I never thought I would see this one crop up on a thread. My wife, who now sings it to our grandson, heard this from her mother, who heard it from her mother, who heard it sung by someone in Pensacola, Florida before the turn of the last century. At least, that's their story, and they're stickin' to it. I still cringe when I hear the piece, perhaps due to the grating voice of the singer, my mother-in-law, who sounds not unlike a baritone sax with a goiter.