Cape Cod Girls

DESCRIPTION: "Cape Cod Girls they have no combs, Heave away, heave away! They comb their hair with codfish bones...." "Heave away and don't you make a noise, For we're bound for Australia." Sundry lyrics on the oddities of Cape Cod girls
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor separation nonballad talltale
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Colcord-SongsOfAmericanSailormen, p. 91, "The Codfish Shanty" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, 196, "South Australia" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 152-153]
Creighton-SongsAndBalladsFromNovaScotia 120, "Hanstead Boys" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia1, pp. 50-51, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 23, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-AmericanSeaSongsAndChanteys, p. 84, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text)
Fahey-PintPotAndBilly, p. 24, "Codfish Shanty" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-TreasuryOfNewEnglandFolklore, pp. 561-562, "Cape Cod Shanty" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, pp. 244-245, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text, tune referenced)
Darling-NewAmericanSongster, pp. 316-317, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 96, "Cape Cod Girls" (1 text)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 55, "Cape Cod Girls/Australia Girls" (notes only)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsPopularEdition, p. 37, "Cape Cod Chantey" (1 text)
OneTuneMore, p. 19, "Cape Cod Chantey" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, CAPCODGL
Roud #325
RECORDINGS:
Charity Bailey, "Cape Cod Girls" (on GrowOn2)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "South Australia (I)"
cf. "Round the Bay of Mexico" (lyrics)
NOTES [59 words]: There is no true dividing line between this song and "South Australia"; they merge into each other. However, the difference in local colour and focus is enough that they should be separated. Some versions of "South Australia" even have a rudimentary plot, and the tune can be somewhat different. The problem is classifying the intermediate versions.... - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: LoF023

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