"Jack Monroe", also known as "Jack Munro," "Jackie Monroe," "Jack-A-Roe," "Jackaroe," "Jackaro," "Jackie Frazier," "Jack the Sailor," "Jack Went A-Sailing," "The Love of Polly and Jack Monroe," among other titles, is a traditional ballad of uncertain (though presumably British) origin.
The version "Jack Went A-Sailing" collected in Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp's English Folk Songs From the Southern Appalachians (1917) is frequently cited as an early published version.
Dianne Dugaw's Warrior Women and Popular Balladry, 1650-1850 gives a 1934 version of "Jack Monroe" collected in Missouri, and also notes the existence of a version "on an 1830s Boston broadside in American Antiquarian Society, Uncatalogued Ballads."
The song is a staple of the folk rock repertoire and has been performed by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and more commonly, The Grateful Dead (as "Jack-A-Roe"). In 1931, Florence Reece used this tune for her song "Which Side Are You On?". Also performed by Melora Creager of Rasputina on Ancient Cross-Dressing Songs.