Q: sounds good. Send me some.

Joe: Yeah. Still, whether he's standing around because Jesus tells him to or because he's in a funk, he's still sommat befuddled by all this. And why not?

I've never read any studies on the song but I notice that Child's 4 versions don't mention this line. So maybe it's purely USian, after all.

They also don't mention the date of birth, just of death. I have the notion that the Jan 5 date actually dates the version to the period old Christmas was Jan 5 - from 1752 to 1799. Most versions I've seen that have a date of birth use Jan 6th. Doesn't really prove anything but that's my notion. (Ballad Index gives earliest printed as 1768 so maybe.)