I'm not sure that when talking about a traditional song there can ever be a 'correct' version, only versions which are true to their traditional sources. Its clear from the posts in this thread and here Origins: Holmfirth Anthem/Through the Groves that there are lots of versions from all round England, dating back to 1790, or possibly 1782.
However given that the arrangement of Pratty Flowers by J. Perkin around 1857 for the Holmfirth Choral Society standardised the words and tune for local usage at least, it would seem fair to say that if you are going to sing this in or around Holmfirth it would be better to fall in with the accepted local tradition.
The original copy by Perkin had "view the lands" whereas most later local copies are given as "view the lambs" so that is what is generally sung nowadays, but it is possible to slur your words so that nobody will notice. However anybody singing "shepherd swain" instead of "shepherd dear" will definitely attract a hard glare in this part of Yorkshire. Elsewhere, including neighbouring parts of Yorkshire, "swain" is regarded as correct so that poor visitors who have learned the 'definitive' version in Upperthong will find themselves reviled on the other side of the moor.
There are also (to an outsider) a bewildering number of different ways of distributing the lines between solo and choral parts, but nevertheless the song is best experienced in a tumultuous chorus where the final lines seem to be repeated endlessly in a lung bursting wave of sound that carries all before it until the furniture crashes to the floor.