"the old abbot and king olfrey", is a closely similar riddle-ballad with different a king. the tune which this is set is different, and known as "shaking of the sheets". it was printed with this title in 1776 in hawkins' "history of music". it also appears as "shakinge of the sheetes" in william ballet's lute manuscript. a tune of this title appears in the stationers' register of 1568/9. the title is also mentioned in a play of 1560. the words that accompany this tune are a witty comparison between the bedsheets (a dance of life) and the winding sheets (the dance of death). "shaking of the sheets" is sung by steeleye span on the album "tempted and tried" and by the city waites on "ghosts, witches and demons" (1995).