This song is a somewhat variant version of what seems to be known better (in the U.S. at least) as "I Saw Three Ships". The words vary considerably from that familiar song, and the tune varies somewhat as well. The first two lines cited end the song's second verse, and what follows is in the third verse. Neither in these lines nore elsewhere in the song is there any hint as to how three ships suddenly turned to one ship, or why the reference suddenly went from three ships to the singular "that ship" without explanation. It is still nonsensical, even if it is intended to be an improvement over other versions of "I Saw Three Ships", with words such as "And what was in those ships all three?", with answers such as "'Twas Joseph and his fair lady" or "The Virgin Mary and Christ were there", creating most bizarre images indeed as to how either of those pairs might be in all three ships. This "Sunny Bank" version seems to mysteriously deal with that dilemma by having the three ships inexplicably turn into just a single vessel. Those aforesaid familiar "I Saw Three Ships" versions generally go on to say that the three ships sailed into (the non-seaport of) Bethlehem. At least this "Sunny Bank" version foregoes that absurdity.