I Love the Blue Mountains

DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty: "I love the blue mountains of Tennessee, that's the place for you and me." Singer is a former slave who was set free (in 1863), he's going back to Tennessee to get his wife and child (pickanniny) and then will quit sailing.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1945 (Harlow-ChantyingAboardAmericanShips)
KEYWORDS: shanty slave return family home
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Harlow-ChantyingAboardAmericanShips, pp. 143-144, "I Love the Blue Mountains" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9147
NOTES [34 words]: Harlow-ChantyingAboardAmericanShips apparently attributed this to Black sailors. It strikes me as a little too "still longing for the old plantation"-ish for me to trust that claim without more data. - RBW
File: Harl143

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