Though courting's a pleasure and parting is grief. Composed: Info: Lyrics. For a thief will just rob you and take what you have. A false-hearted lover is worse than a thief. Traditional Music of unknown author. One of the earliest versions of "On Top of Old Smoky" to be recorded in fieldwork was written down by the English folklorist Cecil Sharp, who during the First World War made three summer field trips to the Appalachian Mountains seeking folk songs, accompanied and assisted by Maud Karpeles. I lost my true lover from courting too slow. On top of old Smoky, all covered with snow.