Carmen were known for their habit of whistling, which according to William Chappell was effective in the management of horses.
However, the best-known version is a keyboard arrangement by William Byrd, who used the tune as the basis of a set of variations.
My Lady Nevells Booke is dated 1591, which provides a terminus ante quem for Byrd's composition.
Davitt Moroney notes that nearly all the surviving sources include fingering, which suggests that the piece was used for teaching purposes.
It appears in Act III, Number 13, The Scene of the Russalkas, of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera May Night, at the opening, as a romance sung by the character Levko.