The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #122362 Message #2683118
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
18-Jul-09 - 10:33 PM
Thread Name: Ship Margaret Evans, songs
Subject: Lyr. Add: Clear de Track Let de... (Whall)
Lyr. Add: Clear de Track, Let de Bullgine Run From W. B. Whall, 1910, "Sea Songs and Shanties."
O de worl was made in six days and ended on the seven; Ah he! ah ho! are you most done? But accordin' to de contrac' it orter been eleven, So clear de track, let de bullgine run.
Chorus- To my hi-rig-ajig and a low-back car, Ah, he! Ah, ho! are you most done? Hurrah, my boys, and away we'll go, So clear de track, let de bullgine run.
2 But de masons struck for wages, an' dey would not work; So dey come to the conclusion dat dey fill him up wid dirt. 3 Now Adam was de firs' man an' Eve was de oder, And Cain he was a wicked man because he kill his brudder. 4 O way down in de garden where de apple hang low, Ole Satan got de pull and de man had to go. 5 Young Joseph was de fav'rite, an' eat his mush whole; But his brudders sell his coat, and dey put him in a hole. 6 Ole Moses lick de pharaoh an' drown him in de sea, An' de chillen come along dat land for to see. 7 Lil' David was the boss when he finis' up Goliath, But he play it poorly low down on ole man Uriah. 8 You may talk about your yaller gals an' roun-de-corner Sallies, Dey couldn't come to tea with the queens in the forests. 9 Daniel in de den done sleep all de night, Never mind de lion nor de tiger not a mite. 10 Jonah was a hungry man cos he eat de whale, He manage very well till he come to de tail. 11 Dat's all de fur dat de story goes, So hurry up to heaven in yo' best suit of clothes.
With musical score. Whall's notes- "Another version sang the glories of a Black Ball clipper." "Another instance of a "Minstrel" ditty used as a shanty is "Clear de Track, Let de Bulgine Run." In this case the words and the tune of the first part were taken straight from the music hall, but the chorus was altered in words and music. In the music hall version the chorus was-
"Walkee up, O walkee up, O walkee up, O way! Walk into de parlour for to hear de banjo play, etc." The sailor altered it as here shown."