Hugill admitted that his text had been "camouflaged," the word he liked to use for "bowdlerized." Some of the original stanzas are in Randolph-Legman, but Legman, for reasons unknown, still omitted seven entire stanzas.

The full text, Legman tells us, is/was in Hugill's manuscript of bawdy shanties, "Sailing Ship Shanties, by 'Long John Silver.'"

There's a disturbing rumor circulating that this collection, which is/was one of the most significant folklore collections in English of the 20th century, has now disappeared or, in fact, never existed.

Hugill himself told me in 1988 that the manuscript was real and that he'd given it to Legman around 1960. He compiled it at Legman's request from the authentic shanty lyrics that Hugill's 1961 publishers found "unprintable." This, Hugill said, was so that "if we're all blown up by an atom bomb the songs will survive." Maybe he was too optimistic.

Maybe John Mehlberg knows something about the manuscript's whereabouts. Legman stated in print several times that he'd promised to publish it.

Meanwhile, Stan occasionally performed some of the bawdy shanties at late-night singalongs at Mystic Seaport and elsewhere. Any 'Catters who may have picked up lyrics from him in person can help out by posting them.