[2] Possibly the earliest publication of the tune with words occurs in Walter Jekyll's 1907 book, Jamaican Song and Story, as item 121, pages 219-220.
The song is now often taken at a much faster pace for dancing but was originally sung slow and plaintively by a mother who couldn't sell enough at the market to feed her children.
One of the earliest such publications was "Linstead Market: a Jamaican Folk-song," by Arthur Benjamin, Boosey & Hawkes, 1947 (5 pages).
The song was recorded by the English folk group The Spinners, sung by their Caribbean singer Cliff Hall.
The song was covered by legendary Cuban group La Sonora Matancera in 1957, in English and Spanish.
More recently, published in January 2014, the album by Monty Alexander, titled "Harlem-Kingston Express, Vol.
Liner notes of the album by Monty Alexander reference the track by stating, "... this beloved old Jamaican folk song from way before my time, is one of the staples of the Mento repertoire."
Brian Raphael Nabors arranged Linstead Market 2018 for string quartet, commissioned by Castle of Our Skins for its Celebrity Collaboration Project.