Haul Away Joe

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This is a tack and sheet, short haul chantey. There are many verses and it may have been used as a halyard chantey as well. Sheet chanties were usually no longer than three or four verses. Sometimes the word ‘pull’ or ‘haul’ was used instead of Joe.

Although the chantey was known earlier among British sailors, it was not well-known on Yankee ships until the period between 1812 and the Civil War. It was obviously sung after the French Revolution.

Lyrics:
[Am] When I was a [Em] little lad
And [Dm] so my mother [Em] told me,
[Am] Way, haul [Em] away, we’ll [Dm] haul [E] away, [Am] Joe!
[Am] That if I did not [Em] kiss the gals
Me [Dm] lips would all grow [Em] moldy.
[Am] Way, haul [Em] away, we’ll [Dm] haul [E] away, [Am] Joe!

Way, haul away, the good ship is a-bolding,
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
Way, haul away, the sheet is now unfold-ing,
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

King Louis was the king of France
Before the revolution…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
But then he got his head cut off
Which spoiled his constitution…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

Way, haul away, we’ll haul for better weather…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
Way haul away, we’ll haul away together
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

The cook is in the galley boys
Making duff so handy
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
The captain’s in his cabin lads
Drinking wine and brandy
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

Way, haul away, I’ll sing to you of Nancy…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
Way, haul away, she’s just my cut and fancy…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

Way, haul away, we’ll haul for better weather…
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!
Way haul away, we’ll haul away together
Way, haul away, we’ll haul away, Joe!

Down by the Riverside

This is a great old spiritual that has new meaning every time there is a conflict in the world. We recorded this live at the Fairfield concert hall in Croydon England on June 30, 2004. The audience is singing very well.
Lyrics:
[G] Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
[D] Down by the riverside
[G] Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down [D] by the [G] riverside
refrain
I ain’t gonna [C] study war no more,
I ain’t gonna [G] study war no more,
Study war no [D] more.
I ain’t gonna [C] study war no more,
I ain’t gonna [G] study war no more,
Study [D] war no [G] more.
Gonna walk with the Prince of Peace
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
refrain
Gonna put on my long white robe;
Down By the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna put on my long white robe; Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside

Salty Dog Blues

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This is one of the songs I recorded in 1958 at my house at 57 E. Division Street in Chicago. It's a country blues. I was speaking with a man from a radio station in Belgium who mentioned that his favorite songs from the Folk Den were these historical recordings, so I went into my archive and found one.
Lyrics:
CH:
[G] Oh salty [E7] dog, oh salty [A] dog, well you're [D7] sly as a fox
you salty [G] dog

[G] Well [E] God made a woman, made her might funny
Made the [A] stuff around her lips taste like honey
[D7] Won't you be my salty [G] dog?

CH:
Oh salty dog, oh salty dog, well you're sly as a fox you salty dog

Well I got a nickel you got a dime, you spend yours and I'll save mine
Honey won't you be my salty dog?

CH:
Oh salty dog, oh salty dog, well you're sly as a fox you salty dog

Down by the wild wood sittin' on a log, singin' a song about a salty dog
Honey won't you be my salty dog?

CH:
Oh salty dog, oh salty dog, well you're sly as a fox you salty dog

[Spoken]
You know, one time I took my girl to a real fine restaurant, thought
I'd buy her something real nice – got the most expensive thing on the menu.
Well that turned out to be some kind of tongue with fancy dressing on it. When my girl
saw that man, she really flipped! She said, 'I ain't gonna eat nothing that
comes out of no animal's mouth.' So I called over the waiter. I said
'Waiter, bring her a hard boiled egg.'

CH:
Oh salty dog, oh salty dog, well you're sly as a fox you salty dog

Well I got a nickel you got a dime, you spend yours and I'll save mine
Honey won't you be my salty dog?

CH:
Oh salty dog, oh salty dog, well you're sly as a fox you salty dog

Gypsey Rover

This is one of the great songs I performed night after night with the Chad Mitchell Trio back in the early 60s. It’s a sweet love song for May.
Lyrics:
[A] Gypsy [E7] rover, come [A] over the [E7] hill, [A] down through the valley so [E7] shady
He [A] whistled and he [E7] sang til the [A] green woods [F#m] rang and [A] he won the [D]heart of a [A] lady [E7]

Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady

She left her fathers castle gate, she left her own fine lover
She left her servants and her state, to follow the gypsy rover

Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady

Her father saddled up his fastest stead, roamed the valleys all over
Sought his daughter at great speed and the whistling gypsy rover

Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady

He came at last to a mansion fine, down by the river Clady
And there was music and there was wine, for the gypsy and his lady

Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady

He is no gypsy, my father, she said, but lord of these lands all over
And I will stay til my dying day, with my whistling gypsy rover

Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady

Ezekiel Saw A Wheel

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Image Credit: http://www.untiedmusic.com/ezekiel/

This is a spiritual I learned many years ago at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. It refers to a part of the Old Testament where Ezekiel sees a vision of concentric wheels floating in space. They have many properties attributed to flying saucers. It makes one wonder whether people who claim to see flying saucers are seeing into a spiritual dimension. There are many mysteries.

I have recorded this song in the new genre Pho-Kop to coincide with the April 1, 2004 release of my new CD 'Limited Edition' where Pho-Kop first appears in the song 'Shady Grove.'

Trad., Arr. R. McGuinn / McGuinn Music (BMI) 2004

Lyrics:
[G] Ezekiel saw a wheel, way up in the middle of the air

Ezekiel saw a wheel way in the [D] middle of the [G] air

Little wheel run by faith, big wheel run by the grace of God

Ezekiel saw a wheel way in the [D] middle of the [G] air

Drunken Sailor

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This song is well known on both sides of the Atlantic, used on sailing ships as a short haul as well as a forcastle (fo’c’sle) shanty.
Lyrics:
[Dm] What shall we do with a drunken sailor
[C] What shall we do with a drunken sailor
[Dm] What shall we do with a drunken sailor
Earl-eye in the morning!

Chorus:
[Dm] Way hay and up she rises
[C] Way hay and up she rises
[Dm] Way hay and up she rises
[Dm] Earl-eye [C] in the [Dm] morning

Put him in a long-boat till he’s sober (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

Pull out the plug and wet him all over (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

Put him in the bilge and make him drink it (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

Shave his belly with a rusty razor (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

Heave him by the leg with a running bowline (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

Keel haul him untill he gets sober. (X3)
Earl-eye in the morning!

That’s what we do with the drunken sailor (X3)

Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Earl-eye in the morning (X3)

Silver Dagger

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Silver Dagger is a song I first heard in the early 60s on a Joan Baez album. I loved the beautiful melody and the way Joan sang and played it. This was a ladies song. I always wished I could sing it, but I minded doing songs of the opposite gender, so I changed the gender of the song with a few words.
Lyrics:
Silver Dagger

I won’t [A] sing love songs, I’ll wake your [D] mother

She’s sleeping [A] there, right by your [Bm] side

And in her [G] right hand is a sliver [Em] dagger

She says that [G] you can never be my [A] bride

All men are false, so says your mother

They tell you wicked, loving lies

The very next evening, they’ll court another

Leave you alone to pine and sigh

Your daddy is a handsome wrangler

He’s got a chain five miles long

From every link a heart does dangle

Of some fair maid he’s loved and wronged

I’ll court another tender maiden

And hope that she will be my wife

For you’ve been warned and you’ve decided

To sleep alone all of your life

(C) 2004 MCGUINN MUSIC / Roger McGuinn

The Gallows Pole

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Some of you may think this song was written by Lead Belly, or Led Zeppelin, or is the name of a now defunct German band, but it’s really a traditional American song that may date back to the 18th Century. A case of true love being stronger than blood.
Lyrics:
Oh [Gm] hangman hangman [F] slack your rope, [Eb] slack it for a [F] while

I [Gm] think I see my [F] father coming, [Eb] riding many a [F] mile

Oh [Gm] Father did you bring me [F] silver, [Eb] did you bring me [F] gold

Or [Gm] did you come for to [F] see me hang, [Eb] hang from the gallows [F] pole?

[Gm] Hang from the [F] gallows [Gm] pole

No, I [Gm] didn’t bring you [F] silver, I [Eb] didn’t bring you [F] gold

And [Gm] I have come for to [F] see you hang, [Eb] hang from the gallows [D7] pole

[Gm] Hang from the [F] gallows [Gm] pole

Oh hangman hangman slack your rope, slack it for a while

I think I see my mother coming, riding many a mile

Oh Mother did you bring me silver, Mother did you bring me gold

Or did you come to see me hang, hang from the gallows pole?

Hang from the gallows pole

No, I didn’t bring you silver, I didn’t bring you gold

And I have come for to see you hang, hang from the gallows pole

Hang from the gallows pole

Oh hangman hangman slack your rope, slack it for a while

I think I see my brother coming, riding many a mile

Oh Brother did you bring me silver, Brother did you bring me gold

Or did you come for to see me hang, hang from the gallows pole?

Hang from the gallows pole

No, I didn’t bring you silver, I didn’t bring you gold

And I have come for to see you hang, hang from the gallows pole

Hang from the gallows pole

Oh hangman hangman slack your rope, slack it for a while

I think I see my true love coming, riding many a mile

True love did you bring me silver, true love did you bring me gold

Or did you come for to see me hang, hang from the gallows pole?

Hang from the gallows pole

Yes, I have brought you silver, and I have brought you gold

I did no t come for to see you hang, hang from the gallows pole

Hang from the gallows pole

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

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This is a very popular old English Christmas carol. It’s also a subtle ad for a cup of grog to ease the singer’s throat. Many versions include the line ‘Good tidings we bring to you and your friends,’ but this must have been added to the original at some later date.
Lyrics:
We [G] wish you a merry [C] Christmas
We [Am] wish you a merry [D] Christmas
We [G] wish you a merry [C] Christmas
And a [Am] happy [D] New [G] Year.

Oh bring us some figgy pudding (3x)
With a cup of good cheer.

We won’t go until we get it (3x)

We all love our figgy pudding (3x)

With a cup of good cheer

So bring it out here!

We wish you a Merry Christmas (3x)
And a happy New Year.

Heave Away

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This is a sea chantey that I have always loved. I recorded it on my first solo album for Columbia Records 'Roger McGuinn.'

Spanky McFarlane sang harmony on the original recording.

Lyrics:
[G] There's some that's [Am] bound for [C] New York Town
And other's is bound for [G] France
Heave [D] away me [G] Johnnies,
Heave [D] away [G]

And [C] some is bound for the [G] Bengal bay
To [Am] teach them whales a [G] dance
And away me Johnnie [C] boys
We're [G] all [D] bound to [G] go

Our pilot is a-waiting for
The turning of the tide
Heave away me johnnies,
Heave away

And one more pull and we're bound away
With a good and westerly wind
And away me Johnnie boys
We're all bound away

Farewell to you dear Kingston gals
Farewell to St. Andrew's Dock
Heave away me Johnnies,
Heave away

If ever we should come back again
We'll make your cradles rock
And away me Johnnie boys
We're all bound away

There's some that's bound for New York Town
And other's is bound for France
Heave away me Johnnies,
Heave away

And some is bound for the Bengal bay
To teach them whales a dance
And away me Johnnie boys
We're all bound to go