do you not think it possible that shanties were created spontaneously,that new verses were added as the work was being performed.
so a collector was dishonest,but left us with a better shanty,how important is it?isnt the performance of the music the most important thing.
when I play Irish tunes, I treat the tune as a skeleton,and often when I play,I might play a phrase with different ornamentation,or just differently.
folk music, traditional music, should change and evolve.who put the parrot in the outlandish knight?who cares.,Isnt this one of the differences between folk music and popsongs.
I have learned something from this thread, [the origins of some so called trad songs],but it wont make any difference to how I perform them,nor do I think it vitally important to mention in an introduction exactly the alterations Bert made.
Why?because all traditional/folk music by its nature gets added to, its a Folk process,is it necessary to mention the Parrot as being an addition.
what is important for the singer is to try and convey the sentiment of the song.
that which is a Bert song,IS important for scholars,but not so important[imo]to those who sing the song.,as regards its performance.
which bring me to modern composed folksongs,I would always try and credit the author.why? because he/she wants to be credited for agood song,BertLloyd clearly did not,he just wanted people to enjoy the music. http://www.dickmiles.com

Dick Miles