Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor

DESCRIPTION: "Jack was every inch a sailor... He was born upon the bright blue sea." Having been brought up as a whaler, one day Jack is swept overboard and swallowed by a whale. He escapes by pulling the whale inside out
AUTHOR: (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield-BalladsAndSeaSongsOfNewfoundland)
KEYWORDS: talltale sea humorous whaler
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Greenleaf/Mansfield-BalladsAndSeaSongsOfNewfoundland 125, "Jack was Ev'ry Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston-FolkSongsOfCanada, pp. 40-41, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle-OldTimeSongsAndPoetryOfNewfoundland, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune): p. 13 in the 2nd edition; p. 33 in the 3rd; p. 29 in the 4th; p. 29 in the 5th
Blondahl-NewfoundlandersSing, p. 56, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mills-FavoriteSongsOfNewfoundland, pp. 4-5, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 84, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text)
England-HistoricNewfoundlandAndLabrador, p. 63, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. FolkSongAndMusicHall, "Every inch a sailor"
DT, EVRYINCH
Roud #4541
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (on NFOBlondahl01,NFOBlondahl05)
Eddy Primroy, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Ambletown" (occasional floating lyrics)
cf. "Paddy and the Whale" (theme)
cf. "The Catfish" (Banjo Sam) (fish story)
cf. "The Wonderful Whale (Jack and the Whale)" (theme: the Jonah motif, a humorous tale of being swallowed by a whale)
NOTES [255 words]: This is almost certainly a cleaned-up bawdy song. - PJS
The versions I know all seem more in the Paul Bunyan vein -- extraordinary exaggerations. (But maybe I don't have imagination enough.) I suspect Paul is referring to "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor," which is similar only in its first line and metrical form, and which IS sexual in theme.
It seems likely that this originated as a music hall song, "Every Inch a Sailor," by John Read and dates back to 1878. It has the chorus of this song, but the form of the verse is very different:
My uncle Jack is what some people call a jolly tar.
And I should think that he was born beneath a lucky star;
If all is true, that he's gone through, a wonder he must be,
He's every inch a sailor, and was born upon the sea....
It will be evident that this cannot be sung to the Newfoundland tune. And it is not an account of Jack's adventures; rather, it is a recital of what Jack tells others. It does not include Jack's birth near Baccaleau. It tells the story of Jack being swallowed by a whale and turning it inside out in a single verse.
The similarities between the two are strong enough that one must be derived from the other. The differences are great enough that it is equally clear that there has been a rewrite along the way. I would not consider "Every Inch a Sailor" to be the same as "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor," though Roud lumps them (and also lumps "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor"). The question is, which came first? Probably the Read song, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.
Last updated in version 7.0
File: FJ040

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