To answer Philippa, O.J. Abbot was an Ottawa Valley singer who was recorded by Edith Fowke; he had a huge repertoire of Irish songs which he learned in the lumber camps, although he wasn't of Irish extraction himself. The background which Edith gave for the song ("the making of future generations" speech) was basically the same as that quoted from Paddy Graber above. I suspect, though, that the tinkers weren't that ignorant as to misunderstand -- they just had a good sense of humour.