> Having had another look at the 'original' I could be wrong but it seems to be more in the style of a recitation.

No doubt in my mind about that.

Thirty seconds of the 1976 recording of Hutchinson's song, with its histrionic music, may be heard at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079K6JG5M/ref=sr_1_1_rd?_encoding=UTF8&child=B079K8ZPDN&qid=1538336709&sr=1-1%3C/a%3E

We recall Zeus' abduction of the youth Ganymede in the form an eagle. So there's a even a dignified, classical folklore basis for discussing "The Vulture of the Alps."

Nowadays such stories require a UFO, not a bird.

Zeus also did interesting things in the form of a bull, a swan, and a shower of gold pieces, but those are other stories.