What Does the Deep Sea Say?

DESCRIPTION: The big boat is coming around the bend, doing nothing but killing good men. Vicksburg was a hilly town, until the Yankee gunboats blew it down. Cho: "What does the deep sea say?...It moans and it groans, it slashes and it foams/And rolls on its weary way"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Vernon Dalhart)
KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar fight violence war river sea ship
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 1862 - Union general Ulysses S. Grant begins his Vicksburg campaign. His first four attempts to reach the city fail
Apr 16, 1863 - Porter's gunboats run past Vicksburg, opening the way for Grant's final successful campaign
May 12-17, 1863 - Grant fights a series of minor battles which bring him to the defenses of Vicksburg
May 22, 1863 - Grant's attempt to take Vicksburg by storm is a bloody failure. The Union army settles down to a siege
July 4, 1863 - Lt. General Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, DEEPSEA
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Velvet Tone 1960-V, 1929)
Bob Ferguson (pseud. for Bob Miller) "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Columbia 15727-D, 1932; prob. rec. 1931)
Woody Guthrie & Cisco Houston, "What Did the Deep Sea Say?" (on WoodyFolk)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Brunswick 483, 1930)
Bill Palmer's Trio, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Bluebird B-5034, 1933)
Uncle Bud & his Plow Boys, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Clarion 5418-C, 1931)

NOTES [31 words]: Digital Tradition assigns authorship to Woody Guthrie. Given the date of Dalhart's recording, this is pretty near impossible. The McFarland-Gardner record credits this to "Miller." - PJS
Last updated in version 3.5
File: DTdeepse

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