Chanteys of M. J. Powers, 1918

Subject: Chanteys of M. J. Powers, 1918
From: Lighter
Date: 25 May 26 - 03:45 PM

The New Orleans Item of June 9, 1918, ran a double-page, small-print spread of chanteys sung to the unnamed writer by Mr. M. J. Powers, 83, who had gone to sea in 1851. Maddeningly they are "only a few samples" ad when Powers left the sea is not indicated.

Powers's texts are distinctly unusual. Here is "The Hog-Eye Man," which the paper calls "The Lime-Juicer":

It's who's been here since I've been gone,
   A Lime-Juice sailor with his habits on.
    And a Hog-eye!
A railroad n-----r and a Hog-eye!
(Row the boat ashore!) and a Hog-eye!
And all she wants is a hog-eye man.

[Similarly:]

Get up, old Juicer, on the floor,
   My Yankee laddie's at the door....

I say, old Juicer, I'll have no tricks,
   For I remember Seventy-six....

I hit that Juicer, queer old ram --
   For I owed him one for Uncle Sam....

I say, old Juicer, I want no airs,
   And I throwed him, body and bones, right down the stairs....


A "Limejuicer" or "Juicer" is an English (or British) seaman.

"Habit" appears to mean "customary outfit," but OED's final example is from 1796 - but the word might have lingered in regional usage for quite a while after. Another possibility is someone's mishearing of "hip boots."

A note explains - wait for it - that "Hog-eye was seamen's slang for a Chinaman." As I noted on another thread, June 7, 2020, "19th century databases show that 'hog-eyed' was a southern (American) term for 'having small or squinting eyes.'"

The anti-English, nationalist verses sound to me as though they probably date from before the Civil War.

More to come.

Subject: RE: Chanteys of M. J. Powers, 1918
From: meself
Date: 25 May 26 - 08:26 PM

Interesting!

Subject: RE: Chanteys of M. J. Powers, 1918
From: Lighter
Date: 26 May 26 - 12:03 PM

Powers's two versions of "Blow the Man Down":

                      "TOPS'L VERSION"

         I thought I heard the old man say-ay-ay-ay;
            Gimme some time to blow a man down!
         Load my ships and be away-ay-ay-ay!
            Gimme some time to blow a man down!


                     "CAPSTAN VERSION"

         I thought I heard the old man say-ay-ay-ay;
            Gimme some time to blow a man down!
         Blow a man down to Mobile town;
            Gimme some time to a blow man down!

[Similarly:]

         Then shake her up, my boys, and blow...
         In that hold the bale must go....

         Then shake shake [sic] her up, my bully crew....
         For Irish hoosiers on that screw....

         You're the boys to put it through....
         Every lick in the fire flue [sic]....

The "capstan version" clearly has lines from a cotton-screwing song. The "tops'l" line, "Load my ships and be away!" sound like one too.

"Every lick in the fire flue" must be garbled (though "flue" may be "flew," which is only slightly better).

Authorities claim that "Blow the Man Down" was used only for hoisting.
Apparently not.