The basic idea of the stanza appears in many ballads and goes back at least to the 17th century.

I used it for a verse in a song I wrote recently using the 'farewell to all judges and Juries' tune.

If I had the wings of a molly
I'd fly from the pier to the pod
But the rounding-up marker for Alex
is the one that is known as Dead Bod.

You'd need to be a Humber riverman to interpret that.