Exactly, Morwen. If His Lordship and Belafonte adopted the Jamaican song, their (creative mis-)understanding may have been based on those US songs. In many European languages, whose exiles formed the USA, blushing is described as someone's "head turning red".

The Jamaican song might even be based on the reverse misunderstanding of the US cliché - this would by no means be a unique case.

The "moonshine" stanza still needs a satisfactory explanation. I am not really convinced it's Cordelia's mother speaking. Maybe some verses are missing.