Matthew--it is difficult my joining in with this as I have no idea who Sheila Stewart is or Ailie Munroe!! I have only recently returned to the 'folk scene' after a lapse of 30years!!!
All I know is that the recording I have heard was definately not comic but I do appreciate what you are saying and indeed humour is often used to mask unhappiness in lots of forms.
I would love to hear different versions of this song.
'Could a Man sing it'??
--Mmmmm--I would say 'yes'--and infact a man singing it may have far more dramatic effect than a Woman singing it as long as it wasn't done with a strong emphasis on the comic aspect--!

What does everyone else think?
Diz