I DOUBT SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD GIRL
(interview)
Previously unreleased.

Alan Lomax: It ended with her having a baby, I guess?

Jeannie Robertson: Yes, that's right. That's quite right - it's plain to be heard there. They all took their bundles and left because of the groaning of the handsome cabin boy.

Alan Lomax: Where did you learn that song?

Jeannie Robertson: My mother, too.

Alan Lomax: Did she explain the story to you? What did she tell you about it?

Jeannie Robertson: Well, she told us just the same as you hear it sung. She said it was really a girl all the time, but she wanted to travel by sea. Her mind was set on traveling by sea. And of course, she dressed herself up as a boy. Cut off her hair, and dressed herself up as a boy, and went on as a cabin boy, you see. Of course, the captain - he must have found out, you see. Then it happened.

Alan Lomax: She was a pretty wild girl, wasn't she?

Jeannie Robertson: Well, she must have been. I doubt she could have been a good girl, you see.