Another interesting post note...

I've been speaking to a friend of mine, who's an expert in Caribbean creole, and she told me that

"Boddy tanana, we are somebody, oh"

could well have originated from

"Boat a-turnin' now, we are somebody o'er" (i.e. turn the boat around, we're a man overboard).

This would also give the song a Caribbean provenance. It also makes sense from a nautical point of view, since the boats traditionally used to navigate the Essequibo were light, small-hulled vessels that could hug the shore without going aground on the shallows, and could avoid the strong currents midstream.

Curiously, the ruddermen often lacked their thumbs (or other fingers): if they accidentally trailed them in the water, pirahna would bite them off without the sailors feeling a thing.

Any opinions?

Chris