“Roll the Woodpile Down”
Description
Pumping or capstan shanty. Verse lines end with "way down in Florida" and "an' we'll roll the woodpile down." Full chorus: "Rollin' rollin' rollin' the whole world round. That brown gal o' mine's down the Georgia Line, an' we'll roll the woodpile down."
Notes
Hugill states that this is the sea version of "Haul the Woodpile down." [Indexed as "Hold the Woodpile Down," which is a more Dave Macon-ish version of the title. - RBW] Probably originated in the West Indies of American south, and was popular at sea right up to the end, one of Hugill's sources remembers it sung on board as late as 1920. Technically this could have been entered under "Hold the Woodpile Down"; however that entry kept making references to "Roll the Woodpile Down" and there was no entry for that cross-reference so I decided to add one, especially since this is likely the original that Uncle Dave Macon's version came from. - SL
Since this song seems to predate "Roll the Woodpile Down," and is also more coherent, it seems reasonable to consider this the original. - RBW
References
- Hugill, pp. 160-161, "Roll the Woodpile Down" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 128]
- DT, WOODPLDN*
- Roud #4443
- BI, Hugi160