Best 17 song about the erie canal

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Multi-read content song about the erie canal

Author’s Note Dave Ruch: I’ve been singing this song with groups of children and adults for 20 years, researching its history while traveling around New York State. Interesting!

Here’s everything we know about the legendary song Low Bridge! – All Down”, including:

• original texts
• Grades
• Common myths about songs
• (many!)
• Origin and history of the song
• Audio and video samples
• annotations to
• sing songs with school children

Original lyrics for “The Erie Canal Song”

As originally copyrighted in 1912 and 1913, “Low Bridge! – Everybody Down” has five verses and five choruses!

Print or download the original text here

Low bridge! – Everyone downor Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal

Text and music by Thomas S. Allen

I have an old mule and his name is Sal, fifteen years on the Erie
She’s a good old worker and a good old friend, fifteen years on the Erie
We have towed quite a few barges in our time Loaded with wood, coal and hay
And try every route I know from Albany to Buffalo

Refrain: Low bridge, people go down, Low bridge, we have to approach a town
You can always tell your neighbor, you can always tell your friend
If he’s ever navigated the Erie Canal

We’d better get an old job, fifteen years on the Erie
Bet your life I won’t break up with Sal, 15 years on the Erie
Giddap is here, lass, we’ve passed the lock, we’ll be in Rome at six o’clock
So one more ride and then it’s straight back to Buffalo

Refrain: Low bridge, people go down, Low bridge, I got the best mule in town
Once a man named Mike McGinty tried to take it to Sal.
Now he’s getting to the bottom of the Erie Canal

Oh where would I be if I lost my friend? Fifteen years on the Erie
Oh, I want to see a mule as good as Sal, fifteen years on the Erie
A friend of mine hurt her once, now he has broken his jaw
Because she let go with her iron toes and kicked him to Buffalo

Refrain: Low bridge, people go down, Low bridge, I got the best mule in town
If you’re looking for trouble, you better stay away from Sal
She’s the only donkey fighting on the Erie Canal

I don’t have to call if I want my Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie
She left her stable like a kindly old lady fifteen years on the Erie Canal
I eat my meals with Sal every day, I eat beef and she eats hay
She’s not that slow if you want to know, she puts “Buff” in Buffalo

Refrain: Low bridge, people go down, Low bridge, I got the best mule in town
Eat a bundle of hay for supper and especially my sal
Try to drink all the water in the Erie Canal

You’ll soon hear them singing all about my Gala Fifteen Years on the Canal Erie
That’s a lovely jerk about my dear jerk Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Oh, every band will play it soon, silly lyrics and silly melodies
You’ll hear it sung everywhere from Mexico to Buffalo

Refrain: Low bridge, people go down, Low bridge, I got the best mule in town
She’s a perfect, perfect woman and she blushes like a girl
When she hears you sing about her and the Erie Canal.

Printable texts

Grades

Here is a link to the original track. Please note that the last page of verses 3-5 has been omitted from this PDF scan, but all sheet music is included.

Low bridge! – Everybody Down: original music

15 Miles on the Erie Canal: Common Legends

It’s called “The Erie Canal Song”

It can’t. It’s called “Low Bridge! – Everybody Down (or 15 Years on the Erie Canal). ”

The slogan is “Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal”.

The chorus, as originally written and sung, is “Fifteenfiveon the Erie Canal. “Fifteen Miles” first appeared in 1926. (See timeline below.)

Chorus is “16 miles on the Erie” or “16 years on the Erie”

See above.

Fifteen miles is the usual distance a mule or horse travels before resting

Dan Ward, former manager atErie Canal Museumin Syracuse NY. The animals typically work six-hour shifts, which means anywhere from 3 to 20 miles, depending on a number of factors including the number of locks they encounter and the amount of traffic.

The song has two (or three) lines

The song has five original verses. (See above.)

Chorus repeats after each verse

The song has five choruses – they change after each verse, and only the first chorus refers to “your neighbor” and “your friend”.

Song sung by the people who built (or worked on) the Erie Canal

Suspicious *. The song was not found in oral tradition or elsewhere before its copyright registration in manuscript form (1912).

The canal was expanded twice and was then mechanized, with steam engines replacing much of the horse and mule power. No one ever sang or hummed the song on the 19th-century stretch of road, although there were certainly other songs circulating on the canal at the time.

* see “Did Allen really write the song?” Here are some questions about it 

The bridge is low, all go under: origins and history

Originally written sometime between 1905-1912,”Low bridge! – Everyone down.(subtitled “Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal”), composed by Thomas S. Allen (1876-1919) of Natick, Massachusetts.

The song is copyrighted by F.B. The company published Haviland in manuscript form in November 1912 and appeared in sheet music early the following year (© 11 Jan 1913; 2nd c. 13 Jan 1913: E 301302).

Thomas S Allenis a musical artist who has worked at various stages of his career (and often simultaneously) as an orchestral violinist, a “trick” violinist for variety and variety shows, a music director for theater and touring shows, and a composer of songs for the vaudeville stage, as well as rags, parades, waltzes and other goods for general and commercial use.

Five “Low Bridge!” First recorded (1912), it is only one of nine songs copyrighted under the Thomas S. Allen name.

Titles for other Allen works include Any Rags, Whip and Spur, Scissors to Grind, Dixie Rube, By the Water Cuc Vine (Lindy Lou), Good-Bye Mister Greenback ‘ and ‘Big Chief Battle Axe. ”

“Low Bridge! – Everybody Down” is by far his most enduring composition.

Original schedule and changes

1905The song is said to have been composed many times that year, although Allen himself says he didn’t write it until he saw the canal in Rochester.

1911Thomas S. Allen moved to Rochester, NY from Boston, MA to perform orchestral works for top hotels and theaters – probably around this time the song was composed (see note of note) (sound below)

1912The song was copyrighted on November 18

1912Billy Murray made his first commercial recording of the song (Victor 17250) on November 18th in Camden NJ, the same day it was copyrighted (video below).

1912The Peerless Quartet (te) recorded the song for Columbia Records (Columbia A-1296) on December 6; The same recording has been released under pseudonyms on several other labels including United (A-1296) from “Quartette”, Aretino (D-750) from “Vocal Quartette”, Standard (A-1296) and Harmony (A-1296) from ” The Harmony”. Male Quartet” (audio below)

1913The song was copyrighted as a track on January 11, and again on January 13

1913Edward Meeker records song on Edison Blue Amberol 1761 (audio below)

1913Allen, a Massachusetts native, works at least part of the time in Rochester, NY and has lived (or lived) there for at least several years

1924Henry A.J. Castor of Albany NY writes for the song collector and columnist R.W. Gordon for the song’s first line and chorus, using “16 years” instead of “15 years” and saying it is”Occasionally sung at channel meetings in this state and has been a top motoring favorite on the channel for many years.”Gordon responded by saying“Your encirclement worries me greatly; I have a number of canal songs sung by various seafarers but none of them quite like this one.”

1925R.W. Gordon, still unaware of Allen’s published composition, received another handwritten copy of the song (verses 1, 2, and 5) from a reader and responded”Some things about it make me pretty sure it was created on the vaudeville stage and not the channel, and it’s not very old.”

1926The song first appeared in print as “15 miles” instead of “15 years” in Sigmund Spaeth’s book “Lies sie und crye”. “Spaeth has confirmed two sources for the song – journalist and authorGeorge Chappell(“Captain Traprock,” Spaeth called him) and Mike Ross, who worked at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City.

1927Carl Sandburg published the song in his book The American Songbag, also by George S. Chappell (whom he called “Dr. Traprock”).

1928FB Haviland is suing Doubleday, Trang and Companyfor featuring the song in “Read ’em and Weep” without permission; Double countered that the song was in circulation well before Haviland’s copyright date (see image below).

1929Vernon Dalhart recorded the electronic track (Columbia 15378-D) on January 16 and the audio (label Harmony 831-H, Velvet Tone, Viva) under the pseudonym Mack Allen on January 21

1929Frank Crumit made an unreleased recording of the song for Victor on January 25

1934John and Alan Lomax publish the song in ‘American Ballad and Folk Songs’ collected by Father Charles A. Richmond of Washington DC

Allen really wrote the song?

We think so; he is quoted as follows in the original transcript for Edward Meeker’s 1913 recording:

Thanks toBill Hullfishto explore this reference.

However, a 1928 Music Commercial Review article offers several reasons to believe that the song may have been in use before 1912, and possibly even before Allen’s 1905 composition date:

Music Trade Magazine, June 23, 1928

Did Thomas S. Allen really write “Low Bridge,” a theme song like no other in his barn? Hey he edited some of the lyrics and a theme used on the channel embellished it and just made it his own like so many others have done over the years.

I am actively pursuing this question. There may be some disclosures in the 1928 Haviland or Doubleday records and/or court filings.(Can you help track these down? Please email me at dave “at” daveruch “dot” com if available.)

Is the song “Low Bridge Everybody Down” a folk song?

One of the hallmarks of “folk” or “traditional” songs is that they do not rely on commercial distribution to spread. As such, they can – and do – begin lives of their own and change as they are passed from person to person and from community to community.

If we use this definition, then “Low demand! – All down ”, surewilla folk song, although originally a published composition by a professional musician. Most people are singing now”15 miles”instead of this”15 years.”Others learned that way”16 Miles”or”16 years.”Some sing two lines, some know three. Sometimes (thanks in part to Kingston Trio)Melodies and verses are almost completely differentfrom the original composition.

I call it a folk song.

Early recorded versions: Low Bridge, Everyone Down

Billy Murray, November 1912:

Video tutorials about song about the erie canal

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A song of the past when water ways united and the road was full of mud.

Please visit my website www.kgholmqvist.com

And please subscribe! Thank you!

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The Erie Canal was completed in October 1825 and provided an important navigable water passage from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo at Lake Erie. This song, also known as “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen. Written after mule power was replaced by engine power, it is wistfully nostalgic.

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal

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Visit

-http://daveruch.com/erie-canal-song

“15 Miles on the Erie Canal,” “Low Bridge Everybody Down,” “The Erie Canal Song” – the song has gone by lots of different names over the years, and the lyrics have changed somewhat from the way Thomas S. Allen wrote it. (Most notably, the refrain is commonly sung today with the word “Miles” replacing “Years” in the refrain.)

This video presents all five original verses and choruses – in order – to the song originally titled “Low Bridge, Everybody Down or, Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal.” Follow along with the lyrics.

NOTE: The audio presented here is compiled from two early recordings: Edward Meeker in 1913 (he only sang verses 1-4), and Vernon Dalhart from 1929 (the only early artist to record verse #5). I have edited some laughs, monologue, and general silliness out of the Edward Meeker version in order to present the lyrics unaltered. To hear Meeker’s full version with lots of “cutting up,” and several other early recordings, visit

-http://daveruch.com/erie-canal-song

ORIGINAL LYRICS – Low Bridge, Everybody Down or, Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal by Thomas S. Allen

I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

She’s a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

We’ve hauled some barges in our day, Filled with lumber, coal and hay

And ev’ry inch of the way I know, From Albany to Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, ev’rybody down, Low bridge, we must be getting near a town

You can always tell your neighbor, You can always tell your pal

If he’s ever navigated on the Erie Canal

We’d better look ‘round for a job old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

You bet your life I wouldn’t part with Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

Giddap there gal we’ve passed that lock, We’ll make Rome ‘fore six o-clock

So one more trip and then we’ll go, Right straight back to Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, ev’rybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town

Once a man named Mike McGinty tried to put it over Sal

Now he’s way down at the bottom of the Erie Canal

Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal?, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

Oh, I’d like to see a mule as good as Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

A friend of mine once got her sore, Now, he’s got a broken jaw

‘Cause she let fly with her iron toe, And kicked him into Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, ev’rybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town

If you’re looking ‘round for trouble, better stay away from Sal

She’s the only fighting donkey on the Erie Canal

I don’t have to call when I want my Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

She trots from her stall like a good old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

I eat my meals with Sal each day, I eat beef and she eats hay

She ain’t so slow if you want to know, She put the “Buff” in Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, ev’rybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town

Eats a bale of hay for dinner, and on top of that, my Sal

Tries to drink up all the water in the Erie Canal

You’ll soon hear them sing all about my gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

It’s a darned fool ditty ‘bout my darned fool Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

Oh, every band will play it soon, Darned fool words and darned fool tune

You’ll hear it sung everywhere you go, from Mexico to Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, ev’rybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town

She’s a perfect, perfect lady, and she blushes like a gal

If she hears you sing about her and the Erie Canal.

keywords: #Bridge, #The, #Erie, #Canal, #song

The popular song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal” was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen after Erie Canal barge traffic was converted from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic above fifteen miles per day. The tune is sadly nostalgic. Also known as “Low Bridge, Everybody Down,” “The Erie Canal Song,” “Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal,” “Mule Named Sal,” and “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal,” the song memorializes the years from 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, and transformed New York into the Empire State.