On rivers like the Mississippi and the Illinois most locks on tne upper river are not large enough for a "double tow"---15 barges pushed by a diesel towboat. The first nine barges are pushed into the lock chamber, the other six barges and the towboat are detatched. The first 9 are then pulled through the lock (after the lock water is cycled) by a small electric winch engine. Then the boat and the other 6 barges are locked through also, reattached and it all goes on it's way. On the Mississippi, while singing on the Julia Belle Swain and the Twilight over the last decade, I have heard a lock worker call that winch the BULLGINE---but only once!

Also, Sam Hinton's fine Decca LP __A Family Tree Of Folksongs__ shows how this song was related to other folksongs. That's what the oral tradition is all about. Serious folkies know that only songs in that oral tradition are real folksongs no matter what other things are called "folk" at any given moment on the time line!!

If that statement bothers some, well, so be it! IT'S THE TRUTH!

Art Thieme