The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #48959   Message #3210252
Posted By: Gibb Sahib
21-Aug-11 - 03:38 AM
Thread Name: South Australia:What the hell's a 'Rolling King'?
Subject: RE: What the hell's a 'Rolling King'?
Thanks for the transcriptions, Snuffy!

Very interesting the lack of "king". And quite notable, I think, that the short refrains are emphasized as you say. That would mean that most documented versions -- perhaps all, in fact, except for Harlow's, which I think may have notation errors -- use the "heave a-WAY" pattern. The "feel" of that is quite different than the "HEAVE away" we've become accustomed to in Lloyd's beloved creation.


Baldwyn's line of "Among the fields of yellow corn" adds evidence to support my theory that the song was a parody of or otherwise inspired by some "downhome" (i.e. Southern U.S., minstrel-ish) song, where a typical floating verse rhymes "born" with "corn".