Lyrical analysis: Shipping up to Boston

I'm a sailor peg
And I've lost my leg
A climing up the topsails
I've lost my leg.
I'm shipping up to Boston,
Shipping off to Boston,
Shipping out to Boston
To find my wooden leg.
Lyrics by Woodie Guthrie
Musihttp://youtu.be/x-64CaD8GXwc by The Dropkick Murphy's

Forget about Jonathan Papelbon dancing a jig, the Irish gang portrayed in the video, or the kick-ass Celtic punk music by the Dropkick Murphy's that are all absolutely wicked awesome and are etched into any Boston sports fan brain. What about the lyrics?
These words were written in a poem by Woodie Guthrie, the same man who wrote This Land is Your Land, which was described by Bruce Springstein as one of the most beautiful lyric ever written. More on this subject in a later post.
Guthrie was born in 1912 in Oklahoma and died in 1967 from complications of Huntington's disease. He was a prolific poet and songwriter. He lived through the dustbowl years in the mid-1930's and wrote extensively about the trials that people of that era faced.
Taken literally, the simple lyric is the words of a sailor who lost his wooden leg and is heading to Boston to find it. But, poetry is seldom literal.
I have wondered about this lyric when I first heard it sung by the Dropkick Murphy's. I had no idea that Woodie Guthrie wrote it nor what the words really were. I understood the chorus 'shipping up to Boston" and like any Red Sox fan, was content to get caught up in the moment and enjoy the celebratory nature of the tune. Besides, the music was infectious.
One day, I was curious about what the lyrics really were and what they meant. When I learned who they were written by, and when, I wondered what his message was. Online, I found a debate going on between those who feel the meaning is literal, yet somehow the sailor is a pirate. Others feel that the "lost leg" is a metaphor for something financial.
Not satisfied, I did a little research about the author, and am eager to read more about him. Woodie Guthrie was adamant in his personal mission to write poems and songs that would help people realize their self worth. He considered himself a story teller and a poet, and marginally good "picker" with the guitar. Truth be told, he was before his time and was the inspiration to the likes of Bob Dylan. His son, Arlo Guthrie is a folk artist who has had success in his fathers footsteps.
My research thus far has not yielded any story behind the lyric. At this time, I do side with those that feel the lost leg is a metaphor, however I think it is deeper than a financial comparison. Someone, who is missing a part of him, and is obviously handicapped is going to travel a great distance to get back something lost that cannot be replaced otherwise. The interpretation could go anywhere, and analyzing this would require more insight into Guthrie's mindset and circumstances when he wrote it. So, this I will do.
Meanwhile, watch the youtube video, and GO SOX!