Barbara:
James Fuld is highly regarded, particularly in legal circles, on questions
of origins.
While I have not researched the origins of the ditty ("song" seems too
noble a term), I can say that it is widely used as the vehicle for bawdy
songs in much of the Anglophone world. To wallow further in that mudhole,
see the index of my book _The Erotic Muse_ (U of Illinois Press, 1991).
If the book is not available to you, let me know privately. I will help
you as best I can, backchannel.
Ed
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