"Johnny, Come-A-Long" : An Old Shanty That Includes The Chorus For The Song "Down By The Sea" also known as "Down By The Bay" (Where The Watermelons Grow)

Hultonclint, Feb. 20, 2010

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of an old shanty entitled "Johnny Come Along" as well as the lyrics for and information about that shanty.

That shanty includes the words "Down by the sea where the watermelons grow/Back to my home/ I shall not go". 

This post also includes some information about British shanty collector Stan Hugill whose 1961 book Shanties from the Seven Seas includes the shanty "Johnny Come Along". Most of the shanties in that collection are original or adapted from the 1920s through the 1940s.  

In addition, this post presents information about the 1930s Greek song "Gialo Gialo" which includes the chorus to the song "Down By The Sea" (where the watermelons grown). 

The Addendum to this post includes my speculation that the adaptations by Hugill (if not that "original" shanty itself) is related in some way with the late 19th century, early 20th century bawdy song "Bang Bang Lulu".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of the "Down By The Sea" ("Down By The Banks" song. Thanks also to the unknown composer/s  of the "Johnny Come Along" shanty. Thanks also to the collectors of this song and this shanty, and special thanks to a Hultonclint for this showcase video and his work on shanties.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about the history of the song "Down By The Sea"/ "Down By The Bay" (including the 2020 adaption "Down By The Bay Where The Watermelons Rot". 

Although almost all pancocojams posts focus on African American culture and other Black cultures around the world, this "Down By The Sea"/"Bay" series is presented for general folkloric purposes. 

"Down By The Sea" (also known as "Down By The Bay" has pre-World War I (1914-1918) origins as indicated in a number of online pages, including .https://www.folklounge.org/where-are-the-watermelons-from-anyway/ "Where are the Watermelons from anyway?" March 20, 2023, Daniel Kelly.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-earliest-known-source-for-lyrics.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "The Earliest Known Sources For The Lyrics "Have you Ever Seen A Cow With A Green Eyebrow?" In "Down By The Sea Where The Watermelons Grow" Songs".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/where-watermelons-rot-original-song-by.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Where The Watermelons Rot" (an original song by Madelynne Whitt based on "Down By The Bay Where The Watermelons Grow").

****
LYRICS FOR "JOHNNY COME-A-LONG*
(words adapted by Stan Hugill)

Oh, Johnny Johnny John come along come along
Johnny Johnny John come along come along
Don’t stand there like a goddam fool
Don’t stand there looking so cool
Don’t shy away from the ladies
and his teeth they went bang bang

Chorus:
Down by the sea
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I shall not go
And I shall dream
of love[‘s] sweet song
Who can be happier
than a sailor tonight

Oh, Johnny Johnny John was a sailor man
He'd been around all day
joking with the ladies
Playing hide and seek
not a penny to pay
for to have a little peek
Happy as the day went
High diddle dee
And the girls all stayed
Bang bang

Chorus 

Oh Johnny Johnny John in the garden with his gun
Monkeying and a playin' all the day
Johnny took his gun
And the gun was loaded
Johnny took his gun
And the gun exploded
High diddle dee
High diddle dum
And he never let it go bang bang

Chorus 

Oh Johnny Johnny John get along get along
Leave the little ladies on the shore
Keep off  John, leave the girls alone
Say goodbye and sail away for home
Don’t hang around anymore (Anymore)
I told you once bang bang

Chorus
-snip- 
* This is my transcription of the words that Hultonclint (and his backup singers) sung in this embedded YouTube video. I used the YouTube captions that were given as a base for this transcription, but didn't use the captions that I believe are incorrect.

Additions and corrections are welcome.

****
REPRINT OF THE SUMMARY FROM THIS EMBEDDED VIDEO 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkhjMM6GUeA

"If nothing else, the melody of the chorus to this chantey will be familiar to many listeners. That melody, and some of the chorus words, are shared by the song "Down by the Sea" (or "Down by the Bay"), which has become known especially AFTER the mid 1970s through sing-along kid's versions of such singers as Raffi. As such, it seems to have entered the "children's songs" cannon, and many people growing up during that time period may have been exposed to it, especially through the daytime TV shows for a kids' audience. I mention Wikipedia, not as a scholarly source, but rather as an artificat of popular culture when I mention that its entry there describes it as a "traditional children's song." I am suspicious. "Traditional", perhaps, since Raffi. Or maybe even popular as a "camping" / "scouts" song up to a couple decades earlier. But if this was a CHANTEY at some point, it must have been an ADULT song. I am inclined to think it must have been popular among navy sailors and other servicemen during the WWI years, if not earlier. It resembles lots of these "barrack" songs or marching material. There is no indication whether Hugill himself heard the song during his time at sea. It seems more likely that he is just quoting it from the 1936 German chantey collection, KNURRHAHN (by Baltzer). (Note that although it is a German collection, many of the songs sung in the German vessels were in English language, or shared with English crews.) Hugill states that this was a more popular song in German ships. That may explain some of its opacity, i.e. the fact that it is an English text as sung by German speakers. Anyways, this is clearly the sailors' adaptation or special version of the song. And note: Hugill "camouflaged" much of this obviously bawdy song about a sailor and his "gun" going "bang bang" etc. This is one of the more annoying instances of that practice, because, with this masking of words, the text seems to have become nonsense. I did not even want to deal with trying to figure out just how coyly bawdy the song was really meant to be, so I just sang the damn artificial words that Hugill gives! But if this is a sailor's version of a song that predates the 1930s (i.e. predates the Knurrhahn collection), what "original" shore song is it based on? I have had trouble finding that. The melody's similarity to a Greek song "Gialo Gialo" has been noted, but even if that were the source of a melody, it must have become a popular song in English-language culture -- the one on which this sailor's adaptation as a chantey is based. Hmmm. How have we lost the link between this early 20th century pop song and the present day "children's" song? As a chantey, it was a runaway chorus, i.e. a "stamp and go chantey" -snip- This summary includes the link for the whole chanteys project playlist. However, that link appears to be inactive [as of March 27, 2023.] ** Here's some information about Stan Hugill from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty 
…."One of the most celebrated volumes on shanties produced in the 20th century is Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas (1961).[108] It is the largest of its kind, owing to Hugill's methodology and chronological position. With respect to methodology, Hugill aimed to be as inclusive as possible—to account for and to present, if sometimes only in fragments, any and all items of shanty repertoire that he was currently able to find. Any song that he had heard or read being attested as having been ever "used as shanty" was included—regardless of whether that song was not generally known as a shanty or if its use as a shanty was rare and incidental…

Hugill readily included more recently popular songs—those that evidently were not sung until after the shanty genre was experiencing decline, but which were extant when Hugill sailed (1920s–40s). He also culled from the major collections of non-English-language sailor work songs. Hugill's practice of liberally culling from all major prior works, in combination with original material from his own field experiences, makes it a handy sourcebook for performers, but a difficult work to assess in terms of historical accuracy.[109]"….

**
Here are two comments about the 1930s Greek song Gialo Gialo that is mentioned in the Hultonclint summary that is given above.

From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108942
Subject: RE: Origins: Down by the Bay / Sea
From: GUEST,g
Date: 20 Nov 09 - 10:18 AM

"the main part of this song is very similar if not identical to an old traditional song from the Ionian islands in greece.   See from 0:28 in the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhJrtOmlI4I

I'm Greek and Canadian, and for years I've wondered about this similarity. I have just read that the greek song was recorded/documented around the 1930's, but had existed for a long time before that as a traditional song passed down the generations. My father, born in the 30's, knew it as a child."

**
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108942
Subject: RE: Origins: Down by the Bay / Sea
From: GUEST,g
Date: 20 Nov 09 - 10:21 AM

"I'll just add some more specific info, especially since the youtube link may disappear.

The Greek song is called "gialo gialo", is associated with the island of Kefalonia, and in the 30's the lyrics were finally written down by Mihalis Sougioul."
-snip-
Here's the title of that YouTube video that was mentioned in that Mudcat thread:
"Gialo Gialo Kefalonitika Kantades" by Voula Pristouris, Jul 2, 2008

The Cephalonian Brotherhood Annual Picnic 2008.

**
Here's a Greek translation of Gialo Gialo that was posted to that YouTube discussion thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhJrtOmlI4I 

 Maggie Quick, 2009
"Ιn the foam, in the foam of the sea my love, my love is sleeping, please waves dont wake up her. Seashore, seashore we went and all about you we said, seashore you go, seashore you come remember my words. To get lower, to get lower the mountains to see, to see my Annoula (ANNA), to see my home white at the hill. Seashore, seashore we went and all about you we said... ... translation of a greek folk song"

****
ADDENDUM - BANG BANG LULU
The "bang bang" lyrics and the "monkey" of "monkeying" lyrics in the shanty "Johnny, Come Along" remind me of portions of the late 19th century/early 20th century song "Bang Bang Lulu". Here's information about that popular bawdy song from 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang_Bang_Lulu

" "Bang Bang Lulu" is a traditional American song with many variations. It derives from older songs most commonly known as "Bang Bang Rosie" in Ireland, "Bang Away Lulu" in Appalachia,[1] and "My Lula Gal" in the West.[2][6] The form "Bang Bang Lulu" became widespread in the United States from its use as a cadence during the World Wars. The song uses the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies". The modern version was produced by Marty Munsch in late 1995 and was penned by The Traumaschool Dropouts a punk rock outfit from Albany NY who gained international acclaim for its release.

Traditional song

All versions concern a woman and her various lovers. The early forms were sometimes very directly crude, violent, or infanticidal.[7] Published versions probably drastically understate the song's popularity,[1] particularly since the first mentions allude to 78[8] or 900[9] additional verses unfit for printing. Robert Gordon, the first head of the Library of Congress's Archive of American Folk Song, included his variants of Lulu among the "Inferno" section which was excluded from the library's general collection for its "bawdy and scatological subject matter".[10]

 One verse appeared in Owen Wister's 1902 novel on p. 96 The Virginian:[8]

If you go to monkey with my Looloo girl,
I'll tell you what I'll do:
I'll carve out your heart with my razor, AND
I'll shoot you with my pistol, too—"...

-end of quote-
I wonder if Bang Bang Lulu" was a source for those lyrics in Stan Hugil's adaptation of "Johnny Come Along", if not a source for the "original" lyrics for that shanty. 
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/04/my-lula-gal-and-bang-bang-lulu.html for the pancocojams post entitled "My Lula Gal" And "Bang Bang Lulu" - Information With Some Clean And Some Sanitized Examples)".

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The Black Roots Of The Song "Shenandoah", Part III (Caribbean songs "This World Of Misery"; "Solid Fas")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the titles "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather", and probably other titles.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-folk-song-oh.html for Part I of this series.

Part I provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part.html for Part II of this series.

Part II two provides transcripts of two 1930 "Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor about that song. I am assuming that "the Times" here means the London Times (newspaper).

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
SOUND FILE AND LYRICS TO "THIS WORLD OF MISERY"



muisire, Published on Jun 10, 2013


O Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,

O roll, ye rolling river.

O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,

And I'm bound,
I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

O misery,
The Captain cry out,
O roll, ye rolling river,
O Shenandoah
The boatmen answer,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

For seven years
I courted Sally
O roll, ye rolling river,

I courted her
On foolscap paper,

And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

For seven years
I toiled the ocean
O roll, ye rolling river.
For seven years
I never saw her,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

Nobody knows
About my toiling,
O roll ye rolling river.
Nobody knows
About my danger,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

And Shenandoah,

I love your daughter,

O roll, ye rolling river.

O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,

And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,

For to leave this world of misery.

****************
SHENANDOAH is a West Indian version of the well-known American song, and was found by Jack Stanesco in Barrouallie, St. Vincent, a small fishing town. It is a whaling song and a work song, although quite different from the usual shanty. This is due to the fact that, until recently, the men of the area used only small oar-driven boats and hand-held harpoons so they did not have to do the chores from which the other shanties originated. However, until automation rendered manpower and work songs largely obsolete, there was still a need to keep rhythm while pulling oars, hauling tow lines, or dragging boats ashore for repairs. Even now the song can be heard on the boats, for it is traditionally sung if a catch has been made. The gunner begins singing about half a mile out, then the other whalers pick up the refrain, and they can be heard over the water as they head for shore. It is possible that this song travelled to the West Indies via American whaling ships in the last century en route to the South Atlantic, which stopped there to collect crew members. The Indian Maiden of the other version has here been changed to a "white mulatta" and the Wide Missouri has become "this world of misery", by which name the song is also known.
************

From the LP 'Roundtower', Dingle's Records, Edgeware, Middlesex, 1979.
Recording Engineer: Allan Morrow
-snip-
A "white mulatta" is probably a referent for a very light complexioned woman of Black/non-Black (probably White) ancestry.

****
COMMENTS ABOUT CARIBBEAN VERSIONS OF "SHENANDOAH" FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"

From: Abby Sale
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 11:46 AM
"...The Caribbean rowing songs are generally 1) derived from tall ship sailors 2) derived from, based on or in the style of known chanteys & 3) used to set time at sea. But the really important part of this (regardless of definitions) is the image/reality of a boatload of rowers on the open sea & going after large fish and even regularly after whale. These were gutsy guys...

They are still known and used in building construction!

OH MY ROLLING RIVER
All through the rain and squally weather
Oh, my rolling river
All through the rain and squally weather
We are bound away from this world of misery
Misery, I come to tell you
All through this rain and wind all squally

Salambo, I love your daughter
Salambo, this white mulatta
Seven long years we toiled the ocean
Seven long years I never wrote her
All through the rain and squally weather
All through this rain and windy squally

Misery, my captain cry out
Solid fas', my bowman cry out
I courted Sally, no pen no paper
I courted Sally with foolscap paper

From Roger Abrahams's Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore."

****
LYRICS TO "SOLID FAS'"
From http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5435

Solid fas', I come to tell you
HURRAH, MY ROLLING RIVER
"Solid fas'," our captain cry out
WE ARE BOUND AWAY FROM THIS WORLD OF MISERY

Nobody knows about our toilin'
Only God Almighty knows about our danger

"Whale ahead," my little gunman cry out
"Solid fas'," my little captain answer

And on our way, she roll and shiver
Down in our way, she spout dirty water

"Make her so bold," my strokeman cry out
"Haul and gi' me," my centerman cry out

Nobody knows about our hardship
Our shipowner, she don't know our hardship

Misery into the ocean
Misery in the deep wide ocean

Recorded by the Boarding Party
(rowing shanty from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent,
derived from "Shenandoah")
-snip-
These lyrics are presented as they are found on that page.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "SOLID FAS'" ("SOLID FAST") FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"

From: GUEST,Barry Finn
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 09:36 AM
"Solid Fas' is a (west Indian) term to mean the Blackfish is caught fast to the line ("solid fas? Yes, she's solid fas")....

Solid Fas' is also known as "World Of Misery".

Hugill says that Shenandoah this was one of the most popular shanties at capstan & windlass

****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 09 Aug 00 - 10:03 PM

"One more thing. I went back to Deep the Water today to look up the song. The several pages before it give a fascinating, frightening and detailed account of going after whale (Blackfish) in just a long boat with 6 men. Couple of small details in the account:

The "All through the rain & squally weather" words are sung while rowing out after the whale but the "Solid fas'" words (still the same tune) are sung "after a long rowin' or coming home late at night and we must pull hard." The source explains that "Solid fas'" is said when you strike the "fish." Usually by the captain but maybe by the bowman first. "

****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 10:40 AM
"By the way, the St. Vincent tunes used for "Solid Fas'" and for "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather" are about the same to my ear. But it is a significant (but easily recognizable) variation on the usual tune. The slow rhythm also makes it a good rowing chantey. Sorry to reopen this old thread...the St. Vincent song captivates me.

****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 07:31 PM
"...Closely related is the song "Solid Fas'," as recorded by The Boarding Party on their album " 'Tis Our Sailing Time" (Folk-Legacy CD-97). This version was collected by Roger Abrahams in Barouallie on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use there as a rowing shanty. It appears in Abrahams' wonderful but out-of-print book, "Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore." In this version, all reference to the Missouri and Shenandoah have disappeared, but the tune is the same, and it contains the refrain line, "We are bound away from this world of misery." Jonathan Eberhart of The Boarding Party agreed with the theory outlined above by EBarnacle on the "Missouri/Misery" connection. Abrahams was kind enough to send Jonathan a copy of his original field recording, and the BP guys fell in love with its unusual harmonies, which they reproduce in their own version.

It's a beautiful song, in any of its many variants."

****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=32666 "Land of Misery (Shenandoah):

toadfrog
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 06:13 PM
"This is a version of Shenandoah heard on Prairie Home Companion (maybe) 12 years ago.... Does anyone know who sang it and whether it is available as a recording.?

LAND OF MISERY
(Traditional)

Oh Shenandoah I love your daughter.
Chorus:
Hurrah, my rolling river.
Shenandoah, the white Mulatta
Chorus:
We are bound away
From this land of misery.

Verses:

I courted Sally, no pen, no paper.
I courted Sally with foolscap paper.

For seven long years I sailed the ocean.
For seven long years I never wrote her.

Misery! my captain cried out.
Sally forth, my bowman answered.

Nobody knows about my sorrow.
Nobody cares about my danger."

****
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 07:09 PM

..."It's "World of Misery," sung by Jack Stanesco and the whole Golden Ring group. Jack learned it from whale fishermen on St. Vincent's Island while doing his Peace Corp work there. It's on Five Days Singing, the New Golden Ring - CD-41 - from Folk-Legacy."

****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 09:10 PM
"...This song is clearly related to "Solid Fas'," recorded by The Boarding Party on another fine Folk-Legacy recording, "'Tis Our Sailing Time," (CD-97, or, in some circles, BP1). It's in the DT.* It was collected by Roger Abrahams in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use as a rowing shanty. The album notes discuss its relationship to the Stanesco version."
-snip-
The "DT" is the Digital Tradition, a collection housed at Mudcat of lyrics to various folk songs.

****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
I wonder if "across the wide Missouri" isn't a folk etymology form of "in this world of misery" instead of vice versa.

Besides, there's this comment from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread which I quoted in Part II of this series:

From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 12:00 AM
"I went to a house concert abt 10 years ago where a man and wife named Nash sang songs of the sea. He was retired Navy, and they've been collecting for years. He sang a version of Shenandoah which he got from a sailor over 90 years old, and the sailor's last line went:
away, I'm bound away, across this wide world of mis'ry.

Makes more sense than the Missouri any day.

Hey, I live on the Missouri, and I know that going across it doesn't get you anywhere but Kansas, the beginning of the Great American Desert."
-snip-
The Shenandoah River is located in the states of Virginia and West Virginia (USA). The Missouri River is nowhere near the Shenandoah River.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River
"The Missouri River is the longest river in North America,[11] longest tributary in the United States and a major waterway of the central United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km)[7] before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system."

****
This concludes Part III of this series.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the singers and musicians featured in this sound file, and thanks to the publisher of that sound file.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The Black Roots Of The Folk Song "Oh Shenandoah", Part I

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". This post provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part.html for Part II of this series.

Part II provides transcripts of two 1930 "The Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor letter about that song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part_18.html for Part III of this series.

Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the title "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), and other titles.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLE: Paul Robeson "Shenandoah"



Addiobelpassato Published on Dec 22, 2012

Paul Robeson sings "Shenandoah"
with piano

****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "OH SHENANDOAH"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Shenandoah
"Oh Shenandoah" (also called simply "Shenandoah", or "Across the Wide Missouri") is a traditional American folk song of uncertain origin, dating at least to the early 19th century. The song is number 324 in the Roud Folk Song Index, but is not listed amongst the Child Ballads.

History
Shenandoah was first printed[1] as part of William L. Alden's article "Sailor Songs", in the July 1882 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine.[2][3]

The song had become popular as a sea chanty with sailors by the 1880s.[4]

...Sea Songs and Shanties, Collected by W.B. Whall, Master Mariner (First edition in Nov 1910), states that the song probably originated from American or Canadian "voyageurs", who were great singers. Thomas Moore drew inspiration from them in his Canadian Boat Song. The author further goes on and states that he heard it sung over fifty years prior to publishing the book, which place its origin at least a fair bit earlier than 1860. Besides sung at sea, this song figured in old public school collections. (info taken from page one in the sixth edition of the book)

...A Mr. J.E. Laidlaw of San Francisco reported hearing a version sung by a black Barbadian sailor aboard the Glasgow ship Harland in 1894, which went:

Oh, Shenandoah! I hear you calling!
Away, you rolling river!
Yes, far away I hear you calling,
Ha, Ha! I'm bound away across the wide Missouri.

My girl, she's gone far from the river,
Away, you rolling river!
An' I ain't goin' to see her never.
Ha, Ha! I'm bound away, " &c.

****
From http://www.songofamerica.net/cgi-bin/iowa/song/3.html
"Shenandoah
(1800)
Music by Traditional; Text by Traditional
The origins of "Shenandoah," perhaps one of America's most recognizable folk tunes, are not so easily deciphered. Like many folk songs, it is impossible to determine exactly when the song was composed, yet the song probably did not originate later than the Civil War. In any case, by the end of the 19th century, "Shenandoah" had achieved widespread popularity, both on land and at sea.
…As unclear as the song's origin is, so is the definitive version and interpretation of its text. Some believe that the song refers to the river of the same name. Others suggest that it is of African-American origin, for it tells the tale of Sally, the daughter of the Indian Chief Shenandoah, who is courted for seven years by a white Missouri river trader. Regardless of these textual mysteries, "Shenandoah" remains an American classic.
by Library of Congress "

****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origin: Shenandoah"
From: Barry Finn
Date: 04 Mar 98 - 07:23 PM
"...Scholars & collectors have yet to nail down it's origins. It's been collected by Lomax, Sandburg, Hugill, Whall, Bullen, Colcord, Doerflinger, Abrahams, Shay, Bone, etc,etc,etc. It's been found aboard ships as The Wide Missouri, The Wild Mizzourye, The World Of Misery-Solid Fas (West Indies, rowing shanty, although collected recently by Abrahams, it may be as old as most other versions), Shenandoah (& it's many spellings), The Oceanida, Rolling River. It's been claimed as a river song a sea shanty, a US Army song & by the cavalry & wagon soldiers, a song of the Caadian & American mountain men, traders, voyageurs & trappers. It's been the name of a few shanties, The Gals Of Dublin Town or The Harp Without The Crown or The Shenandoah, also The Saucy Arabella or The Davy Crockett or The Shenandoah. It's been used on board with the windlass, capstan, & winches for loading cargo. In the West Indian version, it was used at the oars while chasing the whale (Blackfish)."

****
From Bruce O.
Date: 05 May 98 - 08:23 PM
"JFSS, II, (#9), 1906.
II Chanties [collected by Annne Geddes Gilchrist]
Shangadore (Pumping Chanty) Sung by Mr. W. Bolton, Southport, Jan., 1906
O' Shang-ga-dore, I love your daughter, [solo
A-ray, ye rolling river! [Cho.
I love my grog.. much more than water, [solo
Ah-ha-ha! I'm bound away, Cross the wide Missouri [cho.
'Mr. Bolton refused to give me the rest of the words! .... Two versions, with variants of the tune, are given in an article by W. J. Alden in 'Harper's Magazine', 1882, and another under the title of "The Wide Missouri" in Tozer's 'Sailor's Songs'; another in a small collection of "Old Sea Chanties," by Messrs. Bradford and Fagge. The tune appears to be of negro origin; it is at least of negro character.....
[Now why wouldn't Mr. Bolton sing the rest of the words?]"

****
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 12:00 AM
"I went to a house concert abt 10 years ago where a man and wife named Nash sang songs of the sea. He was retired Navy, and they've been collecting for years. He sang a version of Shenandoah which he got from a sailor over 90 years old, and the sailor's last line went:
away, I'm bound away, across this wide world of mis'ry.
Makes more sense than the Missouri any day.
Hey, I live on the Missouri, and I know that going across it doesn't get you anywhere but Kansas, the beginning of the Great American Desert..."

****
From: John Minear
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 07:22 PM
"Frank T. Bullen's SONGS OF SEA LABOUR has two short versions of "Shenandoah". He says that he "was before the mast in sailing ships from 1869 to 1880." He goes on to say why he only gives the opening verse and a chorus:
"The stubborn fact is that they had no set words beyond a starting verse or two and the fixed phrases of the chorus, which were very often not words at all. For all Chanties were impromptu as far as the words were concerned. Many a Chantyman was prized in spite of his poor voice because of his improvisations. Poor doggerel they were mostly and often very lewd and filthy, but they gave the knowing and appreciative shipmates, who roared the refrain, much opportunity for laughter."
He says, "Being possessed of a strong and melodious voice and a tenancious memory, Chanty singing early became a passion with me, and this resulted in my being invariably made Chantyman of each new vessel I sailed in, a function I performed until I finally reached the quarter-deck, when of course it ceased."

Bullen calls the first version a "negro Chanty" and he may have learned it while discharging "general cargo in the Demerara River off Georgetown", when he was a "first voyage laddie". He says that he had "never heard them anywhere else. They are negro chanties all right enough, but they were not in common use on board ship." (Bullen is referring to the first four Chanties in his collection, of which this song is the fourth).

[Chantyman] O Shenandoh my bully boy I long to hear you holler;
[Chorus]Way ay ay ay ay
[Chantyman] Shenando I lub ter bring er tot er rum en see ye make a swoller;
[Chorus] Way ay ay ay Shenandoh.

The tune is "brisk" and quite different from the more widely known one.

The other Chanty is called "Rolling-River". It is sung "slow, and with expression". It has the more familiar tune. He says that this "is a fine Chanty of the ordinary windlass or pump type, the main word of which is again Shanandoah, the old Southern name that the negroes would drag in, on account of its melody I suspect."

[Chantyman] Shanandoh, I long ter hear ye;
[Chorus] Away, you rolling river;
[Chantyman] Oh Shanandoh-o I can't get near ye
[Chorus] Ha ha! I'm bound away on the wide Missouri!"

****
From: GUEST,knowitall
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 06:16 PM
"Shenandoah is PROBABLY an early 19th century shanty song that has evolved lyrically through the past two centuries to fit the needs of the musician performing the piece. The intoduction of the word Missouri into the piece most likely stems from the western migration of early pioneers, most probably from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is inconcievable that such a popular old song would not have changed at all from its beginnings until now. It is impossible to portray an accurate history of such a piece without any verifiable written documentation "

****
GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 12 Feb 10 - 12:14 PM
"Anything that lasts this long and is so pervasive in the musical repertoire must contain very special qualities. "Shenandoah" seems a great example of the "folk process." Its roots may be lost in obscurity; perhaps originally an adaptation using the melody of a familiar nautical song. It has been "gentrified" with strings and choruses added, made into a theatrical and motion picture theme, played on a harmonica in numerous olf "B" westerns of the 1930's and '40's and sung around campfires ad nauseum.

Yet, though many verses and variants have undoubtedly been added, it remains a stalwart part of the folk song book and is still much loved. The melody is the key, at least to me. It speaks lyrically of longing and lonliness and could, even without words, convey those feelings."

****
EDITORIAL COMMENTS:
The Mudcat thread whose link is given above includes a number of text versions of the lyrics to "Oh Shenandoah". This post is not meant to imply that every person posting to that discussion thread agreed with the belief that "Oh Shenandoah" derived from Black people in either the United States or the Caribbean.

The word "negro" used above is an outdated referent for people of Black African descent in the United States -and/or in this context-in the Caribbean (West Indies). Prior to it being replaced by the term "black [or "Black"] people", for contemporaneous usages of the referent "Negro", the first letter of that referent was and is spelled with a capital letter.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty
"A shanty (also spelled "chantey," "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels...

Capstan shanty:[26]
Raising the anchor on a ship involved winding its rope around a capstan, a sort of giant winch, turned by sailors heaving wooden bars while walking around it. Other heavy tasks might also be assisted by using a capstan. Being a continuous action, shanties sung to accompany these tasks might have longer solo verses and, frequently, a "grand chorus," in addition to the call-and-response form. Examples: "Santianna", "Paddy Lay Back," "Rio Grande," "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run," "Shenandoah", and "John Brown's Body." "

****
This concludes Part I of this series.

Thanks to Paul Robinson for his musical legacy and thanks to the publisher of that sound file.
Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.