Big Five-Gallon Jar, The

DESCRIPTION: Jack Jennings, a boarding-master, and his wife Caroline are expert at finding sailors. Should the supply ever dry up, they haul out their "big five-gallon jars" of liquor and use that to round up sailors.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt/Fowke-SeaSongsBalladFromNineteenthCenturyNovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: drink sailor shanghaiing
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, p. 111, "The Big Five-Gallon Jar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt/Fowke-SeaSongsBalladFromNineteenthCenturyNovaScotia, pp. 16-17, "The Big Five Gallon Jar" (1 text)
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, pp. 60-61, "Larry Marr," "The Five-Gallon Jar" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbrEd, pp. 56-57]
ST Doe111 (Partial)
Roud #9412
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sound the Jubilee
NOTES [139 words]: According to Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, Jack Jennings was a real proprietor of a grog shop in Liverpool, Nova Scotia around 1890. - RBW
See a similar but [distinct] broadside, LOCSinging, sb20267b, "Larry Maher's Big Five-Gallon Jar," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864. Maher operates out of New York City "But when you wake next morning, you'll be far outside the bar, Removed away to Liverpool"; the tune is "Irish Jaunting Car." [For this see also Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #1218, p. 84, "Larry Maher's Big Fve-Gallon Jar"" (3 references); this song is less about recruiting sailors and more about pure robbery. - RBW]
Broadside LOCSinging sb20267b: H. De Marsan dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
Last updated in version 3.5
File: Doe111

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography