Down the greenwood side, O.
"She set her foot all on a thorn[[1]],
Down the greenwood side, O,
There she had two babies born,
All alone, alone O.
"O she had nothing to lap them in,
All alone, alone O,
But a white appurn and that was thin,
Down the greenwood side, O," &c.
Here there are no less than four versions of the same ballad, each differing materially from the other, but all bearing unmistakeable marks of a common origin. It would be interesting to know the process by which this was managed.