Well to help continue the mystery ... I came in search of a song sung by Josh White in the mid-sixties. Never knew the name or heard it more than once but, here's what I do recall

If I had known my Captain was blind, Darlin', Darlin'
If I had known my Captain was blind, Darlin'
If I had known my Captain was blind,
Wouldn't gone to work but half the time
Darlin', oh Darlin'

Ham and eggs, pork and beans, Darlin', Darlin'
Ham and eggs, pork and beans, Darlin'
Ham and eggs, pork and beans
Woulda et more but the plate wasn't clean
Darlin', oh Darlin'

That's all I have. Like all the old ballads and work songs, lyrics were exchanged from song to song. I was a regular at the local library (burlington, NC) in the mid-sixties when you could actually check out 33 1/3 and 78 RPMs for research. An awful lot of the time you'd find ancient Lomax recordings of the "popular" folk songs playing but, like the Childe Ballads, there was always an alternate tune or subject matter depending on the singer. It was neat and confusing at the same time.