There are many versions, all of which recount a similar story. A maiden (a young unmarried woman) or man is about to be hanged (in many variants, for unknown reasons) pleads with the hangman, or judge, to wait for … See more

Lead Belly version
Folksinger Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, who also popularized such songs as "Cotton Fields" … See more

• List of the Child Ballads
• The folk ballad "Geordie" also features a rescue from the gallows by a payment.
• List of Led Zeppelin songs written or inspired by others See more

• Eleanor Long, "The Maid" and "The Hangman": Myth and Tradition in a Popular Ballad (University of California Press [Folklore … See more

The following is one version of the melody and lyrics, as collected by Reed Smith in McDowell County, West Virginia in 1902, and published in 1925: See more

Lucy Broadwood published a version of the song in her influential book "English Country songs" (1893). In the early 1900s, Cecil Sharp collected many versions throughout England, … See more

Some 50 versions have been reported in Finland, where it is well known as "Lunastettava neito". It is titled "Den Bortsålda" in Sweden ( "Die Losgekaufte" in German). A Lithuanian version has the maid asking relatives to ransom her with their best animals … See more