Low Bridge Everybody Down

The Erie Canal was America’s first “Super Highway” running from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Construction began in 1817 and was completed in 1825. It ran 363 miles and created great wealth for New York City. Eventually railroads replaced it for commercial use. It still exists partially as a recreational waterway.

About the song from Wikipedia:

Lyrics:

Capo on 1st fret.
[Em] I’ve got an old [Bm] mule, and [G] her name is [Am] Sal, [Em] Fifteen years on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal
[Em] She’s a good old [Bm] worker and a [G] good old [Am] pal, [Em] Fifteen years on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal
[G] We’ve hauled some barges in [D] our day, [C] filled with lumber, [B7] coal and hay.
[Em] And every [Bm] inch of the [G] way I [Am] know, [Em] From Albany to [D] Buff [Em] alo

[G] Low bridge, [D] everybody down, [G] Low bridge, [D] cause we’re coming to a town.
[Em] You can always [Bm] tell your neighbor; [G] you can always tell your [Am] pal.
[Em] If he’s ever navigated on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal

We’d better look ’round for a job old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
You bet your life I wouldn’t part with Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Giddyap there gal we’ve passed that lock, we’ll make Rome ‘fore six o-clock
So one more trip and then we’ll go, Right straight back to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town
Once a man named Mike McGinty tried to put it over Sal
Now he’s way down at the bottom of the Erie Canal

Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal? Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Oh, I’d like to see a mule as good as Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
A friend of mine once got her sore, Now, he’s got a broken jaw.
Cause she let fly with her iron toe and kicked him into Buffalo.

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town.
If you’re looking ’round for trouble, better stay away from Sal.
She’s the only fighting donkey on the Erie Canal

I don’t have to call when I want my Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She trots from her stall like a good old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
I eat my meals with Sal each day, I eat beef and she eat hay.
She isn’t so slow if you want to know, she put the “Buff” in Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town
Eats a bale of hay for dinner, and on top of that, my Sal.
Tries to drink up all the water in the Erie Canal

You’ll soon hear them sing everything about my gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
It’s a darned fool ditty ’bout my darned fool Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Oh, every band will play it soon, Darned fool words and darned fool tune!
You’ll hear it sung everywhere you go, from Mexico to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town.
She’s a perfect, perfect lady, and she blushes like a gal.
If she hears you sing about her and the Erie Canal.

1840 When We Were There

1840 was the golden age of sail. The ships were still mostly wind powered and required a great deal of physical labor to operate. The crews used work songs to coordinate their efforts.

This song is new. I wrote it to capture the feel of a sailing ship in that period.

My wife Camilla and I love being at sea. We are sailing now for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Happy New Year 2024!!!

Lyrics:
“1840 When We Were There”
Played in D position with capo on first fret.
CH:
[D] Yo ho, me hearties, [Em] heave away,
We’ll [A] sail the oceans, [G] come what [D] may,
With the wind in our favor, high [G] seas at bay,
[D] Yo ho, me hearties, [A] heave [D] away!

[D] In eighteen-forty on a [Em] stormy sea,
[A] A band of sailors, [G] brave and [D] free,
[D] Hoist the sails and [Em] trim the mast,
[A] We’re bound for adventures, [G] far [D] a-vast!

With sun-kissed faces and calloused hands,
We’ll roam the waters of distant lands,
Through raging tempests and tranquil breeze,
We’ll sing our songs across the seas.
CH
As stars will guide us through the night,
We’ll tell old tales by lantern light,
Of pirates bold and mermaids fair,
Legends with a sailor’s flair.

So raise your voices, let the chorus ring,
To the rhythm of the sea, we’ll sing,
Together we stand, come storm or gale,
Our brotherhood will never fail.
CH
As the years go by and we grow old,
The tales we wove will be retold,
With laughter and tears, we’ll reminisce,
Of the days we sailed with hearts of bliss.

So here’s to the life we’ve chosen true,
To the sea and the crew, both old and new,
With every voyage, a story to share,
Of eighteen-forty, when we were there.
CH

1842

One of my favorite sea chantey melodies is “Go To Sea No More” so I’ve written new lyrics to it about a packet ship during the golden age of sail 1842!

Lyrics:

[Em] In eighteen and [D] forty-two, our packet ship set Em] sail,
With winds a-howlin’ through the storm a hearty [D] crew to [B7] hail,
[Em] She cut through the waves with her sturdy hull, her masts they [D] kissed the [B7] sky
[Em] Through storm and calm, we [D] journeyed on beneath the heavens [Em] high.
[G] Heavens high, heavens [D] high [Em] beneath the heavens [B7] high
[Em] Through storm and calm, we [D] journeyed on [Em] beneath the [D] heavens [Em] high.

From New York’s harbor, we’d embarked when our pilot gave the go!
We braved the seas with hearts so bold, with raging ebbs and flow,
A packet ship, so sleek and swift, through the foam we glide,
A sailor’s life is grand me boys, on the ocean with his bride!
His bride, his bride, on the ocean with his bride!
A sailor’s life is grand me boys, on the ocean with his bride!

With each new day, our spirits strong, as we pressed ahead,
Guided by the stars at night, as the moonlight spread
A cargo of treasures and dreams me lads our joy cannot be told
With a romance as precious as a hearty pirate’s gold
Pirate’s gold, pirate’s gold, as a hearty pirate’s gold
With a romance as precious as a hearty pirate’s gold

So raise your voices, me boys, and sing, of that daring quest,
As we bid farewell to our packet ship, that made us sail our best!
We’ll sing our songs of distant lands, all across the sea,
In eighteen forty-two me lads a tale we tell with glee!
With glee, with glee, a tale we tell with glee
In eighteen forty-two me lads a tale we tell with glee!

Same Boat Brother


CLICK TO PLAY – Same Boat Brother:

We all are in the same boat. If you shake one end you’re going to rock the other!

Lyrics:

[A] We’re in the same boat, brother
We’re in the [F#m] same boat, [E] brother
And if you shake one end
You’re gonna rock the other
It’s the same boat, [A] brother

[A] Oh, the Lord looked down from his holy place
[E] Said, “Lordy me, what a sea of space
What a spot to launch the human race”
So he built him a boat for a mixed up crew
With eyes of black and brown and [F#m] blue
So that’s how come that you and I
Got just one world with just one [E] sky

[A] So the boat rolled on through storm and grief
[E] Of a many a rock and many a reef
What kept them goin’ was a great belief
So they had to learn to navigate
That human race was special [F#m] freight
If they didn’t want to be in Jonah’s shoes
They’d better be mates on this here [E] cruise

[A] Oh, the boiler blew somewhere in Spain
[E] Oh, the keel was smashed in far Ukraine
And the steam poured out from Oregon to Maine
Oh, it took some time for the crew to learn
What is bad for the bow ain’t good [F#m] for the stern
If a hatch takes fire in China Bay
Pearl Harbor’s decks gonna blaze [E] away, ’cause

Jack Monroe

Jack Monroe AKA (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] Roud (268)

A rich girl loves a sailor; her father does not, and has the boy pressed to war in Germany. She disguises herself in men’s apparel and enlists under the name (Jackie Monroe). When her lover is wounded, she sends for a London doctor to heal him. She reveals her identity; they are married

“Jack Monroe” dates back to 1818 in the collection of (Garret, _Merrie Book of Garlands)
The chorus Lay the lil·​ly-low ˈliliˌlō
chiefly dialectal, England
Webster’s dictionary definition: as a bright flame indicating the intensity of their love relationship.

This version comes from Hot Springs, North Carolina and was sung by Mrs Gentry, though there are many variations of this tune, including Jack a Roe and Jack the Sailor.
The melody has also been used in the popular worker’s song “Which Side Are You On?”

Lyrics:
[G] Jack he went a-sailing
With trouble on his mind
To leave his native country
And his darling girl [Em] behind

[G] Lay the lily low
[D7] So fare the well my [G] dear

She dressed herself in a man’s array
And apparel she put on
And to the field of battle
She marched the men along

Your cheeks are red and rosy
Your fingers neat and small
Your waist too slim and slender
To face the cannon ball’

‘My cheeks are red and rosy
My fingers neat and small
But it never makes me tremble
To face the cannon ball

The battle being ended
She rode the circle round
And through the dead and dying
Her darling boy she found

She picked him up all in her arms
She carried him down to town
She sent for a London doctor
To heal his bleeding crown

This couple they got married
So well they did agree
This couple they got married
So why not you and me?

The Balaena

Great whaling song about a real ship The Balaena. It was a new ship built after the golden age of sail with an engine and it was very efficient.

Lyrics:
The Balaena Lyrics

[C] The noble fleet of whalers [F] went sailing from Dundee
[G7] Well-manned by British sailors [C] to work upon the sea
On the Western Ocean passage [F] none with them can compare
[G7] But the smartest ship to make the trip is [C] Balaena, I declare

[Chorus]
[C] Oh, the wind is on her quarter, [F] her engines working free
[G7] There’s not another whaler that [C] sails out of Dundee
Can beat the old Balaena, [F] she needs no trial run
[G7] And we challenged all, both great and small, [C] from Dundee to St John

It happenеd on a Tuesday, three days out of Dundee
The gale took off hеr quarter-boat and a couple of men, you see
It battered at her bulwarks, and her stanchions and her rails
And left the old Balaena, boys, a-frothing in the gale

Bold Jackman cut his canvas and he fairly raised his steam
And Captain Guy wit Erin Boy was ploughing through the stream
And the noble Terra Nova, her boilers nearly burst
And still at the old whaling grounds, Balaena got there first

And now the season’s over and the ship half-full of oil
Our flying jib boom points for home towards our native soil
And when that we have landed, boys, where the rum is very cheap
We’ll drink success to the skippers’s health for getting us over the deep

Mary Ann

This is a traditional calypso song about a sailor looking for his lost love in Trinidad.

Lyrics:

All day all night Mary Ann
Down by the seaside sifting sand
Even little children love Mary Ann
Down by the seaside sifting sand

Sailing down through the islands man
I am searching for me Mary Ann
Sailing down through the islands man
Searching for my Mary Ann

Aweigh Santi Anno

Aweigh Santi Anno. The song is listed as number 207 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The theme of the shantey, which dates from at least the 1850s, may have been inspired by topical events in the news related to conflicts between the armies of Mexico, commanded by Antonio López de Santa Anna, and the U.S., commanded by Zachary Taylor, in the Mexican–American War.

The lyrics are not historically accurate: for example, both the Battle of Monterrey and the Battle of Molino del Rey (different versions refer to one or other) were US victories, not Mexican ones. Some suggest that this tradition was caused by British sailors, who deserted their ships to join Santa Anna’s forces.

Lyrics:
AWEIGH SANTI ANNO – A CAPPELLA

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

THEM NASSUA GIRLS THEY’VE GO NO COMB
THEY COMBS THEIR HAIR WITH A TIPPER BACK BONE

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

THEM CALIFORNIA GALS I DO ADORE
WITH THEIR BRIGHT BLUE EYES
AND THEIR GOLDEN HAIR

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

THEM CALIFORNIA GALS THEY LOVE ME SO
BECAUSE I DON’T TELL ‘EM ALL I KNOW

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND IN MY PRIME
I’D GO OUT WITH THEM PRETTY GIRLS
TWO AT A TIME

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

THE SKIPPER LIKES WHISKEY AND THE MATE LIKES RUM
THE CREW LIKES BOTH BUT WE CAN’T GET NONE

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW

ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO
THE WORK IS HARD AND THE WAGE IS LOW
SO WIND HER UP AND WE’LL ROLL AND GO

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

THE WIND IS HIGH AND BLOWING FREE
LET’S GET THE RAGS UP AND WE’LL DRIVE HER TO SEA

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

MEXICO OH MEXICO AWEIGH SANTI ANNO
MEXICO IS A PLACE I KNOW
ALONG THE PLAINS OF MEXICO

Whiskey-O

Whiskey-O is a halyard chantey for raising the yards that hold the sails on the old sailing ships. The chantey man would sing the verse and the crew would pull the ropes on the chorsus.

Lyrics:
Whiskey is the life of man
Always was since the world began

Whiskey-o, Johnny-o
Rise her up from down below
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey-o
Up aloft this yard must go
John rise her up from down below

I thought I heard the first mate say
I treats my crew in a decent way

Whiskey-o, Johnny-o
Rise her up from down below
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey-o
Up aloft this yard must go
John rise her up from down below

Whiskey is the life of man
Whiskey from that old tin can

Whiskey-o, Johnny-o
Rise her up from down below
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey-o
Up aloft this yard must go
John rise her up from down below

Oh whiskey straight, and whiskey strong
Give me some whiskey and I’ll sing you a song

Whiskey-o, Johnny-o
Rise her up from down below
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey-o
Up aloft this yard must go
John rise her up from down below

A lot of whiskey in this land
And a bottle full for the chantey man

Whiskey-o, Johnny-o
Rise her up from down below
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey-o
Up aloft this yard must go
John rise her up from down below

The Weary Whaler


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The Weary Whaler

This is a sea chantey from the golden age of sail. There’s a youtube video of me singing it when you click on the VIDEO LINK below:


Click to watch VIDEO LINK

Lyrics:
[Em] If I had the wings of a gull, me boys,
I would spread ’em [Am] and fly [Em] home.
I’d leave old Greenland’s icy grounds
For of right whales [Am] there is [Em] none.

[Em] And the weather’s rough and the winds do blow
And there’s little comfort here.
I’d sooner be snug in a Glasgow pub,
A-drinkin’ [Am] of strong [Em] beer.

Oh, a man must be mad or want money bad
To venture catchin’ whales.
For we may be drowned when the fish turns around
Or our head be smashed by his tail.

Though the work seems grand to the young green hand,
And his heart is high when he goes,
In a very short burst he’d as soon hear a curse
As the cry of: “There she blows!”

Well, these trials we bear for nigh four years,
Till the flying jib points for home.
We’re supposed for our toil to get a bonus of the oil,
And an equal share of the bone.

But we go to the agent to settle for the trip,
And we’ve find we’ve cause for lament.
For we’ve slaved away four years of our lives
And earned about three pound ten.