Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
4704) is an American
drinking song
A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music.
In Germany, drinking songs are ...
adapted from "Bollocky Bill the Sailor", a traditional folk song originally titled "Abraham Brown".Cray, Ed. (1992) ''The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs''.
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
.
History
There are several versions of the
bawdy
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
folklife archive. The first printed version of the song is in the public domain book ''Immortalia'' (1927). Later versions feature the
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
"Barnacle Bill", a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
loosely based on a 19th-century
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
and
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
miner named William Bernard.Boyes, Marcia Edwards (1936). ''The Legend of Yerba Buena Island''.
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
:The Professional Press. Versions are also known in England and Scotland from the early twentieth century.
The earliest known recording is an expurgated adaptation by
Carson Robison
Carson Jay Robison ( – ) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appear ...
and
Frank Luther
Frank Luther (born Francis Luther Crow, August 4, 1899 – November 16, 1980) was an American country music singer, dance band vocalist, playwright, songwriter and pianist.
Early life
Born on a farm near Lakin, Kansas, 40 miles from the Colorad ...
in 1928. This version was also recorded on May 21, 1930 by Bix Beiderbecke and
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
with Carson Robison on vocals and released as a Victor 78, V-38139-A and 25371. In 1996 it was released on CD on the album "Bix Beiderbecke 1927–1930". According to Philip R. Evans, Bix Beiderbecke's biographer, in the second chorus of this recording, violinist Joe Venuti can be heard singing "Barnacle Bill the Shit-head," either to express his attitude toward the record producer, or typical of his wacky sense of humor. Esten Spurrier, a friend of Beiderbecke, is quoted by Evans as saying that Beiderbecke told him he could not believe the record would be pressed and had felt that it had been done just for laughs. Beiderbecke cut loose on the tune with what is believed to be one of his finest cornet solos.
John Valby
John R. Valby (born November 22, 1944) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, comedian, and producer known for his comedic and obscene song parodies. Also known as Dr. Dirty, he typically performs in a white tailcoat suit and black derby ha ...
(also known as "Dr. Dirty") also recorded the song.
The tune has inspired a Fleischer StudiosBetty Boopcartoon and two films, as well as the name of a
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
on
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
Tympany Five
Tympany Five was a successful and influential American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and pi ...
(then known as The Elks Rendezvous Band) recorded a clean version in 1938. In the first Fleischer ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Popeye the Sailor
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Bluto character. A later Fleischer ''Popeye'' cartoon, ''Beware of Barnacle Bill'' (1935), is a mock operetta based around a toned-down version of the song.
Example of lyrics
Although versions differ in their content "Barnacle Bill" is structured as an exchange between Bill and a "fair young maiden." Each verse opens with inquiries by the maiden and continues with Bill's response.
Ballochy Bill The Sailor (1927)
This version is credited to Anonymous and appears in ''Immortalia'' (1927). It is published as lyrics only with no indication of key or meter.
"Who is knocking at my door,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Who is knocking at my door,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Open the door and let me in,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor;
"Open the door and let me in,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"You may sleep upon the floor,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"To hell with the floor, I can't fuck that,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"You may lie down at my side,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"To hell with your side, I can't fuck that,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"You may lie between my thighs,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"What've you got between your thighs?"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"O, I've got a nice pin-cushion,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"And I've got a pin that will just fit in,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"But what if we have a baby?"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Strangle the bastard and throw him away,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"But what about the law, sir,"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Kick the bleeders out on their ass,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"But what if there's an inquest?"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Then shove the inquest up your cunt,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"And what about my paw and maw?"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Fuck your maw, and bugger your paw,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"Whenever shall I see you?"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Whenever shall I see you?"
Said the fair young maiden.
"Never no more you dirty whore,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
"Never no more you dirty whore,"
Said Ballochy Bill the sailor.
Abraham Brown The Sailor (date unknown)
Walter Newton Henry Harding (1883-1973) collected over 15,000 ballads from mostly 19th-century, with many 18th-century items. Among them is an undated transcript of Abraham Brown The Sailor, noted as being to the tune of My Heart and Lute. It is presented below as originally typeset.
Who is it knocks at our door,
Says a very nice young lady.
Who is it, &c.
It's I myself and nobody else,
Says Abraham Brown the Sailor,
Ti's I myself, &c.
Oh! open the door and let him in,
Says this very nice young lady,
And where am I to sleep to night,
Says Abraham Brown the Sailor
You may sleep on my soft puncushion,
Says this very nice young lady,
And I've a pin, I'll run it in,
Says Abraham Brown the Sailor
I feel it rise between my —
Says this very nice young lady,
It's in your — up to the rim,
Says Abraham Brown the Sailor
Ah! now it's in let it remain,
Says this very nice young lady,
I'll be d—d if I do, I shall want it
Says Abraham Brown &c.(again)
When shall I have your pin again?
Says this very nice young lady,
When I can make it stand again,
Says Abraham Brown &c.
Talkartoons
''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932.
History
For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contract ...