Lighter,

There are a number of halyard chanteys that have a narrative thread. Several variants of "Blow the Man Down" tell a coherent story, viz. the black ball, queer bungereye and coitus interuptus versions. "Ruben Ranzo" and "John Cherokee" have a plot, and even "Hieland Laddie" -- while not a real plot -- has a picaresque thread to it.

However, I tend to like chanteys with a story line, so perhpaps my mental database is biased in that direction.

Your supposition that "Whaling Johnny" sprang from the Adam's fragment and isn't a true chantey is thought-provoking. Given the covey of chantey experts that will be at Mystic next week, I intend to do a little research on this. I promise to share my findings in this thread.

Jerry