The bulk of it seems to be the text that Sharp got from Mr Bishop, with some material introduced from the broadside copy in Ashton's Real Sailor Songs. Sharp had originally published Bishop's set in a slightly modified form, and some of those modifications have also been incorporated. So far as I can tell, the sailor marked for death is not named in any traditional or broadside version, and it appears that it was Lloyd who decided to call him Robert Jackson; whether there was any significance to that I don't know. The notable poetic touches are also, it seems, Lloyd's own.
Ashton's broadside transcription lacks a final verse that appears on the copy at the Bodleian (Ye Sailors Bold, mostly illegible); this is perhaps just a coincidence, as I had thought that Ashton did his research at the British Museum. The BL lists two copies of a songsheet printed c.1810 in Stirling which includes The Ship in Distress, but this may not be the same song; there was another by that title.
The text Butterworth quoted in the Journal with Mr Akhurst's tune seems not to have come from him at all; a note states 'The words were noted in Shropshire', but gives no further details.
'In a torture' is from the broadside, incidentally, though Ashton transcribed it as 'in torture'. The Bodleian example is from J Evans of London, and is dated 'between 1780 and 1812'. You can just about make out the relevant line.
If you haven't seen the Sharp set or the Ashton transcription, I can send you copies if you'd like. The earlier Danish text that Grundtvig published (he knew about the French versions, but was unaware of the English form) can be seen at: http//www.folk-network.com/miscellany/markelig.html
Malcolm Douglas - 25.6.04
See also: