G'day Malcolm,

Thanks for that. The first verse certainly looks like Sam's (give or take a few dodgy grabs at Sam's words in my transcription) but it may come from someone else. It is certainly from right in Sam's territory, so he would have known a 'standard' sort of version.

The chorus is interesting for a number of reasons ... the relation to The Cruise of the Bigler is quite clear - and the word "trigger" lines up with the "twig her" in 'Duke' tritton's Great Northern Line and the "twigar" in Sián's Bach Bachgen Dincar.

My understanding is that to "twig" is a London cant word for 'look at' (in an admiring or mocking sense).

I will have to look for the Topic CD ... unfortunately, Jill Gartrell of Sandstock Records, our best local importer of such CDs has just 'retired to her farm'.

Regards,

Bob Bolton