John Gilbert is de Boat

DESCRIPTION: "John Gilbert is de boat, di-de-o... Runnin' in the Cincinnati trade." Description of the boat's travels, her cargo, the crew. "You see dat boat a-comin', she's comin' round de bend, An' when she gits in, She'll be loaded down again"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939
KEYWORDS: ship travel commerce nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 276, "John Gilbert is de Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wheeler-SteamboatinDays, p. 43-46, "John Gilbert" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-TreasuryMississippiRiverFolklore, p. 574, "John Gilbert" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10012
NOTES [46 words]: Botkin reports (following Wheeler), "The John Gilbert ran from Cincinnati to Florence, Alabama. She was built in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1881, and was named for Captain John Gilbert, of Evansville, Indiana, president of the Ohio and Tennessee River Packet Company." - RBW
File: LoF276

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