“What Does the Deep Sea Say?”
Description
The big boat is coming around the bend, doing nothing but killing good men. Vicksburg was a hilly town, until the Yankee gunboats blew it down. Cho: "What does the deep sea say?...It moans and it groans, it slashes and it foams/And rolls on its weary way"
Notes
Digital Tradition assigns authorship to Woody Guthrie. Given the date of Dalhart's recording, this is pretty near impossible. The McFarland-Gardner record credits this to "Miller." - PJS
Historical references
- Nov 1862 - Union general Ulysses S. Grant begins his Vicksburg campaign. His first four attempts to reach the city fail
- Apr 16, 1863 - Porter's gunboats run past Vicksburg, opening the way for Grant's final successful campaign
- May 12-17, 1863 - Grant fights a series of minor battles which bring him to the defenses of Vicksburg
- May 22, 1863 - Grant's attempt to take Vicksburg by storm is a bloody failure. The Union army settles down to a siege
- July 4, 1863 - Lt. General Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg
Recordings
- Vernon Dalhart, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Velvet Tone 1960-V, 1929)
- Bob Ferguson (pseud. for Bob Miller) "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Columbia 15727-D, 1932; prob. rec. 1931)
- Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Brunswick 483, 1930)
- Bill Palmer's Trio, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Bluebird B-5034, 1933)
- Uncle Bud & his Plow Boys, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Clarion 5418-C, 1931)
References
- DT, DEEPSEA
- BI, DTdeepse