Canaller's Lament, The

DESCRIPTION: "I shipped aboard a fat old tub, Two mules were on the tow, She hauled the length of the Erie Canal." "The name she bore was Prickly Heat, The captain's name was 'Scratch.'" The singer describes the crew of the canaller, often in racist terms
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1952 (collected from Robert Collen by Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship travel moniker
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Walton/Grimm-Windjammers-SongsOfTheGreatLakesSailors, pp. 168-169, "The Canaller's Lament" (1 text)
Roud #19886
NOTES [61 words]: I tagged this as a moniker song, even though few names are actually named; the singer describes the crewmen; it seems that he just didn't bother to learn their names.
Walton did not indicate a tune, but several of the verses are reminiscent of "True-Born Irish Man (With My Swag All on My Shoulder; The True-Born Native Man)"; I suspect that was the melody used. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: WGM168

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