I think one of the earliest recordings of it is as late as MacColl on Whaling Ballads, 1966. He says then it was grand but rare. He quotes one former bosun, Ned Close, as having used it as a whaler but having no idea what the refrain meant.

There's some justification for accepting any meaning is lost if you listen to the Caribbean "Come Down, You Roses" - equally grand and rare - (Boarding Party as well as several of the Caribbean field recordings) There's a clear (to me) relation between the two songs but in "Come Down.." there's less room to find any symbolic meaning.

In the few instances I've heard & read (Abrahams) of contemporary rowboat whalers sing the chanties, they little know or care what the words mean when those words are equivacal. They're more interested in whether they can well pull to the song. (!)