“Here Maddy Prior sings a song about the English custom of dancing around the maypole and the attendant shenanigans. 

The lyrics have a known author: 17th-century comic actor Robert Cox published them in 1656 as “The Maypole Song.” It’s not known what tune Cox used, though. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the words were joined up with a traditional dance tune called “Staines Morris.”