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"Roll, Alabama, Roll" is an American-British
"Roll, Alabama, Roll" is an American-British sea shanty
A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...
of the nineteenth century. It is based on the exploits of the CSS Alabama, a sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
of the Confederate States Navy which enjoyed success as a commerce raider against Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
shipping during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
The lyrics describe the ship from its construction by John Laird John Laird may refer to:
* John Laird (American politician) (born 1950), California State Senator
* John Laird (footballer) (1935–2016) Australian rules footballer
* John Laird (philosopher) (1887–1946), Scottish philosopher
* John Laird (ship ...
of Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
until its sinking at the Battle of Cherbourg
The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...
in June 1864. The words were set to the melody of the older song "Roll the Cotton Down" which originated amongst black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
longshoremen
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
in southern ports of the United States.Silber & Silverman p.236-237
References
Bibliography
* Irwin Silber & Jerry Silverman. ''Songs of the Civil War''. Courier Corporation, 1995. American songs British songs Year of song unknown Songs of the American Civil War 19th-century songs Sea shanties {{song-stub