The original British broadside ballad was a "prisoner's last goodnight" ballad that tells how the narrator robbed various lords until he was captured and condemned to death. The long version of the lyrics was collected from Emma L. Dusenbury in Mena, Arkansas by Vance Randolph. It was printed in Vance Randolph's, Ozark Folksongs as "The Rambling Boy". The shorter version is from The Joan Baez Songbook. It was recorded by Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio, Ry Cooder, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and others. I learned it from Joan Baez's recording.