The song traces it's way all the way back to Scotland where there are a couple of versions predating any American versions. At least one from the West Coast and another from Peterhead.
There are people who argue that the song is from Liverpool. However the oldest versions seam to come from Scotland.
The song is about a guy who finds his girlfriend has died of syphalis and that means that he is next. Some versions of the song talk of mercury which was a treatment for the disease (often the mercury killed before the syphalis).
A very dark story. BBC Radio Scotland had a program on the 4th of January called Songlines that looked at the 200+ uear history of the song.
The song traces it's way all the way back to Scotland where there are a couple of versions predating any American versions. At least one from the West Coast and another from Peterhead.
There are people who argue that the song is from Liverpool. However the oldest versions seam to come from Scotland.
The song is about a guy who finds his girlfriend has died of syphalis and that means that he is next. Some versions of the song talk of mercury which was a treatment for the disease (often the mercury killed before the syphalis).
A very dark story. BBC Radio Scotland had a program on the 4th of January called Songlines that looked at the 200+ uear history of the song.