Brian - sorry I didn't make it clear that the tunes were not the same, but I was thinking more of the Bow Wow phrase (and I think tow row row also appeared elsewhere). Despite Whall's comment (quoted in the other origins thread) that It is evidently the work of a seaman it sounds to me more like the work of a stage songwriter to me and I feel there should be some antecedent that's findable (though where Mordaunt's royals free chorus fits in I can't imagine - but apart from A Ship Of Solace (source for that version), he also had another book called Royals Free).

Mick