Q-

Thanks for drawing my attention to this thread. It's clear to me that here we have another example of a minstrel song later being adapted as a ceremonial shanty to commemorate the end of the two-month period when the sailor's advance was being paid off and he finally began earning additional wages.

This song should not be confused with the "Salt-Horse Song" which the sailors used as a kind of benediction as they opened a new cask of salted beef or pork.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble