It's easy to see the development of the song through the lyrics. No two versions have exactly the same lyrics. Almost all Child Ballads were recorded by Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger or Burl Ives, but in this case we have one of the rarest Child ballads. On stylistic grounds it has been suggested that most of the recent recordings are based on Nic Jones's version. They use the place-name "Harking" (which doesn't exist) instead of "Buchan" (which does exist, in Aberdeenshire). Mary Black has perhaps mis-heard Nic Jones. There is no known historical basis for the ballad, but the place name Buchan would place it in the north of Scotland. References External links Traditional Ballad Index Hannah Le Gordon Auchanachie Child Ballads Mary Black songs Sinéad O'Connor songs Scottish folk songs