LOL oh, the tangled web of sea music

if it has a good story and nice, singable tune mariners will embrace it as their own and then do with it what they will

and seamen come from all over and then travel all over meeting others and swapping songs and stories while perhaps under less than sober conditions :)

for kicks, go on youtube and you will find it sung to the tune of The Dreadnaught including the Down, down, down Derry down.. well it does scan

at least printed sources can give dates to a given version but rarely a coherent provenance but real life is just plain messy

what I humbly think is that what makes the story stirring is how well it relates to the real life experiences of the sailors and expresses their feelings that must be often unsaid, unheard or listened to