<P> Some though not all versions of Jamie Douglas have the first verse that starts' O, Waly, Waly' . Andrew Lang found a variant verse in Ramsay's Tea Table Miscellany from a sixteenth - century song . </P> <P> Predecessors of The Water is Wide also influenced lyrics for other folk and popular songs, such as the modern version of the Irish Carrickfergus (1960s) and the American Sweet Peggy Gordan (1880). The Irish song Carrickfergus shares the lines but the sea is wide / I cannot swim over / And neither have I wings to fly . This song may be preceded by an Irish language song whose first line A Bhí Bean Uasal ("It was a noble woman") matches closely the opening line of one known variation of Lord Jamie Douglas: I was a lady of renown . However, the content of the English - language Carrickfergus includes material clearly from the Scots / English songs not in any known copy of A Bhí Bean Uasal suggesting considerable interplay among all known traditions . </P> <P> The modern The Water Is Wide was popularized by Pete Seeger in the folk revival . There have been multiple subsequent variations of the song and several names--including Waly, Waly, There is a Ship, and Cockleshells--which use and re-use different selections of lyrics . The song Van Diemen's Land on the album Rattle and Hum by U2 uses a variation of the melody of The Water Is Wide . The song "When the Pipers Play," sung by Isla St. Clair on the video of the same name, uses the melody of "The Water is Wide ." </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The Water is Wide Tune for The Water is Wide </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who wrote the lyrics to the water is wide