Well I thought we must have discussed it before
this thread
Our version always started

Oh a (that word we didn't think was all that bad then, OK lets say Deacon instead) went down
echo
In a cellar to pray
echo
And the lights went out
echo
|And he stayed all day

Repeated faster without the echo
Ain't gonna grieve
My lord no more.

Chorus

Then the improvised verses
You'll never get to Heaven
In ---'s old car
'cos ---'s old car
wont go that far

etc.etc

We sang the chorus in 2 parts, half singing
Ain't gonna grie-e-e-e-ve
My Lord no mo-o-o-o-ore
Ain't goona grieve
My Lord no more
repeat

while the others sang
Ain't gonna grieve my lord,
Aint goona grieve my lord
Aint gonna grieve my lord no more
repeat.

It was sung (even by church groups) completely without any religious intention, even though the words would seem to be religious