An odd thing I've noticed in several songs is the non-rhyming versions that often seem to be the earliest found. In By the Hush, the non-rhyme of 'To America I'd have ye not be coming......stayed at home in dear old Erin" sounds to my urban present-day ears like a goof (should be "I'd have ye not be farin'". Similarly, in Leaving of Liverpool, the last line of the chorus seems that it should be "...my darling when I think of thee.." to rhyme with "...united we will be." It's a single-source song, though, and Maitland sang "....when I think of you."

Any thoughts on whether the collected versions are mis-remembered descendents of earlier ones, or if the song's composer wasn't as hung up on rhymes as some of us (including me) are?