture - it may be true and I think
> > it is but you offer no evidence other than a phonetic similarity.
>
> Not my conjecture; that was a quote from the editors, presumably based
> on other texts and Irish broadsides. I've heard other references to
> this song being Irish, too, but I don't know the reasons for that conclusion.
>
> -Don Duncan
Note that 'Sources of Irish Traditional Music', [SITM] II, 1998,
gives different tunes:
1: "Renardine" from Smollet Holden's 'A Collection of Quick and Slow
Marches', c 1805. (SITM #4601, and see cross references to later
versions)
2: "Mountains High" from John Mulholland's 'A Collection of Ancient
Irish Airs', I, 1810. (SITM #5132)
I have seen a note somewhere that the song was reworked by
Sigurdson, but don't know when, or have his text.
Copies of the song under the "Mountains High" title on the
Bodleian ballads website seem to be later than these tunes.
Bruce Olson
Roots of Folk: Old British Isles popular and folk songs, tunes,
broadside ballads at my no-spam website - www.erols.com/olsonw
or just <A href="http://www.erols.com/olsonw"> Click </a>
Motto: Keep it up; muddling through always works.
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