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Sloop John B
Most people know that "Sloop John B" was
released by The Beach Boys in 1966 on Capitol
Records, but few know that it was originally a
traditional West Indies folk song, possibly recorded
earliest by The Weavers under the title "Wreck of
the John B", the song taken from a collection by
Carl Sandburg (1927).Alan Lomax is said to have made a field recording of
the song in Nassau, Bahamas in 1935, under the title
"Hoist Up the John B. Sail". The song was adapted by
Weavers member Lee Hays and later a version was
recorded by Roger Whitaker. The recording of the
song which directly influenced The Beach Boys was by
The Kingston Trio.The actual ship was a sponger, whose crew was known
for being "very merry" while in port. It was wrecked
and sunk at Governors' Harbor in Eleuthera, Bahamas,
about 1900.Although this song has been performed by a variety
of pop artists, look at the lyrics and the song
structure and you'll quickly see that this song
easily qualifies as a sea shanty. |
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We come on the Sloop
John B., my grandfather and me.
Around Nassau town we did roam.
Drinking all night, got into a fight,
Well I feel so break up, I want to go home.
So hoist up the John B's sails, see how
the main sail sets,
Call for the captain ashore, and let me go
home.
Let me go home, I want to go home,
Well I feel so break up, I want to go home.
The first mate, he got drunk, broke up the
people's trunk,
The constable had to come and take him away.
Sheriff John Stone, why don't you leave me
alone?
Well I feel so break up, I want to go home.
So hoist up the John B's sails, see how
the main sail sets,
Call for the captain ashore, and let me go
home.
Let me go home, I want to go home,
Well I feel so break up, I want to go home.
The poor cook he caught the fits, threw away
all my grits,
Then he took and ate up all of my corn.
Let me go home, I want to go home,
This is the worst trip I've ever been on.
So hoist up the John B's sails, see how
the main sail sets,
Call for the captain ashore, and let me go
home.
Let me go home, I want to go home,
Well I feel so broke up, I want to go home. |
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