All folk song lyrics that I've ever encountered have been subjected to intense copulation over decades and centuries and I don't have any problem screwing around with them myself. If there's a line I find awkward or nonsensical I shift it around to something that suits me. That to me is the essence of the folk
process and what makes these old ballads so vital and appealing. They've been burnished by many hands over time and the best versions survive but various permutations are also around for someone who wants to go a different way. Fortunately, these days I do my singing in living rooms and on lanais so the folk police have a hard time tracking me down.
Funny though, I can enjoy woman singing male roles, like Joan Baez doing Lily of the West, but am not too keen on males singing female roles (Andy Irvine singing The Blacksmith seems to work though). It doesn't feel right to me to go from "I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die." in one song to "Me oh my I loved him so..." but I'll listen to anyone sing anything and judge it on how it hits me viscerally.