The Farmer's Boy

The earliest written record of the song is under the name "The Lucky Farmer's Boy" in an 1832 catalogue of street ballads printed in London by James Catnach.

"[2] Frank Kidson the English musicologist and folk song collector wrote in 1891, "Even now, the popularity of 'The Farmer's Boy' is great among country singers".

[3] A legend in Little Leigh, Cheshire, suggests that the song is based on the life of the Reverend Thomas Fownes Smith (1802–1866) and was written by his brother-in-law, Charles Whitehead (born 1792).

Smith was the minister at Little Leigh Baptist Chapel for more than 30 years, where a plaque in his memory is located on the inside rear wall.

[18] The traditional singers Walter Pardon of Knapton, Norfolk (1985)[19] and Fred Jordan of Ludlow, Shropshire (1990/91)[20] were recorded singing versions of the song.

the daughter cried, While tears ran down her cheek 'He'd work if he could, so 'tis hard to want food, And wander for employ; Don't turn him away, but let him stay, And be a farmer's boy.'

The Baptist Church at Little Leigh where Thomas Fownes Smith preached. He is said to have been the original "Farmer's Boy"