"Packington's Pound" is an English broadside ballad that dates back to the last quarter of the 17th century. It is most recognized by its tune. Claude Simpson in The British Broadside Ballad and its Music writes: "'Packington's Pound' is the most popular single tune associated with ballads before 1700." Due to the tune's overwhelming popularity, it is difficult to pinpoint a specific set of lyrics to associate with it. Instead, because of this ubiquity, the tune was readily applied to countless other ballads. The tune of "Packington's Pound" is often attributed to lutenist Francis Cutting although his name is not found on any of the extant ballads. The name may have originated from Sir John Packington, one of Elizabeth I's court favorites of whom Chappell says "the same who wagered that he would swim from the Bridge at Westminster, i.e. Whitehall Stairs, to that at Greenwich, for the sum of £3,000.... But the good Queen, who had a particular tenderness for handsome fellows, would not permit Sir John to run the hazard of the trial". (The course, running down stream would be approximately 10 miles.) Another tune about a bet on a physical feat is "Kemp's Jig". The history of the tune suggests that prior to 1700, "Packington's Pound" was a more popular tune than "Fortunate My Foe" and "Greensleeves". "Packington's Pound", the tune, has been incorporated into many historical plays by many well-established playwrights: John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, Edward Phillips's The Mock Lawyer and others. It was printed in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and in William Chappell's The Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time. It has been recorded by most classical guitarists. I learned it from Julian Bream's recording although my version is significantly different from that given in Chappell.