Jean Ritchie - Shady Grove

My last comment was intended as a response to a previous one where the question posed was 'did it come from Ireland or Scotland?', just to put things in context. For some reason, it's registered as a stand alone comment.
Shady Grove is an American varient of Matty Groves, which IS English- in the latter song Matty Groves ends up having a sword fight with Lord Arnold, which is clearly an early English scenario, unless you had broad sword wielding lords in the Appalacians...

English! Believe it or not, the English have a folk music tradition too. We even have bagpipes! I get really fed up with the celtic monopoly of 'folk' music in the UK. By the way, a great deal of these appalachian tunes, and especially 'modal' ones like this, came from England...

I assumed it was Irish. I know of some American folk songs, like "Green Corn" and "Goodnight Irene" that were most likely English.
Many of the poor whites in the south were descended from Englishmen, brought to the colonies as indentured laborers.

Happy Birthday Pete. This might have been the greatest music series on TV ever.  Simplicity par excellence.

This almost stopped my heart. So powerful.

Indeed, the royal queen. I play this on my dulcimer but nothing like her!

this is the only freaking vid that sings this
I LOVE IT
ROCK ON DUDE(T)

You mean the Little Musgrave. Matty Groves is the American variant and I suspect the tune was borrowed from Shady Grove.

Quite possible.

Is Matty Groves really an American variant? I just assumed it was English, since Fairport Convetion did it and they are English...