(I too once sang "Ringo," but only in my own head.)

Otherwise these are exceptionally interesting tidbits.

Though Harlow gives both "Reuben Ranzo" and "Hilo, My Ranzo Way," he notes in between them (a little strangely) that:

"Ranzo is purely a Southern [N]egro term used in the cotton ships at Mobile and New Orleans, and also sung by 'Badian [N]egros at the fall."


Stanzas of "Ranzo Ray" do relate to the Mississippi - which doesn't ordinarily appear in chanteys. And they never mention "Reuben Ranzo."

The presence of the same unusual

I don't have Bullen at hand at the moment. Will check after lunch to see if he was Harlow's source.