I don't know exactly how old that memory is - I could have been as young as 8, but no older than 10, and probably 9 or 10. That would make it 1958-1961, in a rural area right outside of Charleston, WV. I remember we were kind of vague on some of the lyrics, and argued about what the words of some lines were, which suggests we learned it from a recording and could not quite make out the words. I don't remember the two of us ever making a habit of sitting down with records to learn songs.

It is a cipher.