We seems to have gone around in a circle.

Where does the tale of the derivation of the tune "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" come from? Some stuff I've seen I've seen is just nonsense.

In 'Sing Out' V,1 9 is "Dhrinnin Dhu Dhrinninn", a version of the song with a tune that came from Gerry Armstrong of Chicago, who learned it from Katie Lee, who learned it from someone on the West Coast. [Since this was a real folk song it was excluded from the 'Reprints from Song Out' volume.]

Quoting Sing Out:
Some years ago, The Weavers introduced a fine love song, "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine". It acchieved Hit-Parade status, particularly in a Jimmie [F] Rodgers recording. [Wrong, it was the Weaver's version in 1951 which made it to 19th position on the Hit-Parade. Who is Jimmie [F] Rodgers? No one by that name ever had a song that made the Hit-Parade. Jimmie Rodgers had some, but he died in 1933]. Pete Seeger always told listeners that Leadbelly had adapted the tune and given it a beat. [It doesn't say it came from the tune of Leadbelly's song.]
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I once saw another version of the story of the derivation of "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", but I'll show below that this is undoubtably incorrect. The story was that it was Ed McCurdy that sang "Drumion Dubh" in New York, and it was McCurdy's tune that Leadbelly altered to become "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine".

McCurdy recorded "Drumion Dubh", about 1956-60, but it was on a cheapie phonograph record called 'Favorite American Folk Songs', and neither jacket or record identified the singer!

It was years before I found out where McCurdy got the song. It was from a tape made by Helen Creighton in August of 1956 in Halifax, N.S. "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" had already been around for at least 5 years. The song and tune "Drimindown" were later published in 1964, and 1979 in Creighton and MacLeod's 'Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia'. The text only had been in Creighton's 'Maritime Folk Songs', 1961 (with two other texts, but only 1 with tune). The song had actually been sung by a visitor to Nova Scotia, the major of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Charles Cates (a former sea captain).

There have been earlier attempts to trace Leadbelly's tune, but I never seen any results of such attempts. I know that Joe Hickerson has been questioned about the "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" tune (probably only a few hundred times), but not while I was there to hear his answer. If anyone runs into him they might ask him about it. Please don't tell him I suggested that. He's probably sick of answering that question, and I'd like to keep my friendly relationship with him.