According to Cyril Tawney, this version was current in the Royal Navy during his time in service:-


ONLY SEVENTEER

I was only seventeen,
When first I went to sea,
I was shipwrecked just off the coast of France,
And just by chance -

A woman in a boat
Grabbed me by the coat,
And laid me out upon the shore to dry.

And then to my distress,
She started to undress,
She'd a map of Bonny Scotland tattooed upon her chest,

And further down,
To my surprise,
I found the spot where Nelson lost his eye -

She had the Portuguese
Tattooed across her knees,
Japan and Singapore upon her thigh,

I was looking for Hong Kong,
When her old man came along,
I let the rest of the world go by.

Obviously the 'Folk Process' at work here ....

Andrew

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Only Seventeen in the Digital Tradition