Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??

Subject: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Morticia
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 06:22 PM

What's the deal between the Doc's "Hold the Woodpile Down" ( On the Legacy album) and this "Roll the Woodpile Down" .... right here Was he a shantyman in a previous existence?

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Marc
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 11:44 PM

I'm not familiar with the recording, but the thread title sure caught my eye. This question certainly deserves to be at the top of the list again.

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Amos
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 12:26 AM

Is that actually a shanty song? It has the rhythm for it, but it could be about several other things, as well -- the lyrics are kind of ambiguous, to me.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Les B
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 01:03 AM

I think Uncle Dave Macon did "Hold the Woodpile Down" way before Doc - back in the late 1920's. As a kid, Uncle Dave lived in a boarding house which catered to vaudeville people. That's supposedly where he got his minstrel oriented material. Doc has covered a lot of the great old tunes from Uncle Dave, Charlie Poole, etc.

You could probably ask a similar question about "Shenandoah" (The Wide Missouri)with its combination of middle-American indian maidens, trappers, and then the odd seaman type verses. Folk songs move, who knows which way - sea to land, or land to sea ??

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 03:29 AM

Stan Hugill has Roll The Woodpile Down as a capstan chantey, a seagoing variant of the African American song Haul The Woodpile Down. Hold The Woodpile Down could well be a variant of Haul, etc.

chanteyranger

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 04:22 AM

Posted & discussed in previous threads too.

Lyr Add: Hold the Woodpile Down

Chords: Roll the Woodpile Down?

~Masato

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: BanjoRay
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 07:45 AM

Another classic example is Hogeye Man - a well known sea chanty and an equally well known Appalachian song from about as far from the sea as you'd want to get. My feeling is that both traditions got some of their raw materials from the touring minstrels in the earlyish 19th century.

Cheers
Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 01:11 PM

Nice notes!

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 09:15 PM

Read from an old Sing-Out today about Woody Guthrie's recording of "What Does The Deep Sea Say". They said he must have learned it from his Merchant Marine overseas excursions! Pretty funny. If he didn't learn it from the very popular Monroe Brothers recording (he listened to tons of Monroes, Jimmy Rogers, and Carter Family) I'd be pretty surprised.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Doc Watson and Sea Shanties??
From: Hrothgar
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 05:51 AM

Why shouldn't Doc Watson do shanties? He had the voice for it. Dunno if the guitar would always be necessary, though.