Thanks Malcolm. I am hopeless when it comes to transcribing tunes, so I will try to get some help. That is an interesting note re. the order of the last two verses. I quite like the Green Laurels verse as a sort of coda to the song.
I hadn't thought of the Lord Abore/Prince Robert connection, apart from Tom Munnelly's role in recovering these rare ballads. I can only stand in admiration that he should have happened to hear Frank Feeney sing Lord Abore in a Dublin pub, and recognise it as an otherwise unsung Child ballad. (BTW I understand that Al O'Donnell is still singing, and was at Ennis last year - I hope his records will be de-Bulmered one day.)
As regards the story behind the song my mental google won't come up with the links. I do have some feeling that there is a story where the sailor (or captain) is sent away by the girl's family, and that letters which they write are intercepted, so that she eventually goes insane because he appears to ignore her messages. I think there was mention of a tower (in Spain?) from where she would watch every day, waiting for the sight of her lover's ship.