"The Rose of Allendale" is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 song, with words by Charles Jeffreys and music by Sidney Nelson, composed in the 1840s. Because the song has been recorded by Paddy Reilly

Paddy Reilly

Patrick 'Paddy' Reilly is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. He is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry" and "The Town I Loved So Well"....

 and Mary Black

Mary Black

Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....

, many people mistakenly believe the song to be a (traditional)

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 song. Sometimes it is also believed to be a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 song.

The English song lyrics are about a maiden from the town of Allendale, Northumberland

Allendale, Northumberland

Allendale is a large village in south west Northumberland, England. Allendale is within the - the second largest of the 40 AONBs in England and Wales...

 (in love songs, a rose, regarded as a beautiful and romantic flower, is often the fairest maiden of a region or village).

Even though similarities are striking that the song is a translated version of a much older German folk song that melodywise rooted in an old "altwürttembergische Melodie" from the Rems

Rems

The Rems is a right tributary of the Neckar in eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is 78 km long. Its source is in Essingen, near Aalen. It flows generally west through the towns Böbingen an der Rems, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Plüderhausen, Schorndorf, Remshalden and Waiblingen. At Remseck the Rems flows...

 valley. It is a soldier's farewell song to his beloved and reflects the unstable times of war.

The song was also popularized by the Scottish folk band The Corries

The Corries

The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne that it is best known.-Early years:...

, and The Dubliners

The Dubliners

The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...

 (e.g. on their 1987 album 25 Years Celebration

25 Years Celebration

25 Years Celebration is a double album by The Dubliners. Recorded in 1987 and released following a special Late Late Show appearance by the group, 25 Years Celebration featured a number of special guests and featured "The Irish Rover", a collaboration with The Pogues, which returned The Dubliners...

) as well as in bagpipe versions, e.g. Grampian Police Pipe Band on their album Pipes and Drums of Scotland, song no. 13.