Thanks Cas,
Only one of your links worked. I found Cecil Adam's reference to the Morris dictionary helpful and have put their books on order as they have been out of print for some time. However, I found Adam's suggestion that the origin of this idiom may be related to Samuel Coleridge's "Work Without Hope" to be less likely than Porter's tune. But knowing Adam's penchant for perturbing answers to silly questions (like my own), along with some facts, this may just be his subtle sense of humor creeping in. I will check with the Morris' theory once I get their books. Their's was the vein I was going with when I got my logic looped. It hasn't helped.
Any other theories out there?