John Brand, in his Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain (1849), records the custom of 'peascod wooing' along with the tradition of divining love affairs from pea-pods. This air was first published by Playford in the first edition of The English Dancing Master of 1651 and was retained in the Dancing Master through the 8th edition of 1690 (then published by son Henry Playford). The tune and dance were dropped from the Dancing Master in subsequent editions. Antiquarian William Chappell (1859) observes that the first four bars are identical with those of "All in a Garden Green" and that, while the title suggests a ballad was once attached to the tune, no words have ever been found. Both "Gathering Peascods" and "All in a Garden Green" are derivatives (along with many other tunes) of the ancient ground "Hunts Up" or "The King's Hunts Up", a melody associated with Henry VIII. It was also printed in Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time (1859), Sharp's Country Dance Tunes (1909), and Karpeles & Schofield's A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs (1951). It was recorded on The English Country Dancing Master by The Telemann Society and Country Capers by The New York Renaissance Band.