Stewie, The verses you posted look to me like they fit the description of what my wife was looking for, but she says they aren't the same as what she heard. These singers! So hard to please! Even though we haven't found what we wanted on this thread yet, we are seeimg lots of great endings for the song.

Abby Sale, I've never been in danger of mixing up "Pretty Polly" with "The House Carpenter". Very different songs. "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" is obviously the same song, but usually has a mystical/ghostly ending. I've always like the decidely non-mystical story of the version of "Pretty Polly" that Anna sings. She wasn't looking for a ghostly ending for the song. When I said in my original post that Willie was "haunted by the sound of the wild birds for the rest of his life" I was thinking more of a psychological haunting than a ghostly visitation.

Thanks, everyone, for all the versions, links, verses, comments. I've been having a lot of fun reading all these slightly different takes on the story, since the way that the words are put together is one of the things that attracts me to tradtional folk songs. Mark Clark, I've never thought there was such a thing as unreal verses to folk songs.

John Peekstok