Hi, Barry - The blurb the Sing Out! booklet had with the song was rather confusing, so I think the song could warrant more research. As I understand from the blurb, Lomax heard the Quartette sing this song and credited it to them, although only the last five verses actually came from the Quartette. I can't find the song in any of the Lomax songbooks, so I couldn't find out what Alan Lomax had to say.
-Joe Offer-