Dave

Coming as I do from the other side of the barrier that we use to keep those of a Lancastrian persuasion safely penned, I naturally can give no credence to your claim for cleaning.

Now I'm going to have to trawl through all those versions of the damned song to see what's what. (Roud lists 32, a surprising - to me - number of them from the US). I did get this one from Stevenson Choice Scottish Ballads(1823-1844, 4 vols), from The Man In The Moon:

  I saw the man in the moon,
  Driving tackets in his shoon ;


which seems to come down on the cobbling side (and self-cobbling at that - St.Peter safe in his heavenly home).

(It also contains this lovely verse:

  I saw a dog shoe a horse,
  Wi' the hammer in his a — e;

)

I shall look further. I'd like to know when/where St.Peter appeared for one thing.

Mick