A true story.

I was in holidays in Birmingham (England) a few years ago and at a session in a pub near Houdsworth. I met a woman who I didn't know but came from veryu near where I live in Dublin, and she asked me to sing this song. I obliged without even thinking about the lyrics. When I sang the verse under discussion a number a cheer rose up from a number of people with similar skin tone to the student chap. A very funny moment which brought all the people in the pub together sharing the joke. I didn't notice anybody being offended.

My mother had an elderly friend who died about ten yers ago. As someone was singing this song one night, she turned around to me and said "These are the rare old times, things were tough back then".