A cautionary/morality tale, as were many songs in the folk venue. The lover comes back and convinces his former love to run away with him. For whatever reason, he/they kill her house carpenter husband and three children. The youngest child's appearance on the deck of the ship represents either the child's ghost or the mother's conscience belatedly kicking in. The ship sinking is the retribution.
A cautionary/morality tale, as were many songs in the folk venue. The lover comes back and convinces his former love to run away with him. For whatever reason, he/they kill her house carpenter husband and three children. The youngest child's appearance on the deck of the ship represents either the child's ghost or the mother's conscience belatedly kicking in. The ship sinking is the retribution.