DH:

I was wrong. Listening to the midi you can tell that the tune of Jean-Francois is closely related to Boney. Of course, like most midis it isn't very helpful in actually putting words to music. I would imagine that English sailors borrowed the French tune and liked the refrain "Jean Francois" which they butchered into variations on "John Franswar." It's fascinating to see how the memory of Bonaparte being transported on HMS Bellerophon remained in the folk memory on both sides of the Atlantic. There's a good history of HMS Bellerophon called "Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon" by David Cordingley.


CET