Thanks to all for your effort.

I took at class at the university in which we studied Traditional British Ballads. As an extension, we investigated some of the song sung in the mountainous areas of the USA. Look at http://web.lyon.edu/wolfcollection/songs/applechicken1265.html and then follow the link on that page to hear not only the lyric you mentioned but both that melody and the melody of a second song. These songs are very stylized and form an oral tradition that includes training for children as well as social commentary. All cultures have these traditions, but the ones in English are especially well documented and researched.

There's actually a page on yahoo answers about this line of the song. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070913132148AAcy4KE