Origin: Lowlands Away

Subject: Tune Add: LOWLANDS AWAY
From: radriano
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 11:42 AM

In Stan Hugill's book Shanties of the Seven Seas there is a beautiful version of Lowlands in a minor key. Here it is in ABC notation.

X:1
T:LOWLANDS AWAY
M:4/4
L:1/8
C:Traditional
S:Stan Hugill
K:Gm
c4 G4|cd ed c2B2|G6 F2|B3c d2B2|c2B2 F2BA|
G4 F2E2|C6 C2|EF GE FE C2|c4 G4|cd ed c2B2|G4 F2|
B3c d2B2|c2B2 F2BA|G4 F2E2|C2||

Radriano

Subject: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 07:28 AM

I've had a bit of a rummage and I can't find an "origins" thread for this song. It's in Hugill of course, and in the Penguin book of Folk Songs, and there are several sets of words in the digitrad but what do we know about the origins.

I'd have guessed (maybe making a false connection between "Lowlands" and Holland that the song refers to the Anglo-Dutch Wars - but that covers from 1652 to 1784, quite a range.

Is there anything that would place it earlier or later, and are there any views on the evolution of the variants?

Philipsz (the Turner prize winner) states it to be a Scottish song, and 16th Century - but I am suspicious of her authority on such things.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: greg stephens
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 07:40 AM

Extensive discussion on a Mudcat thread on the subject of the Dollar and a Half a Day version(and other things)

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 07:55 AM

Thank you Greg. Curious that nothing there indicates an origin prior to the late 1800s - and little on whether it was a forebitter or a shanty.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: greg stephens
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 10:30 AM

But when did the term "forebitter" become fashionable?

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 11:00 AM

"Forebitter" been used AFAIK ever since I first heard any discussion of "what is folk" to describe a song sung among sailors not as a work song but as entertainment outside working time, and probably back as far as the revival.

Some seem to say that "Lowlands Away" was a capstan shanty, but I'm damned if I've ever heard it sing with a rhythm disposed to assist in plodding round a capstan (a classic example of which would be "Johnson Girls")

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: GUEST,julia L
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 06:08 PM

Joanna Colcord has this song in her "Songs of American Sailormen" circa 1924 (She catalogued the songs she heard sung on her father's ships out of Searsport Maine)

She points out the transition between English and American culture
p. 100 ( a chapter on Windlass or capstan shanties)

"Lowlands is another well-known shanty which passed through a similar change. The first shanty version is based on a still earlier English or Scottish ballad. (It has no connection with the better-known ballad of the "Golden Vanity" for which see page 154)"
-----
I dreamed a dream etc
I dreamed I saw etc
She came to me etc
And then I knew etc
--------
she then shows

"Very slowly"

"Lowlands, lowlands away my John
We're bound away to Mobile Bay,
My dollar-and-a-half a day
Was you ever in Mobile bay
Lowlands, lowlands away my John
A-Screwin' cotton all the day
My dollar-and-a-half a day

etc

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 06:26 PM

'Lowlands' refers to the realm of the dead, in this case a drowned sailor. Similarly...the 'Low Road' to Loch Lomomd is taken by those killed in action abroad.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 08 Dec 10 - 07:20 PM

I sang Lowlands at the National (Sutton Bonington) one year when Stan Hugill was in the room, and he said it was generally ok, but not to slow down at the end...
Kitty

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 09 Dec 10 - 01:09 AM

The article (anonymous) called "On Shanties" in the periodical _Once a Week_ from 1868 mentions a capstan chanty by the title of "Lowlands." I believe the author was talking about this chanty. This is the first reference I have found.

Next, in Alden's article "Sailor Songs" in _Harper's Monthly_ of July 1882, "Lowlands Aray" (sic) is given with lyrics and tune. He mentions that "my dollar and a half a day" was the chorus in a variation.

At least a couple authors followed Alden in mentioning "Lowlands" shortly thereafter, but I believe they are derivative of Alden's work.

In 1888, L.A. Smith published a version of it in her chanties collection _Music of the Waters_. She has just copied Alden, from the looks of it. To go one further, she seems to run with Alden's statement about the "dollar" version and sketches out what she thinks it would be like. Hugill's later attestation of a "dollar" version (among others -- I am not going to sort through all the 20th century references now) contradict Smith's mock-up.

So, the chanty is probably at least as old as the 1860s.

In my opinion, the form and style of the song *scream* "chanty." This does not necessarily mean it could not have been a non-chanty, too, but...   I'm not aware of it ever being framed as a forebitter. Definitely a chanty.

It compares well with "Shenandoah," and I would tend to group them in a category. Alden, in fact, gives them right one after another, which may count for something. Both were most certainly capstan chanties. The rhythm is fine, because there was a great range of tempos/styles for capstan, depending on what you were hoisting and what part of the job you were engaged in. When the weight was very heavy, or if, say, the anchor was "stuck," the heaving might be very slow indeed. So slow, in fact, that it was not possible to maintain a steady beat. Like Shenandoah, Lowlands has what I call a "breathing rhythm." It's not that it has no tempo, but it's tempo might vary a bit and, more significantly, it has no set *meter*. Note the fact that every collector who notates these songs is forced to grapple with trying to set them in a meter.

Demonstrations or use of capstans have been so rare in recent decades, and when they are done there is a dimension of artificiality, so that we just don't see examples of that kind of heavy heaving.

As for the ultimate "origins" of "Lowlands": As I've said, I think it is -- as we know it -- a chanty. Which means it probably didn't exist before the 1830s or so. However, I would not be surprised at all to hear that the lyrical theme (the dead lover appearing in a dream) along with or separately from the "Lowlands" phrase, existed previously in other songs and that they provided the inspiration for the chanty. Hasn't someone quoted a Scots poem of this sort somewhere?

I'd consider that to be one of the contributing inspirations to 'Lowlands Away," like "Radcliffe Highway" inspires one version of "Blow the Man Down." However, as far as the origins go, the "ground zero," I'd start off looking in the American South circa 1840s-60s, FWIW.

I'm of the mind that, inspired by the Northern English/Scots tone of some of the common lyrics, many who have encountered the song in "folk music" contexts (Penguin books, etc) have jumped to the idea of the Scottish origins. I mean, how did the Corries pick it up and make it into such a lovely little hearthside chune? I think if they are looking for the lyrical theme independent of the song as we know it, they may well discover such an origin. But considering how chanties flexibly adopted many lyrics and themes, bending them to their structure and forming what are new songs, I think one has to give at least as much weight to other features that make up the identity of the song as it was documented in the 19th century.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 07:52 PM

"Lowlands" is the song for January 16 in Jon Boden's A Folk Song a Day project. Seems like a good opportunity to update our information on the song. Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry:

Lowlands (My Lowlands Away)

DESCRIPTION: Sometimes a ballad: The singer is at sea when his love comes to him in a dream. She is dressed in white, and he realizes that his love is dead. Other times a lyric, in which the sailor talks about his travels, his ship, low pay, and/or a bad captain
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1870
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor sea love death dream ghost
FOUND IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (14 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 80-82, "Lowlands" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Bone, pp. 124-126, "Lowlands" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 100-101, "Lowlands" (2 texts, 2 tunes; the first is the dead lover version, the second the "Dollar and a half" version)
Harlow pp. 127-128 "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune, a "Dollar and a half" version")
Hugill, pp. 65-70 "Lowlands Away," "Lowlands or My Dollar An' A Half A Day" (4 texts, 2 tunes -- three dead lover versions, one Dollar and a half" version) [AbEd, pp. 61-64]
Sharp-EFC, XVIII, p. 21, "Lowlands Away" (1 text, 1 tune, a"Dollar and a half" version)
Mackenzie 109, "A Dollar and a Half a Day" (1 text)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 43-44, "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune); pp. 46-47, "Lowlands, II" (1 text); p. 47, "Lowlands, III" (1 fragment)
PBB 100, "Lowlands Away" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 43, "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H469, p. 144, "My Lowlands, Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 89, "Lowlands" (1 text)
DT, LOWLNDS LOWLND2 LOWLND3
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Johnny Boker" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917. "Lowlands" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917.
Roud #681
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "Lowlands Low" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Anne Briggs, "Lowlands" (on Briggs1, Briggs3)
NOTES: This tune pattern ("Lowlands, lowlands away, my John...," with final line either "My lowlands away" or "My dollar and a half a day") has been used for at least three separate plots (which have perhaps cross-fertilized a bit): A dead sailor, a dead sailor's girl, and a more lyric piece about the bad conditions sailors face, the latter often having the "dollar and a half" refrain.
Shay, who apparently regards the dead sailor version as original, thinks this lyric item a much-decayed version of "The Lowlands of Holland." This is certainly possible, especially thematically, but there is a lot of evolution along the way....
Bone comments on this subject, "'Lowlands' is a very old song. There are many versions, but it seems to me that the lament in the air establishes it as an adaption of some old ballad....
"I have heard it sung on many occasions -- as a capstan shanty -- and always there were the three standard lines, repeated, as verses, 'I dreamt a dream the other night.' ... 'I dreamt I saw my own true love.' ... 'And then I knew my love was dead.' With these the chantyman felt that he had held to tradition and then warranted in his own right to hawk his own wares.'"
Hugill adds that it was "never too popular, as it was too difficult to sing properly" -- which strikes me as true; it feels more like a ballad than a shanty. Most shanties have a very regular rhythm; this has very little.
Hugill thinks the "'dead lover' theme definitely originated in Scotland or the North of England" (which again feels right, not that that's proof). But he also thinks the tune as "a negro touch about it." That part I'm not so sure about. He adds that it is "the only chanty in which Sailor John allowed 'sob-stuff,'" which he again takes as evidence that it was not originally a shanty or even a sea-song. - RBW
File: PBB100

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Reinhard Zierke's page on this song

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 04:50 AM

Thank you Gibb Sahib and Joe.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:10 AM

I like, perversely, the crazy incongruity of the soaring tune, the dead-lover schmaltz, and the sharp practicality of "my dollar and a half a day."

Subject: Lyr Add: LOWLANDS (John Masefield)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 21 Jul 11 - 09:11 PM

LOWLANDS
Halliard Chanty (John Masefield)

1
I dreamt a dream the other night,
Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John;
I dreamt a dream the other night,
My Lowlands a-ray.
2
I dreamt I saw my own true love,
Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John
I dreamt I saw my own true love,
My Lowlands a-ray.
3
He was green and wet with weeds so cold,
(Cho.)
He was green and wet with weeds so cold,
(Cho.;)
4
..I am drowned in the Lowland seas," he said,
(Cho.)
..I am drowned in the Lowland seas," he said,
(Cho.)
5
..I shall never kiss you again," he said,
(Cho.;)
..I shall never kiss you again," he said,
(Cho.)
6
I will cut my breasts until they bleed,
(Cho.;)
I will cut my breasts until they bleed,
(Cho.)
7
I will cut away my bonny hair,
(Cho.;)
I will cut away my bonny hair,
(Cho.)
8
No other man shall think me fair,
(Cho.;)
No other man shall think me fair,
(Cho.)
9
O my love lies drowned in the windy Lowlands,
(Cho.;)
O my love lies drowned in the windy Lowlands,
(Cho.)

This song, included in Hugill and others as a chantey, may not have been sung in this form.
It is also mentioned in the thread "Rio Grande."

From John Masefield, 1906, A Sailor's Garland, Chanties. Methuen & Co. Ltd.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Jim McLean
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 10:23 AM

I have just listened to Ann Briggs singing it again and the melody could easily be a variant of Barbara Allan.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 10:26 AM

Radriano, I hope you're still around.

Thanks for posting the abc. I've printed the song (changed to D), and it makes a wonderful addition to my new collection of music for flute.

Subject: Lyr Add: LOWLANDS AWAY (Sampson)
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 12:05 PM

From Sampson's book. (Sea experience 1886-98)
...there are many modern versions, several of which give "My dollar and a half day" as the last line. Although it has a very beautiful air, it was by no means popular at sea, probably because of the difficulty it presented to the Shantyman.
I notice that the late Captain Whall states that it is of American origin and comes from the cotton ports of the Southern States. In its debased form it may have done so, but in that case, it went out with the prisoners of war after the Monmouth rebellion, and having been adopted by negroes lost its original beauty and imagery.


Lowlands, my Lowlands away my John,
Lowlands away, I hear them say,
Lowlands, my lowlands away.

I dream'd a dream the other night
Lowlands my lowlands away my John,
I saw my true love all in white,
Lowlands my Lowlands away.

I dreamed my love came in my sleep,
And said my dear why do you weep,

I'm drowned in the Lowland sea he said,
And the wet green weeds are all my bed,

Oh my love he's drowned in the lowland seas,
And never again shall I him please,

I'll cut away all my bonny hair,
No other man shall deem me fair,

Subject: Lyr Add: YOUNG EDWIN IN THE LOWLANDS LOW (Bodleian
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 01:48 PM

Lyr. Add: YOUNG EDWIN IN THE LOWLANDS LOW
Tune- Bushes and Briars.

Come all you young people and listen to my song
While I unfold concerning gold, that guides so many wrong,
Young Emma was a servant maid and lov'd a sailor,
He plough'd the main much gold to gain for his love (as we are told).

Young Emma she did daily mourn since Edwin first did roam,
Now seven years were past and gone when Edwin hail'd his home;
He went unto young Emma's house to her the gold to show,
What he did gain upon the main, and above the low lands low.

Her father kept a public inn- it stood down by the sea-
Said Emma you can enter in and there this night can be
I'll meet you in the morning- don't let my parents know
Your name it is young Edwin, that plough'd the lowlands low.

Young Edwin he sat drinking till time to go to bed
And little was he thinking what sorrow crown'd his head,
Said Emma's cruel father his gold will make a show !
We will send his body sinking down in the lowlands low.

As Emma lay a sleeping she had such frightful dreams
She dreamt her love stood weeping, and blood appear'd in streams;
She started up ere day-break and to her friends did go
Because she loved him dearly that plough'd the lowlands low.

Oh, mother ! where's the stranger came here last night to lay?
He's dead; and so no tales can tell- her father he did say,
Then father, cruel father, you'll die a public show,
For murdering my Edwin thats down in the lowlands low.

Said Emma I will wander down by the stormy wave
Where Edwin he lays under, who once the sea did brave;
The shells that's in the ocean are rolling to and fro,
Reminds me of my Edwin that's down in the lowlands low.

The fishes of the ocean may swim o'er my love's breast,
His body rolls in motion- I hope his soul's at rest;
How cruel were my parents to prove his overthrow,
And take the gold from one so bold that's down in the lowlands low.

So many a day she pass'd away to try to ease her mind
Crying, O my friend and love's gone, and am left behind,
And frantic, broken-hearted, to Bedlam forced to go,
Poor Emma, for her lover down in the lowlands low.

J. Catnach, printer; between 1813-1838, Harding B 11(2031), several copies.
A line or two corrected with "Young Edmund in the Lowlands Low," printer J. Pitts, between 1819-1844, Harding B 11(1433)
(Both in Bodleian Collection).

Posts on the chantey mention this broadside song as a possible source.

Subject: Lyr. Add: THE LAD IN HIS JACKET SO BLUE (Bodleian)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 03:15 PM

Lyr. Add: THE LAD IN HIS JACKET SO BLUE
Tune: Bonnets of Blue

As I was a-walking one morning in May,
The birds were a-singing on ev'ry green spray;
A lovely young maiden she came in my view,
She was mourning the loss of her sailor so true.

I stepp'd up to her, and to her did say,
Oh pardon my freedom, fair damsel I pray,
I beg now your sorrow you'll try to subdue,
And ne'er think on the lad in his jacket so blue.

Cruel were my parents that tore him from me,
And cruel the pressgang that sent him to sea;
Three years he's gone from me, each pleasure adieu !
Till my Henry returns, my young sailor so true.

I said my young damsel, I've houses and land,
A carriage to ride in all at your command,
Servants to wait on you- bid sorrow adieu,
And ne'er think on the lad in his jacket so blue.

Your house, your lands, and your gold I despise,
There's none but my sailor I ever can prize;
He's the lad that I love, & to him I'll prove true,
And I'll ne'er put a stain on his jacket of blue.

I said my fair maiden, pray don't be surpris'd,
As the tears trickled down from her sparkling eyes,
While I've sail'd on the ocean to me you prov'd true,
I'm your sailor return'd in my jacket of blue.

My uncle has died and left me store of gold,
Twenty thousand bright guineas & houses untold;
A ring from his pocket he instantly drew-
Here's the token you gave when I parted from you.

Their parents consent the next day they obtain'd,
The day of their marriage was instantly named;
Their wedding took place each joy to renew,
She's blest with the lad in his jacket of blue.

Harding B11(2031), between 1813-1838, J. Catnach, printer, 7 Dials.

Paired with "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" in the Harding Collection, Bodleian Library.

There are several songs similar to both in collections of that time period, some ending in tragedy, others in happiness.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:10 AM

Beginning of a more detailed chronology on this.... I am curious as to where certain 'myths' about this song may have started in the 20th century literature and in the revivals.

The following text is supposed to have been located in a journal kept at sea in the 1860s by Capt. James A. Delap of Nova Scotia. It's the earliest that I can recall seeing. Presented in:

1951        Doerflinger, William Main. _Shantymen and Shantyboys: Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman_. Macmillan: New York.

A bully ship and bully crew,
      Lowlands, lowlands, hurrah, my John,
And a bully mate to put us through,
      My dollar and a half a day.

I wish I was in Liverpool,
With the Liverpool girls I would slip round.

Oh, heave her up and away we'll go
Oh, heave her up from down below.

Oh, a dollar and a half is a shellback's pay,
But a dollar and a half is pretty good pay.

Oh, rise, old woman, and let us in,
For the night is cold and I want some gin.

I don't know the story behind this journal. I presume Doerflinger saw it as part of his fieldwork in Nova Scotia in the 1930s and 40s (?).

Right out the gate -- assuming this is authentic -- one can see the "dollar and a half" chorus.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:25 AM

1868 Dallas, E. S., ed. "On Shanties." _Once a Week_ 31 (1 Aug. 1868).

The anonymous author of this article mentions by name what is presumably this chanty.

...There are many more capstan shanties, which I can only mention by name, such as _Lowlands_, _Oceanida_, _Johnny's gone_, _The Black-ball Line_, and _Slapandergosheka_...

The anonymous article that follows this one,

1869        Payn, James, ed. "Sailors' Shanties and Sea Songs." _Chambers's Journal_ 4(311) (11 December 1869): 794-6.

...though it is practically entirely copied (or reworked) from the first, includes a very similar passage but ...mysteriously... omits the title of "Lowlands."

…There are many more capstan shanties, which I can only mention by name, such as Oceanida, Johnny 's Gone, The Black Ball Line, and Slapandergosheka.

The omission is significant because it was the second article, not the first, that would go on to be well-read by later writers. Well, I supposed it's not that significant; it would just mean that the next writer to mention it might think he/she was the first.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:32 AM

1882        Alden, W.L. "Sailors' Songs." _Harper's New Monthly Magazine_ (July 1882): 281-6.

Alden set the tone for the description of "Lowlands". This is accompanied by score, for the first time.

Perhaps the wildest, most mournful, of all sailor songs is "Lowlands." The chorus is even more than usually meaningless, but the song is the sighing of the wind and the throbbing of the restless ocean translated into melody.

I dreamt a dream the other night.
Lowlands, Lowlands, Hurrah, my John.
I dreamt I saw my own true love.
My Lowlands aray.

Much care was evidently given to "Lowlands" by the shanty-men. It has often been improved. In its original form the first chorus was shorter and less striking, and the words of the second chorus were, "My dollar and a half a day." It is to be regretted that no true idea can be given on paper of the wonderful shading which shanty-men of real genius sometimes gave to this song by their subtle and delicate variations of time and expression.

Although I don't know where he got the info from, note that he says the "dollar and a half" was the original chorus.
We won't find any "original," but perhaps these first few references will challenge the idea that the "dollar and a half" was some sort of bastardization of later times.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:38 AM

1883        Dixon, Robert Brewer. _Fore and Aft: A Story of Actual Sea Life_. Boston: Lee and Shepard.

The way "Lowlands" is described here suggests that the author had read Alden and was using the chanty for effect.

The following morning, Sept. 18, all hands were called at daybreak; and the windlass was manned, and the anchor hove short, to "Lowlands," the wildest and most weird of all sailor-songs, led by the second mate.

The phrase in bold matches Alden's sentiment.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:48 AM

1884[Jan]        Unknown. "Minstrelsy on the Sea." _The New York Times_ 27 (Jan. 1884). pg. 10.

It's a general article with waxing romantic touches. Perhaps also influenced by Alden's article.

A very touching sea air is known as "Lowlands Away." The choruses
of this are "Lowlands Away, my John," and "My dollar and a half a day." ...

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:52 AM

1888[June 1887]        Smith, Laura Alexandrine. _The Music of the Waters_. London: Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co.

Smith copied Alden's words, and extrapolated some. Thus, her second stanza appears to be contrived.

One of the wildest and most mournful of the sailor songs is "Lowlands." The chorus is even more than usually meaningless, but the song is the sighing of the wind and the throbbing of the restless ocean translated into melody:—

I dreamt a dream the other night:
Lowlands, Lowlands, Hurrah, my John!
I dreamt I saw my own true love:
My Lowlands a-ray!
                  
Much care was evidently given to "Lowlands" by the chanty-men. It has often been improved. In its original form the first chorus was shorter and less striking, and the words of the second chorus were, "My dollar and a half a day."

Solo.—Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John.
Chorus.—My dollar and a half a day.
Solo.—I took up my clothes and I went away.
Chorus.—Lowlands, Lowlands, a-ray.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 04:55 AM

1888        Dickens, Charles, ed. [Unknown] "Sailors' Songs." All the Year Round 1047 (22 Dec. 1888): 592-

The anonymous author has culled all the information and texts from LA Smith.

One of the most beautiful in a musical sense of all the chanties, is that known as "Lowlands Low." The words are nothing, and, as usual, many versions are used; but the air is singularly wild and mournful, and is an immense favourite with Jack It generally begins somewhat like this:

(Solo) I dreamt a dream the other night.
(Chorus) Lowlands, lowlands, hurrah, my John.
(Solo) I dreamt I saw my own true love.
(Chorus) My Lowlands, aray.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 05:00 AM

1900[Oct.]        Lahee, Henry C. "Sailors' Chanteys." The Sea Breeze 13(1) (Oct. 1900): 13-14.

...So far as the tune is concerned, it is perhaps exceeded in quaintness and "atmosphere" by one which went by the name of ''Lowlands," and of which the chorus ended up with "five dollars and a half a day," — which might just as well be any other price you like to mention, as it was the sailor's dream of the pay which he could get in some other place where he was not. ...
For many years I have not found a sailor who could sing "Lowlands." The old-time deepwater men are scarce. It is not very easy to find men who know any reasonable number of chanteys, except perhaps some of the modern and more frivolous ones. ...

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 05:03 AM

1902 Luce, S. B. _Naval Songs_. Second edition, revised. New York: Wm. A. Pond & Co.

This revised edition add the chanty. Music is given, in minor mode.

I thought I heard the old man say.
Lowlands, lowlands, my Johnny,
That this would be our sailing day,
A dollar and a half a day.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 05:15 AM

1903        Whitmarsh, H. Phelps. "The Chantey-man." Harper's Monthly Magazine 106(632) (Jan. 1903): 319-

...…in listening to the plaintive melodies like "Storm-along" and "The Lowlands," I have at times been reminded of a Gaelic psalm chant, such as is sung by the Scotch Highlander ers and their descendants in Cape Breton...

...And there are many more, some gay and some cheery, like "Santa Anna"; others, like "The Lowlands," mournful as the sighing of the wind in the shrouds.

The same sort of romantic language. "Lowlands" was being invoked regularly along with "Stormalong" to fill a place in the discussion where one talks about "mournful" sounds.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 28 Jul 11 - 05:25 AM

1906        Davis and Tozer. 3rd edition?

They added "Lowlands" in this edition. I believe this was made possible by referencing LA Smith's collection (which of course got it from Alden). The first verse is the same as Smith/Alden, except the strange (typo?) "aray" (i.e. "away") or the original is changed to "hooray."

The first verse is followed by the typically literary-sounding verses of this collection.

10. Lowlands

I dreamt a dream the other night,
Lowlands, Lowlands, hooray, my John.

I dreamt I saw my own true love, 
      
My Lowlands, hooray.


I dreamt she stood close by my side,
All dress in white like some fair bride,

She spoke in accents sweet and low,
"How true my love is well you know."

And then she sang in sweetest voice,
A song that made my heart rejoice,

"Oh, Lowland maids are fair to view,
"And Lowland maids have hearts so true,

[etc., 3 more verses]

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:12 AM

1906[Oct.]        Masefield, John, ed. _A Sailor's Garland_. London: Macmillan.

Masefield was keen on connecting 19th century chanties with earlier, British song traditions. He said "Haul on the Bowline" was from the time of Henry VIII; that "A-Roving" was based in "The Rape of Lucrece"; connected the "crabfish" theme in Whiskey Johnny to a 16th century ballad... which is not to necessarily say that all these ideas have no merit, but it speaks to his orientation. The implications of this, I believe, are that when he tweaked or made up some lyrics at the time of publication -- which I believe he did -- he sometimes cast them in the cultural world of English balladry.

I suspect (can't prove) that his presentation of Lowlands was *influenced* by his feeling that it would have been based in an old ballad, and therefore it has something of a Northen English/Scottish cast. Judge for yourself. I will be interested to see what "original" versions of "Lowlands" after this have the full "dead lover" theme -- so far, it has only been Davis' composed (?) set, and these by Masefield.

ALthough Masefield had observed chanties first hand, his credibility is tarnished (in my view) by the fact that the first verse he gives is identical to the one in LA Smith and in Alden. If he actual *knew* this song, why adopt and repeat the likely error (or oddity) of "a-ray" in the chorus?

LOWLANDS 

(Halliard Chanty)

I Dreamt a dream the other night,
   Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John;

I dreamt a dream the other night, 
      
   My Lowlands a-ray.

I dreamt I saw my own true love,

He was green and wet with weeds so cold,

"I am drowned in the Lowland seas," he said,

"I shall never kiss you again," he said,

I will cut my breasts until they bleed,

I will cut away my bonny hair,

No other man shall think me fair,

O my love lies drowned in the windy Lowlands,

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:28 AM

1908        Broadwood, Lucy E., Percy Grainger, Cecil J. Sharp, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frank Kidson, J.A. Fuller-Maitland, and A.G. Gilchrist. "[Songs Collected by Percy Grainger]." _Journal of the Folk-Song Society_ 3(12) (May 1908): 170-242.

Couple collected versions of and comments on "Lowlands" here.

Gilchrist noted,

"Storm Along," "Tom's gone to Hilo," and "Lowlands" are all chanties which strike me as negro in character, if not in origin.

She did not say why it struck her so, but often such comments, by this crowd of folklorists, were based on musical analysis.

The first version is noted as a windlass chanty, noted by Percy Grainger on July 24th, 1906. The singer was Charles Rosher, who also "collected" the song. He seems to have been an enthusiast who learned some chanties in amateur capacity.

LOWLANDS. (or: DOLLAR AND A HALF A DAY.)

[w/ score]

A dollar and a half is a poor man's pay.
Lowlands, lowlands away, my John.
A dollar and a half it won't clear my way.
My dollar and a half a day.


Another version. Its melody is unfamiliar from today's perspective. Called a capstan chanty, collected and noted by H. E. Piggott and Percy Grainger on Jan. 18, 1908. Sung by John Perring. Perring was evidently a widely experienced sailor and chantyman.

DOLLAR AND A 'ALF A DAY.

[w/ score]

1. Five dollars a day is a white man's pay.
Way…
Five dollars a day is a white man's pay.
My dollar and a 'alf a day.

2. But a dollar and a half is a nigger's pay. (twice)

3. The nigger works both night and day. (twice)

4. But the white man, he works but a day. (twice)

Mr. Perring said this is a "tipical" Negro chanty, sung by black sailors in the
East Indian trade, in complaint at their being harder worked and lower-waged than
white seamen.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:43 AM

1910        Whall, Captain W.B. _Sea Songs and Shanties_. Brown, Son and Ferguson.

Whall writes from his experience learning chanties in the 1860s and early '70s. His version of "Lowlands" here had previously appeared in some form in a 1806 article in _Yachting Monthly_. The article in my last post actually quoted it from that source (which I haven't seen), and said Whall said he learned it in 1862.

Here are some of his notes, followed by the song text.

It is of American origin and comes from the cotton ports of the old Southern States.
This is, I think, certainly the first time it has been set in the least degree correctly to music. I am aware of two previous attempts, both hopelessly in error. It is also...a windlass shanty: and it was a favourite for pumping ship.

Lowlands.

Lowlands, Lowlands, Away, my John,
O my old mother she wrote to me,
My dollar and a half a day.
She wrote to me to come home from sea,
Lowlands, Lowlands, Away, my John.
She wrote to me to come home from sea.
My dollar and a half a day.

A dollar a day is a Hoosier's pay,
Lowlands, lowlands, a-way, my John,
Yes, a dollar a day is a Hoosier's pay,
My dollar and a half a day.

O was you ever in Mobile Bay,
A screwing cotton by the day ?

These are all the regulation verses; after these the shantyman must improvise.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:47 AM

1910        Clark, Arthur H. _The Clipper Ship Era_. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Clark is speaking generically about the clipper ship "era," circa 1840s-60s. He gives Lowlands in this setting.

The anchor is hove up to:

"I wish I was in Slewer's Hall,
Lowlands, lowlands, hurra, my boys,
A-drinking luck to the old Black Ball,
My dollar and a half a day."

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:52 AM

1914        Bullen, Frank. T. and W.F. Arnold. _Songs of Sea Labour_. London: Orpheus Music Publishing.

Bullen was a very experienced chantyman who seems to have learned most of his stuff in the 1870s. His collection contains the following.

13. Lowlands Away.

Lowlands away I heard them say
Lowlands, lowlands away my John
Lowlands away I heard them say,
My dollar an' a half a day.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 03:57 AM

1914        Sharp, Cecil K. 1914. _English Folk-Chanteys_. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd.

Collected from Henry Bailey, with an added 4th verse from John Short.

18. Lowlands Away.

Lowlands, lowlands away, my John ;
I'm bound away, I heard him say,
My lowlands away, my John ;
A dollar and a half is a oozer's pay,
A dollar and a half a day.

A dollar and a half won't pay my way ;
A dollar and a half is a white-man's pay.

We're bound away to Mobile Bay ;

What shall we poor matelors do?

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 04:03 AM

1914        Unknown. "The Recollections of a West Indiaman, Being the Reminiscences of a Steamship Officer of His Apprenticeship in a Windjammer." _The Master, Mate and Pilot_ 7(2) (July 1914): 38-40, 60.

This anonymous account refers to a voyage in 1865 in a barque from Liverpool to Barbados. The crew were Black men from Baltimore and cotton ports. Mentions only the title of the chanty.

Owing to the trouble that our captain had had at various times with drunkenness amongst English crews he decided in the future to ship only negroes in the forecastle, and for the remaining years of my apprenticeship I sailed with colored crews. Many of them hailed from Baltimore and the cotton ports of the southern United States. They were fine sailors, these men, quiet, strong and respectful: but my pleasantest memory in regard to them was their chanteying. They sang the choruses in weird falsetto notes and with the fascinating pronunciation of the Southern darkey. They sang a chantey for every little job and the way they thundered out such plaintive melodies as "Shenandoah, I Love your Daughter" or "My Lowlands Away" made them a treat to listen to.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 04:07 AM

1915        Meloney, William Brown. "The Chanty-Man Sings." Everybody's Magazine 33(2) (August 1915): 207-217.

Contains a fictitious account that borrows Masefield's version of "Lowlands."

Good as was Long Ned at improvisations, he also knew the chanty classics. One murky morning off the pitch of the Horn he sang "Lowlands," an ancient chanty, as a weather-beaten, storm-racked handful of frozen men hoisted a main uppertopsail. The scene haunts me. The sea was a gray, snarling, snapping monster. Half a gale was howling through the ice-whiskered rigging. The sky was a bleak slab of slate— low and billowing like a circus-tent top. Every now and then under our lee, less than two miles away, "Cape Stiff" reared itself like a huge black gravestone. We were fighting to escape. And thus Long Ned was singing in a wonderful, rich baritone:

I dreamt I saw my own true love, 

Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John;
I dreamt I saw my own true love, 

My Lowlands a-ray!
"I am drown-ed in the Lowland Seas," he said, 

Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John;
"I am drown-ed in the Lowland Seas," he said,
My Lowlands a-ray!

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 04:15 AM

1917        Robinson, Captain John. "Songs of the Chanty-Man: I." The Bellman 23(574) (14 July 1917): 38-44.

After Alden (1882), this is the first published version I am seeing --in which I have confidence-- to have the "dream." Robinson sailed from the 60s onward. However, he does make this disclaimer about his presentation:

As may well be imagined, I cannot exactly recall all the original verses... In a crude way, however, I have endeavored to carry the spirit and sense of the originals into the words which I have written down.

His "Lowlands":


Lowlands. [w/ score]

Last night I dreamt of my true love.
Lowlands, Lowlands, away my John.
She begged me ne'er again to rove.
my Lowlands away.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 04:17 AM

Blimey!
How do you find it all Gibb?

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 04:36 AM

1920        Terry, R.R. "Sailor Shanties (II)." _Music and Letters_ 1(3) (July 1920):256-268.

LOWLANDS. [w/ score]

Lowlands, Lowlands, Away, my John!
Lowlands, away, I heard them say,
My dollar and a half a day.
A dollar and a half a day is a Hoosier's pay.
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John!
A dollar and a half a day is very good pay.
My dollar and a half a day.


The same is given in full, probably with some added verses from multiple sources, in the following work.

1921        Terry, Richard Runciman. _The Shanty Book, Part I_. London: J. Curwen & Sons.

Notes:

…It was well known to every sailor down to the time of the China Clippers. My version is that of Capt. John Runciman, who belonged to that period. I have seldom found it known to sailors who took to the sea after the early seventies. The tune was sung in very free time and with great solemnity…. In North-country ships the shantyman used to make much of the theme of a dead lover appearing in the night. There were seldom any rhymes, and the air was indescribably touching when humoured by a good hand. A 'hoosier,' by the way, is a cotton stevedore. …

6. Lowlands away

Lowlands, Lowlands,
Away my John,

Lowlands, away,
I heard them say,

My dollar and a half a day.



1. A dollar and a half a day is a Hoosier's pay.

Lowlands, Lowlands,
Away my John.

A dollar and a half a day is very good pay.

My dollar and a half a day.



2. Oh was you ever in Mobile Bay.

Screwing the cotton by the day.


3. All in the night my true love came,

All in the night my true love came.


4. She came to me all in my sleep. (twice)



5. And hër eyes were white my love. (twice)



6. And then I knew my love was dead. (twice)


The first 2 verses have the earmarks of Whall, whose work Terry had consulted (remember, he was creating ideal versions). But then it shifts to the dead lover theme.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 05:11 AM

Oops, Q had already posted Masefield's version. Sorry for the repetition.

****

1927        Smith, Cicely Fox. _A Book of Shanties_. London: Methuen & Co.

Has "Lowlands Away." I don't have access to this. Anyone care to describe it?

*****

1927        Sampson, John. _The Seven Seas Shanty Book_. London: Boosey.

Keith A of Hertford already described this one recently, above.

I might critique some of Sampson's statements.

...there are many modern versions, several of which give "My dollar and a half day" as the last line.

How did he know what were "modern" versions? I am guessing he is basing this on a belief suggested ONLY so far by Masefield, that the dead lover theme was older/original. The several versions attested from 1860s and 1870s, before Sampson's day (late 1880s-90s), show that the "dollar" chorus was not "modern." I suspect Sampon's thought here relate to this statement,

I notice that the late captain Whall states that it is of American origin and comes from the cotton ports of the Southern States. In its debased form it may have done so, but in that case it went out with the prisoners of war after the Monmouth rebellion, and having been adopted by negroes lost its original beauty and imagery.

Ironic that Whall was one who tended to dismiss African-American-based chanties as low quality, but he actually said what he did -- and now Sampson is creating a narrative of debasement.

Although it has a very beautiful air, it was by no means popular at sea, probably because of the difficulty it presented to the Shantyman.

Perhaps this corroborates (or echoes?) Terry's comment that sailors after the early 70s didn't know it well. IMO opinion he seems to be speculating.

The text owes much to Masefield's version. It looks like some of Masefield's single lines were formed into rhyming couplets:

I dream'd a dream the other night = Masefield
I saw my true love all in white, = rhyme

I'm drowned in the Lowland sea he said,= Masefield
And the wet green weeds are all my bed,= rhyme

I'll cut away all my bonny hair, = Masefield
No other man shall deem me fair, = Masefield

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 05:23 AM

1928        Thomas, J.E., Lucy E. Broadwood, Frank Howes, and Frank Kidson. "Sea Shanties." _Journal of the Folk-Song Society_ 8(32):96-100.

Noted by J.E. Thomas, February 7th, 1927. Sung by John Farr, Gwithian, Cornwall.

50. Lowlands Away. [w/ score. Melody contains both natural and flatted seventh degree in major mode]

Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
I thought I heard our captain say.
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
We're sailing straight for Mobile Bay,
My dollar and a half a day.

I thought I heard our captain cry
A dollar and a half is a whiteman's pay.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 05:42 AM

1938         Colcord, Joanna C. _Songs of American Sailormen_. New York: Norton.

I presume this was in the 1924 edition, too?
Where does she say she got it from? Again, I don't have my copy with me. Apparently she voiced the idea of the "dead lover" theme being earlier, etc. More details, please.

Based on just her lyrics, which I have *second-hand* (warning!) as follows, it looks like she did this: Took the first two verses based on the canonical print version from Alden, and then the other two verses come from Terry's collection.

I dreamed a dream the other night,
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
I dreamed a dream the other night,
My Lowlands, away!

I dreamed I saw my own true love,
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
I dreamed I saw my own true love,
My Lowlands, away!

She came to me all in my sleep,
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
I dreamed I saw my own true love,
My Lowlands, away!

And then I knew my love was dead.
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John,
I dreamed I saw my own true love,
My Lowlands, away!

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 05:47 AM

1951        Doerflinger, William Main. _Shantymen and Shantyboys: Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman_. Macmillan: New York.

From Richard Maitland (1857, NY-1942). Went to sea first at circa 1869/70, began learning chanties immediately.

Two versions.

Lowlands (I)

Lowlands, lowlands, away, my John.
Five dollars a day is a stevedore's pay;
Five dollars and a half a day.

A dollar a day is a nigger's pay.
Lowlands, lowlands, away, my John.
I thought I heard our old man say,
Five dollars and a half a day

That he would give us grog today,
When we are leaving Mobile Bay.

.....

Lowlands (II)

In the Virginia lowlands I was born,
Lowlands, lowlands, away, my John.
I worked all day down in the corn,
My dollar and a half a day.

I packed my bag and I'm going away;
I'll make my way to Mobile Bay.

In Mobile Bay, where they work all day,
A-screwing cotton by the day,

Five dollars a day is a white man's pay,
A dollar and a half is a colored man's pay.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 06:43 AM

From Jon Boden's "A Folk Song a Day":

It does however seems a little mournful...

What's with the word "mournful" and this chanty?

Alden 1882
LA SMith 1888
Dicken, ed. 1888
Whitmarsh 1903
Harlow 1962
Hugill 1961

Well, many chanties have been described as "mournful," but I just thought that was interesting.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 06:59 AM

"Lowlands Away" -- Terry's presentation, I believe -- was recorded commercially in 1926.

1927       Lloyd, Llewelyn. "FOLK-SONGS OF THE SEA Shanties on the Gramophone." _Gramophone_ (March 1927)

...Parlophone have devoted three ten-inch records to sea shanties, the singers being Kenneth Ellis and a male quartet, while the accompaniment is provided by a string quartet and flute, which proves a pleasant change from the usual pianoforte. ... The first record (E.5583) contains Amsterdam (also known as A-roving) and Shenandoah; the second (E.5584) has The Drunken Sailor, Santy Anna and Lowlands Away (the last two fine tunes, not elsewhere recorded)...

If it was Terry's, I wonder how they scanned the "hoosier" lyrics.

***

In June 1908, Percy Grainger published his choral arrangement of "Dollar and a half a day," which was based on bother versions of the song he collected and as published in the article noted above.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 07:19 AM

A note:

The melody for this in Davis and Tozer is exactly that in Alden>LA Smith. Considering the irregularity/variability of this tune, it seems clear that they borrowed it. Combine that fact with how the first verse of Davis corresponds to the same, 1 verse given by those authors. One can see how it is likely he made up the rest of the verses after that. These were musically trained people -- so why would they need someone else's version if they actually knew the chanty for themselves? And why was this not added until the 3rd edition? So again, I believe the Davis/Tozer is fabricated.

If this is true, it will have implications for Harlow's version, which I present following.

Subject: RE: 'Lowlands Away' - origins.
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 07:29 AM

Putting this up now; need to analyze it later. But thoughts are very welcome!

1962        Harlow, Frederick Pease. _Chanteying Aboard American Ships_. Barre, Mass.: Barre Publishing Co.

[Was this also in the 1928 _Making of a Sailor_?]

1875/1876, Harlow worked on the clipper ship AKBAR, Boston > Java, Australia. "Lowlands" was sung at the capstan. This is his remembered version, noted many years later. I believe that when he did so he created something that was partly based in print versions that he'd referenced. We know that Harlow used print sources to some extent, including Whall's collection. What do people think about the language here?

[w/ score]

Oh, were you ever in Mobile Bay?
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John.
A-screwing cotton all the day,
My dollar and a half a day.

A black man's pay is a dollar a day;
A dollar and a half is a white man's pay.

Oh, were you ever in New Orleans?
That's where you meet the Southern Queens,

I wish I was in Slomes Hall,
A-drinking luck to the old Black Ball.

Oh, my old mother, she said to me,
"Come home my boy and quit the sea."

I dreamed a dream the other night,
I saw my love dressed all in white.

She stood and gazed in one blank stare,
And combed the ringlets of her hair.

Her face was pale and white as snow;
She spoke to me in accents low.

"I'll cut away my bonny hair,
No other man shall think me fair.

"I'll cut my breasts until they bleed,
From you, my love, I'll soon be freed.

"I'll jump into the Lowland Sea,
And drown myself for love of thee.

"With seaweed green about my head,
You'll find me there, but I'll be dead."

I then awoke to hear the cry,
"Hey, you sleepers! Watch ahoy!"

The landsman, no doubt sees nothing in the music of this mournful chantey but a mess of doggerel…

Subject: Lyr Add: LOWLANDS (from James M Carpenter)
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 29 Jul 11 - 08:09 AM

Subject: Lyr Add: LOWLANDS (from James M Carpenter)
From: GUEST,Lighter - PM
Date: 25 Aug 04 - 09:31 AM

Sung for Carpenter in 1929 by William Fender of Barry, South Wales:
Not much, but the real stuff:

                           LOWLANDS

                I thought I heard our old man say,
                   Lowlands, Lowlands, awaay my John!
                I thought I heard our old man say,
                   My dollar and a half a day!

                A dollar a day is a poor man's pay,
                   Lowlands, Lowlands, awaay my John!
                A dollar a day is a poor man's pay,
                   My dollar and a half a day!

                So shake her up from down below,
                   Lowlands, Lowlands, awaay my John!
                So shake her up from down below,
                   My dollar and a half a day!