John Brown's still a-mouldering

Here is a link to the original song, a Civil War tune about the famed abolitionist, using a tune that had arisen earlier in the century:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21566/21566-h/images/johnbrown.pdf

Of course, this tune was then used as the basis for the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Not finding much online about the origins of the nonsensical version we sing at Ajawah. There is another Civil War song to the same tune that begins "Hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree, down went McGinty to the bottom of the sea..."