The earliest mention I have discovered of the song is in a 1922 published book. The author had said it was a song in Paris but he was mistaken. There is a newspaper article about the Ballamena being a English ship that came from Nassau to Miami and was heading back to Nassau. So there is no way it could of been a song in Paris. https://archive.org/stream/adventuresinang01heilgoog#page/n284/mode/2up/search/peas If there is something dated earlier than 1922 please post it here.