I've always thought of this as a story of sexual exploration, like "playing doctor." The girl does not seem upset, angry, or frightened. I don't think she's trying to get away from the boy. The only time she says no is when he wants to be her boyfriend, and the reason she says no is because she already has a boyfriend. However, I recently attended a panel discussion in which one female chantey singer, who is more than a generation younger than me, called it a rape song. Other opinions?