I don't know exactly when I first heard "The Leaving of Liverpool" but it was probably from a Dubliners recording in the 1970's. The version I sing was learned from
Brian Kelly, himself a Liverpudlian and member of the
Idle Fellows, and it's a great song to belt out, too. I think it is best sung slowly and deliberately with very great
strength in the choruses.
Brian would go into ecstatics when rolling off the litany of Liverpool place names in his final verse i.e. "....Frederick Street, 'Ansom Terrace (sic) and Park Lane" as well as the opener "Farewell to Princess (sic) landing stage, River Mersey .......". I sing this song fairly often myself and stick religiously to Brian's version.
The Clancy Brothers give a somewhat different, brief three-verse version in their
The Irish Songbook.