I'm pleased to see all these comments about the song in this discussion, which I just stumbled upon. I have, at last count, 27 covers of the song in my iTunes library (not that I've ever made any money off it) and I'm delighted that it's been so popular. I wrote it primarily in memory of my parents, who came over in the 1920s. The word in the last line is indeed "aisles," not "isles." I also have to say that my least favorite version of the song is Shillelagh Law's. They're good musicians, but doing the song as a polka seems like the wrong approach to me.
---Terence Winch /www.terencewinch.com