Burns appears to have developed it from a popular stall-ballad, The Lovesick Maid, which referred to a highwayman called Johnson, who was hanged in 1750 for robbery in the Curragh.
[6] Petrie suspected that one had been composed expressly for the stall-ballad, probably in Scotland around 1750, but expressed an opinion that "the same song united to a melody unquestionably Irish has been [...] known in Ireland [...] for an equal or much longer period".
[3] The tune used for Burns' version has been identified as a (distant) relative of that used for the American ballad Fare You Well, My Own True Love.
[7] The song as currently performed was popularised by The Johnstons, and later by Christy Moore, while versions also exist by Paddy Reilly, The Fureys, Bert Jansch and others.
Modern renditions have tended to use a text where the singer is male, and the "true love" female, whereas in the early ballads such as The Lamenting Maid the opposite was the case.