The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #174327   Message #4228456
Posted By: Lighter
12-Sep-25 - 01:20 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: 'Roll, Jordan, Roll' as a Chantey
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: 'Roll, Jordan, Roll' as a Chantey
I agree that the stanza sounds too literary to be true.

But "famous" suggests the writer had heard it a number of times. Maybe the lines are just a hodgepodge of what he thought or wished he remembered.

But since a chantey man might sing anything he wanted, the salient point here is "Roll, Jordan, Roll" was sometimes used at the capstan on American ships.