It is very well known in Britain, Ireland, and America, despite the fact that it was collected only twice, from the Americans Richard Maitland and Captain Patrick Tayluer.
According to Library of Congress editor Stephen Winick, "The Leaving of Liverpool" was first collected by Doerflinger from Maitland, whose repertoire he recorded at Sailors' Snug Harbor in Staten Island from 1938 to 1940.
In early 1942, Doerflinger found another version sung by a retired sailor named Patrick Tayluer, who was living at the Seamen's Church Institute at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan.
Tayluer did say that he believed the song originated during the Gold Rush, in 1849, and that it concerned a person leaving Liverpool to strike it rich in California and then return.
Whether intending to go as a professional sailor (as in Maitland's song) or a migrant worker (as in Tayluer's), Liverpool was a common port from which to leave England.
Although he later loaned his recordings of Maitland to the Library of Congress for duplication, for some reason he held back "The Leaving of Liverpool," so it remained in his private possession and passed to his family on his death.
[1] The song was first brought into the folk revival by Ewan MacColl, who learned it from Doerflinger's book and recorded it on the album A Sailor's Garland, produced by American folklorist Kenny Goldstein for the Prestige International label in 1962.
In 1964, both The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers (with Tommy Makem) recorded their versions, making it very popular in the Irish music scene in both Ireland and the United States.
[1] It has been recorded by: The tune was adapted by Bob Dylan in January 1963, retitled simply as "Farewell", a variation which was finally released on The Bootleg Series Vol.
The tune was also adapted by the Breton folk band Tri Yann for the song "Je m'en vas" on Le Pélégrin in 2001.