Through the woods I go, And through the bogs and mire, Straightway down the road, And to my heart's desire, Oh, diddle, lully day, Oh, de little lioday.
Feather beds are soft And painted rooms are bonnie I wad leave them a' And jog along wi' Johnny
Oh my heart's been sair Shearin' Craigie's corn I winnae see him the nicht But I'll see him the morn The imagery about dyeing petticoats is shared by the Irish Gaelic lament Siúil A Rúin.
[5] About her version, Stephen Thompson has written that "It's unsettling to hear Dalton, who died homeless and haunted, sing of bridges burned and backs turned.
"[6] Jerry Garcia also performed the song, as have a number of other performers, including Peggy Seeger, Sandy Paton, the New Christy Minstrels ("Miss Katy Cruel", 1965), Odetta, Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Gingerthistle, Linda Thompson, Moira Smiley, Allysen Callery, Molly Tuttle(The Tuttles and AJ Lee), Joe Dassin and Bert Jansch (with Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart).
Rillian and the Doxie Chicks, a Los Angeles-based, pirate-themed folk band, also released a version of the song on their second CD Left in the Longboat' in 2011.
The song "When I First Came to Town" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, from their 1992 album Henry's Dream, was adapted from Dalton's version of "Katy Cruel" though rewritten from the perspective of a male narrator.