 The music and lyric were written in 1911 by Kate Emily Barkley ("Katie") Moss (1881-1947) who was a professional violinist, pianist and concert singer.She was brought up in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music.The song tells the story of an incident that apparently actually happened to Moss herself on a visit to Helston during the springtime 'Furry Dance' celebrations and the song was reportedly written directly afterwards as she was going home on the train.