Hugill has a version of Poor Lucy Anna (1 verse and tune listed:
Oh the mounten's so high an' de ribbers's so wide
Poor Lucy Anna
De mounten's so high and de ribber's so wide
Ise just gwine ober de mountens
), but in his notes he says: "In the Sharp Collection there is a related shanty called Louisiana". Sadly I don't have the Sharp vesion to compare with Seeger's.
The Ballad Index entry for Poor Lucy Anna gives the earliest date as Bullen: Songs of Sea Labour, 1927.
MickPoor Lucy Anna
DESCRIPTION: hanty, Negro origin. "Oh the mounten's so high, an' de ribber's so wide, Poor Lucy Anna! De mounten's so high and de ribber's so wide, Ise just gwine ober de mountains." Sung in a slow 3/4 tempo.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (Bullen, _Songs of Sea Labor_)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong
FOUND IN: West Indies
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 378-379, "Poor Lucy Anna" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 287]
Roud #9127
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Susiana" (similar wording in some verses)
Notes: Bullen stated that this was so mournful a song that "one suspects it of being the lament of some just sold slaves sent from one state to another without reference to any human ties they may have possessed. This chantey was very seldom used except where negroes formed a considerable portion of the crew." - SL
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