G'day Brian Sutton,

If by "The generally posted words..." you mean those in the DT, I must say they are much what I have usually heard ... and 'John in Brisbane' suggests he had them from a Lloyd recording. From where does your variant come?

In tracking down various versions one needs to check whatever versions Lloyd has given ... then compare with the source books he would have used. He never "collected", in any modern sense, in his Australian spell - rather he heard the songs in their native element - learned many - wrote a lot down in notebooks for his needs in remembering and singing them. (Information from Lloyd's private letter to Australian folklore collector John Meredith)

It was decades later that he became a "folklorist" - and he was not of one the 'purist' persuasion. Rather, he combined, edited ... made up from the whole cloth where it suited ... to mould songs that fitted the aims of the Working Mens' Song Group at EFDSS. It is quite possible that both versions you mention are different 'Marks' of the same song process.

All that said, it's one of the bywords that "there is no 'correct' version of a folksong". Sing what works for you ... and defend it with conviction.

Regards,

Bob Bolton