Bugsy, Seamus
As I said in my original posting, I never forgave Finbar with stuffing around with the lyrics. As for whether Eric would actually say that - I don't know. I was just fascinated by what Finbar said.

I have heard lots of versions of this song, and played it many times with my own band, and I still think it to be one of the most moving songs ever.

The Fureys version, despite the stuffing around with the lyrics (which I thought was unnecessary - it changed the meaning) is still musically very attractive.

Regards
Chris