This song is interesting in that it shows some of the censorship which British songs underwent in migrating to the US. Where in the English version, he wouldn't have it said that he slew a naked man, in some US versions it is an unarmed man.

(It is well known that the language itself was 'puritanised', for example small birds in UK called tits, or titmice, became chickadees, cockroaches just roaches, and cockerels became roosters.)