"Bobbing Joe" is also known as "Bobbing Joan", "Bob(by) and Joan/John" and "Bobbin-a-Jo". This air appears in John Playford's first (and every subsequent) edition of The English Dancing Master (1651) and Musick's Delight on the Cithren (1666), where it appears as "Bobbing Joan," a frequent title variation). Quite old, it was considered part of the traditional repertoire in John Playford's day and may be related to the morris tune "Bobbin-a-Joe." As "Bobbing Joane" it appears in several ballad operas, including Gay's Polly (1729), The Bay's Opera (1730), The Mad House (1737), and A Cure for a Scold (1738). As a dance tune it also appears in Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing Master, vol. 1 (1718) and vol. 3 (1731). It was recorded by The Baltimore Consort on A Trip to Kilburn (1996) and Hesperus on Early American Roots (1997).