Hi Len Wallace. Nicely put mate! The fact theat the song has been sung sooooo many times by all kinds of people must give credit to the song. The Clancy's and Tommy aswell as Alex Campbell or the Dubliners singing the Wild Rover is to me a part of our folk legacy.

Yeah i reckon its ok to have a laugh and fiddle with the words a bit (so long as it's not derisory or in mockery) and change the tune like ClairBear's lovely version but i think to never sing it cos it's bin done a lot is a shame. To me it would be like re-visiting an old friend. Long may in rove!