I’ve always been fascinated with how folk songs developed, in the days before our modern idea of authorship and copyright law came into being. The Unfortunate Rake developing period-specific details about Locke Hospital; then transforming over the course of 300 years into St. James Infirmary; and how St. James Infirmary inspired the Smokey Joe cycle of songs (eg. Smokey Joe’s Holiday, Minnie the Moocher, etc.), would make a good subject for an article itself. I’m not as familiar with the history of The Streets of Laredo, but I’m sure it’s just as intriguing. Definitely has more of the original Unfortunate Rake melody than St. James has.