The Tow-Rope Girls by Cicely Fox Smith

This Cicely Fox Smith poem has already been sung in a few forms.
I had always assumed that the tow-rope girls was some crude euphemism, but in this case the poem is about the sailors imagining their loved ones (mother, sister, sweetheart) pulling them home by the ship's tow-rope.
Here is the poem:
allpoetry.com/...
This version by Kimber's Men is clearly derivative, but with different verses:
• Kimber's Men - Tow Rop...
This version is closer to the poem:
• 2004 Chicago Maritime ...
I have missed the first verse of this by accident:
Oh, a ship in the Tropics, a-foaming along,
With every stitch drawing, the Trade blowing strong,
The white caps around her all breaking in spray,
For the girls have got hold of her tow-rope today.
A Mudcat thread on the 'bone in her mouth' bit (also not a euphemism):
mudcat.org/thr...
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[@raymondcrooke]

I enjoyed this one, Daniel.

[@DanielKellyFolkMusic]

Thanks Raymond. How do you manage the time to upload, comment and travel the world at once? I guess they have good wifi in most places now.

[@raymondcrooke]

WiFi here in Malta is great. It takes about one minute to upload a song. Australia has a long way to go!