Both of those singers spend a lot of time not singing, with just the "accompaniment" going on; which isn't at all my cup of tea. I was about to apologise for serious thread drift, but it occurs to me that the various treatments by different singers emphasise how popular this song still is.

Getting back closer to the subject: the different endings to the story also seem noteworthy.

In some versions, the boy is left in the sea to drown. In some, his messmates rescue him but he then dies on the deck. In some he threatens to sink his own ship, whereupon the captain decides to honour his promises. And there's at least one version where the boy does sink his own ship and somehow (unexplained) survives to reach land and tell his tale, while the captain and the rest of the crew drown.

Brian, Did you find out from Roy about his version? Was it from John Faulkner and Sandra Kerr?

Richard