Inappropriate. The story as told in this song is not comical. There could be a funny song about the practice of disciplining an overly affectionate daughter, but comedy requires that the victim perseveres in spite of the adversity. In this song, we only hear of the beating, not that she goes off with the travelling salesman anyway. So our feeling about the subject matter is sadness, and the tone of the song should respect that, as in many traditional songs such as "The Trumpeter of Fyvie."