GUEST,Ewan McVicar, the occupations mentioned in MacColls verse:

"I've done my share o' humpin' wi' the dockers on the Clyde.
I've helpit Buckie trawlers pu' their herrin' ower the side,
I've helped tae build yon michty brig that spans the busy Forth,
And wi' mony an Angus fairmer trig, I've plooed the bonnie earth."

Were all casual labour in the latter part of the 19th Century, nothing necessarily "settled" about it.

Having recorded the "short" MacColl version it takes a thumping 6 minutes, considering the tempo, great song though it undoubtedly is, I can't see anybody finding it entertaining for 14 odd verses unless of course it is somebody singing it to themselves as they wander about the countryside.