It is alternatively attributed to the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and the wren is supposed to be the young king Richard II, who is killed and fed to the poor.
Aside from the English and Scottish versions, it exists in Welsh (Hela'r Dryw") and Manx ("Helg Yn Dreain").
On the Isle of Man, up to the end of the eighteenth century, the ceremony (which has parallels in France and Galicia) was observed on Christmas morning.
The song has also been recorded numerous times from traditional singers in England; versions are available on the British Library Sound Archive from Newcastle,[6] Hull,[7] Oxfordshire[8] and Lancashire.
[9] Joe and Winifred Woods of Douglas, Isle of Man, sang a version of the song learnt in their childhood to Peter Kennedy in 1965, which can be heard on the British Library Sound Archive website.
[10] A few versions were recorded in the United States[11][12] including one sung by Don Gaetz of Clifton, Arkansas in 1967,[13] which can be heard via the Max Hunter Folk Collection website.
[14] There is a Breton tune called "The Wren", played by Maggie Sansone on the album A Celtic Fair (2007), but it is not clear if this is related to the ceremony.
Jack Bruce utilized the melody of "Cutty Wren" for the bass part in the Cream's 1968 song "Pressed Rat and Warthog."
A 1990 parody of the song, titled "Hunting the Cutty Wren", can be found on the album "Oranges and Lemmings" by the Mrs Ackroyd Band, with lyrics by Les Barker, performed by Martin Carthy and June Tabor.