Brief digression of a musical nature:

pdq, I'm quite familiar with this song. In fact, I sang it in the concert that Bob Nelson (Deckman) and I did just this last Sunday (Oct. 14th). Perhaps this is what you're thinking of.

CLICKY.

Richard Dyer-Bennet has the opening line of the song you posted as "Pull off your old coat." Peter Paul and Mary, and Bud and Travis sing it as "Take off your old coat." I learned it from Richard Dyer-Bennet.

Baring-Gould's notes are as follows:   "This song has been taken down by us to two distinct tunes. We give that which is, in our opinion, the best, obtained from an old labourer, since dead, in Holcombe Burnell, N. Devon."

Another source gives the following:   

Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: Composed by Old Dan Emmet[t].
Publication: Boston: Oliver Ditson, 115 Washington St., 1853.
Form of Composition: strophic with chorus
Instrumentation: piano and voice
First Line: I just arrived in town For to pass de time away
First Line of Chorus: So take off your coat boys, And roll up your sleeves

Sam Eskin, from whom Richard Dyer-Bennet learned the song, was of the opinion that the song traveled to England (possibly from the minstrel show version), then returned, quite modified (or "folk processed") as something that might be classed as a "White Spiritual."

But, Israeli? No.

Don Firth

(Now back to our regular evisceration.)