Cecil Sharp's Note 56 (1916)

No. 56. High Germany

There are two ballads of this name. The words of one of them, that given here, may be found on a broadside by Such and in A Collection of Choice Garlands, circa 1780. The second is printed on a Catnach broadside, and is entitled “The True Lovers: or the King’s command must be obeyed,” although it is popularly known as “High Germany,” For versions of both of these, see the Journal of the Folk-Song Society (volume ii, p. 25); Journal of the Irish Folk-Song Society (Part I, p. 10); and Folk Songs from Dorset (No. 6).

The words have been compiled from different versions. The tune is in the Æolian mode.