both RR Terry and J Colcord noted differences in their versions and Terry had always been precise about where and how he had collected not just songs but often the version he had heard that he went with.
Since Colcord was American and the song seems to have travelled around it is not surprising that her version differed from those heard around the Newcastle dockside.
People love to play around with songs and tunes and I can't help but think of an old British drinking song given new words of "Oh say can you see" being sung in my old school yard, "Jose, can you see"