Brian

Thank you for the response. I think your 'momento mori' is a good way to think about it.

I didn't think you were defending anybody, but I had been shocked to read about these aspects of Lomax's behaviour, as I knew his relationship with Ledbelly was dubious but had not realised how far things went. So I shared it.

I think the Armstrong version is a composite to some extent as Harwood traces the let her go verse to another song extant at the time.

All this is on the wrong thread, but I like the Fess Williams version. It has humour, as do several of the other early recordings of similar songs. Martha Copleland's Dying Crapshooter's Blues. In both versions there are musical jokes.