I'm reviving this thread because I've finally gotten my paws on a copy of Songs and Stories from Deep Cove Cape Breton. The text to the song as recorded from Amby Thomas is above, but his tune (at least as I can figure it out with my poor rhythm reading skills) is somewhat different (although related) to the one used by Tony Cuffe and Waterson:Carthy (Norma Waterson) ("Mo Rùin Gael Dìleas", as in the Midi).

A few questions:

George - your second text, from Helen Creighton: I thought that I'd found it when I was reading this thread last spring, but now I don't. Am I looking cross-eyed at my copy of Maritime Folk Songs, or did you just mean that the Peggy Gordon tune could be found there? or...?
The note that Amy Thomas's singing is to the tune of "Mo Rùin Gael Dìleas": whose interpretation was that? John C O'Donnell's?
Tony Cuffe and Norma Waterson have very similar texts (the first one noted above in this thread), that differ in interesting ways from the traditional texts above. (I think it's interesting that the brandy and the deep ocean are places to escape the thoughts of lovely women in the TC and NW versions, but are not in the trad. versions.) Any wild-ass guesses (or better, inside info) about whether one influenced the other, or whether they both got it from the same third source? Someone seems to have inside info, since the Mudcat Midi note says that Waterson:Carthy learned it on Cape Breton. (But did they learn it from a Cape Bretoner who'd been listening to Tony Cuffe? :-) Or did Tony Cuffe meet the same Cape Bretoner?)

Aargh. Not that this is incredibly important in any way, or that the "truth" is likely to be accessible... just questions in the mind of a picky folkie.

~ Becky in Tucson