American Folk Songs & Ballads

The Erie Canal

The American Folk Experience

The Erie Canal

by John Fitzsimmons | The American Folk Experience

I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We haul’d some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal and hay
We know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we’re comin’ to a town
And you’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

We’d better look around for a job, old gal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
You can bet your life I’ll never part with Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

Get up mule, here comes a lock
We’ll make Rome ’bout six o’clock
One more trip and back we’ll go
Right back home to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we’re comin’ to a town
You’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

Where would I be if I lost my pal?
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
I’d like to see a mule good as my Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

A friend of mine once got her sore
Now he’s got a broken jaw
‘Cause she let fly with an iron toe
And kicked him back to Wisconsin

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, ’cause we’re comin’ to a town
You’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated on the euphrates canal

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we’re comin’ to a town
You’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever made a livin’ on the Erie Canal

(Low bridge, everybody down)
(Low bridge, we’re comin’ to a town)

Original Version: 1905 Thomas Allen 

If you have any more information to share about this song or helpful links, please post as a comment. Thanks for stopping by the site! ~John Fitz

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I am indebted to the many friends who share my love of traditional songs and to the many scholars whose works are too many to include here. I am also incredibly grateful to the collector’s curators and collators of Wikipedia, Mudcat.org, MainlyNorfolk.info, and TheContemplator.com for their wise, thorough and informative contributions to the study of folk music. 

I share their research on my site with humility, thanks, and gratitude. Please cite their work accordingly with your own research. If you have any research or sites you would like to share on this site, please post in the comment box.  Thanks!

Source: Wikipedia

"Low Bridge, Everybody Down"
Cover of sheet music published in 1913.
Original publication of "Low Bridge, Everybody Down"
Also known as
  • "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal"
  • "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal"
  • "Erie Canal Song"
  • "Mule Named Sal"
LyricsThomas S. Allen, 1913
MusicThomas S. Allen, 1913
Audio sample
"Low Bridge! Everybody Down" (Original piano accompaniment for the song by Thomas S. Allen. From the 1913 sheet music. Performed by Steven M. Alper.)

"Low Bridge, Everybody Down" is a folk song credited to Thomas S. Allen (although its origin and authorship remain in question[1]), first recorded in 1912,[2] and published by F.B. Haviland Publishing Company in 1913.[3] It was written after the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, which would replace the Erie Canal, was well underway, furthering the change from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic. Also known as "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal", "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal", "Erie Canal Song", "Erie Barge Canal", and "Mule Named Sal", 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.

The music cover published in 1913 depicts a boy on a mule getting down to pass under a bridge, but the reference to "low bridge" in the song refers to travelers who would typically ride on top of the boats. The low bridges would require them to get down out of the way to allow safe passage under a bridge.[4]

Recordings

Early 20th-century recordings of the song include ones by Billy Murray, Vernon Dalhart, and Jack Nerz. The song has become part of the folk repertoire, recorded by folksingers like Glenn Yarborough, Pete Seeger and the Weavers, The Kingston Trio, the children's series VeggieTales, and artists like the Sons of the Pioneers. Dan Zanes included it on a children's album with Suzanne Vega singing lead. Bruce Springsteen recorded the song on his 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. The cartoon series Animanics parodied "Low Bridge" with their song about the Panama Canal. The lyrics are also the text of the book The Erie Canal (1970), illustrated by Peter Spier.

Lyrics

These are the lyrics as they were originally published by Thomas Allen in 1913:

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 every inch of the way I know, From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody 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
Giddyap 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

Low bridge, everybody 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.

Low bridge, everybody 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 eat hay.
She isn’t so slow if you want to know, she put the "Buff" in Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, everybody 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 everything 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

Low bridge, everybody 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.[1]

Variations

As with most folk songs, the lyrics have changed over time. The most obvious changes from Thomas Allen's original publication has been changing the word "years" to "miles". Allen's original version commemorates 15 years of working along the canal with Sal. The new version using the word miles refers to the average distance a mule would tow a barge before resting or being relieved by another mule. Dave Ruch's research on this change has been documented in an extensive article.[1]

Another common change is in the second verse. The current line "Git up there mule, here comes a lock" is a change from the original line "Get up there gal, we've passed that lock". The original refers to how mules would rest while waiting for barges to lock through, and then need to be instructed when to start again. The current implies speeding up when a lock is within sight—not a standard course of action.

Alternate lyrics

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We hauled some barges in our day.
Filled with lumber, coal and hay.
We know every inch of the way I know.
From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we're coming' to a town.
And you'll always know your neighbor.
And you'll always know your pal.
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

We'd better look around for a job, old gal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
You can bet your life I'll never part with Sal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

Get up mule, here comes a lock.
We'll make Rome 'bout six o'clock.
One more trip and back we'll go.
Right back home to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we're coming' to a town.
You'll always know your neighbor.
And you'll always know your pal.
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

Where would I be if I lost my pal?
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
I'd like to see a mule good as my Sal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

A friend of mine once got her sore.
Now he's got a broken jaw.
Cause she let fly with an iron toe.
And kicked him back to Buffalo.

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, cause we're coming' to a town.
You'll always know your neighbor.
And you'll always know your pal.
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we're coming' to a town.
You'll always know your neighbor.
And you'll always know your pal.
If ya ever made a living' on the Erie Canal

(Low bridge, everybody down)
(Low bridge, we're coming' to a town)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Erie Canal Song - Lyrics, Music, History, and more". 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Low bridge! Everybody down!". Library of Congress.
  3. ^ "Low bridge!-everybody down, or, fifteen years on the Erie Canal".
  4. ^ "Home". eriecanalsong.com.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Bridge_(song)

Source: Daveruch.com

Low Bridge, Everybody Down: Origins and History

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

The song was copyrighted by F.B. Haviland Publishing Company in manuscript form in November of 1912, appearing in sheet music form early the following year (© Jan. 11, 1913; 2 c. Jan. 13, 1913: E 301302).

Thomas S Allen, 15 Miles on the Erie CanalThomas S. Allen was a musical jack-of-all trades, working at various stages of his career (and often simultaneously) as an orchestral violinist, “trick” violinist for burlesque and vaudeville shows, music director for theaters and traveling shows, and composer of songs for the vaudeville stage as well as rags, marches, waltzes, and other items for popular and commercial use.

The year “Low Bridge!” was first registered (1912), it was just one of nine songs copyrighted in Thomas S. Allen’s name.

 

Early Timeline and Changes

1905  The song is often cited as having been composed in this year, although Allen himself says it wasn’t until he saw the canal at Rochester that he wrote it

1911  Thomas S. Allen moves from Boston MA to Rochester NY for a job furnishing orchestras to the leading hotels and theaters – it’s likely that the song is composed around this time (see text from the record slip below)

1912  The song is copyrighted in manuscript form on November 18

1912  Billy Murray makes the first commercial recording of the song (Victor 17250) in Camden NJ on November 18, the same date it’s copyrighted (video below)

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

1913  The song is copyrighted in sheet music form on Janurary 11 and again on January 13

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

1913  Allen, a Massachusetts native, is working at least part-time in Rochester NY, and has been coming (or living) there for at least a few years

map of erie canal in article about the song1924  Henry A. J. Castor of Albany NY writes to song collector and newspaper columnist R.W. Gordon with the first verse and chorus of the song, using “16 years” in place of “15 years” and saying it was “occasionally sung at Canal Meetings in this state and was for a great many years the prime favorite with canal drivers.” Gordon responds by saying “Your enclosure interests me greatly; I have a number of canal songs which have come in from various sailors, but none at all like this.”

1925  R.W. Gordon, still unaware of Allen’s published composition, receives another handwritten copy of the song from a reader (verses 1, 2, and 5 only), and replies “Certain things about it make me fairly certain that it originated on the vaudeville stage rather than on the canal, and that it is not very old.” 

1926  The song appears in print with “15 miles” in place of “15 years” for the first time, in Sigmund Spaeth’s book ‘Read ‘em and Weep.’ Spaeth claimed two sources for the song – journalist and author George Chappell (“Captain Traprock,” Spaeth called him), and Mike Ross, who worked at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City

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

1928  F.B. Haviland sues Doubleday, Page and Company for publishing the song in ‘Read ’em and Weep’ without permission; Doubleday counters that the song has been in circulation long before Haviland’s copyright date (see image below)

1929  Vernon Dalhart records the song electronically (Columbia 15378-D) on January 16, and acoustically (Harmony 831-H, Velvet Tone, Viva labels) under the pseudonym Mack Allen on January 21

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

1934  John and Alan Lomax publish the song in ‘American Ballads and Folk Songs,’ as collected from Rev. Charles A. Richmond of Washington DC

Did Allen really write the song?

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

Erie Canal Song - lyrics, sheet music, history

Thanks to Bill Hullfish for uncovering this reference.

However, a 1928 Music Trade Review article gives some reason to believe that the song may have been in use prior to 1912, and perhaps even before Allen’s 1905 composition date:

Erie Canal Folk Song history

Music Trade Review, June 23, 1928

Did Thomas S. Allen really compose “Low Bridge,” a song that is thematically unlike any others in his stable? Or, did he appropriate some lyrics and a theme that were already in use on the canal, embellish them, and simply claim them as his own as so many others have done through the years?

This is a question I am actively pursuing. There could be some revealing information in Haviland’s or Doubleday’s 1928 files and/or court records. (Can you help track these things down? Please email me at dave “at” daveruch “dot” com if so.)

Is “Low Bridge Everybody Down” a folk song?

One of the hallmarks of “folk” or “traditional” songs is that they don’t rely on commercial distribution to circulate. As such, they can – and do – take on a life of their own, changing as they’re passed from person to person and community to community.

oral tradition folk songs passing from person to personIf we’re using that definition, then “Low Bridge! – Everybody Down” has certainly become a folk song in spite of its origins as a published composition by a professional songwriter. Most people now sing “15 Miles” in place of “15 Years.” Others learned it as “16 Miles,” or “16 Years.” Some sing two verses, some know three. Sometimes (thanks to the Kingston Trio, among others) the melody and verses vary almost completely from the original composition.

I’d call that a folk song.

Source: Eriecanalsong.com

  • Erie Canal Song by Thomas S. Allen

    The Erie Canal Song, as it is commonly known by today, was written in 1905 under the title Low Bridge, Everybody Down about life on the Erie Canal. In addition to the The Erie Canal Song and Low Bridge, Everybody Down titles, the song has also been referred to by the following names over the years: Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal, Mule Named Sal and Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal. Around 1905 mule powered barge traffic had converted to steam power and diesel power was about to take over.  The Erie Canal Song was written to commemorate the history of nearly 100 years of life along the Erie Canal.

    The Erie Canal Song is the most recognised of all the Erie Canal folksongs. A pdf of the song with notes for guitar and piano can be found here. Its interesting to note that the cover depicts a boy riding a mule leaned down to fit under a bridge, but in actuality the song is about the people in the boats. Travelers would typically ride on the roof of boats when the conditions allowed, but the low bridges along the route would require that they either duck down or get off the roof to fit under bridges.

    Lyric Variations

    Like most folk songs, the lyrics (and title!) of The Erie Canal Song has changed over time. The most obvious changes from Thomas Allen’s orignal version has been changing the word years to miles. Allen’s original version commerates 15 years of working along the canal with Sal. The new version using the word miles refers to the average distance a mule would tow a barge before resting or being relieved by another mule.

    Another change is in the second verse. The current line: “Git up there mule, here comes a lock” is a change from the original line: “Get up there gal, we’ve passed that lock”. The current version does not necessary make as much sense as the former. The former refers to how mules would rest while waiting for barges to lock through, and then need to be instructed when to start again. The current implies speeding up when a lock is within site. Without breaks or a simple way to slow a barge, this would not necessarly be the best course of action.

    Audio Versions Available:

    1.) Billy Murray (1912) click here.
    2.) Edward Meeker (1913) click here.
    (right click and ‘save as’ if necessary)

    The Erie Canal Song Lyrics

    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 every inch of the way we know
    From Albany to Buffalo

    Chorus:
    Low bridge, everybody down
    Low bridge for we’re coming to a town
    And you’ll always know your neighbor
    And you’ll always know your pal
    If you’ve ever navigated on the Erie Canal

    We’d better look ’round for a job old gal
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    ‘Cause you bet your life I’d never part with Sal
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    Git up there mule, here comes a lock
    We’ll make Rome ’bout six o’clock
    One more trip and back we’ll go
    Right back home to Buffalo

    Chorus

    Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal?
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    Oh, I’d like to see a mule as good as Sal
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    A friend of mine once got her sore
    Now he’s got a busted jaw,
    ‘Cause she let fly with her iron toe,
    And kicked him in to Buffalo.

    Chorus

    Don’t have to call when I want my Sal
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    She trots from her stall like a good old gal
    Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
    I eat my meals with Sal each day
    I eat beef and she eats hay
    And she ain’t so slow if you want to know
    She put the “Buff” in Buffalo

    Chorus

    Author Information

    Thomas S. Allen (1876-1919) was an early Tin Pan Alley composer with many popular songs not related to the canal life. His first major hit was Any Rags in 1903, only two years before that of the Erie Canal Song.

A great version by Bruce Springsteen!

 

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The Enigma

by | August 11, 2014 | Journal, Poetry | 0 Comments

Black Pond is not as deepas it is dark, dammedsome century agobetween ledges of granite and an outcropping of leaning fir, huckleberry, and white pine. For years I have paddled and trolled;swam, fished, sailed and sometimessimply tread water in the night trying to...
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Ready. Set. Go.

by | April 7, 2014 | Essays, Journal, Teaching | 0 Comments

Who forgets to rinse his hair? Me, I guess, for that was the start of my day. I smelled something like coconut oil on my way to school, and then I realized, dang, my hair is still pretty wet. Wet with hair conditioner. And then I get sot school all coconutty smelling...
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The Shapes of Stories

by | July 9, 2016 | Journal | 0 Comments

While I have always been a storyteller of sorts, I am not much of a writer of stories--but I have always been intrigued by the relative simplicity at the core design level of most books and movies. A lot of it is tied to my love for Joseph Campbell's work on the...
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Diesel Lullaby

by | July 5, 2019 | Journal | 0 Comments

I've been spending a lot of time lately writing sketches of songs—some more complete than others. I have found that it takes time for a song to evolve into its final form, so what I have posted here is more the end of the beginning, not the end. Denise gave me the...
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Essex Bay

by | August 12, 2014 | Fires in the Belly, Songs | 0 Comments

This house makes funny noises
When the wind begins to blow.
I should have held on and never let you go.
The wind blew loose the drainpipe.
You can hear the melting snow.
I’ll fix it in the morning when I go.
I’ll fix it in the morning when I go.

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Me & God

by | April 9, 2018 | Essays, Journal | 0 Comments

        I am not done with God, nor God with me. I remain obsessed with the notion of the unmoved mover who set the pattern of creation into its initial motion. I stubbornly try to trace my existence back to some infinite beginning—so much so that I loathe the...
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To a teacher

by | November 14, 2019 | Journal, Poetry | 0 Comments

This shift from fall to winterIs the cruelest month:Long days and nightsIn a blather of responsibility’s I hoist from a murky holeAnd sort and siftOn a messy desk. I pity my students who trembleMy red pen of vengeance;Who wait with fetid thoughtsFreighted by what they...
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No Dad To Come Home To

by | August 26, 2014 | Dawghouse, Songs | 0 Comments

Rain’s falling outside of Boston—
Thank God I’m not working tonight.
I’ve got six of my own,
And a stepdaughter at home,
And a momma keeping things right.
I wonder if they’re at the table
With their puzzles, their papers and pens?
When I get off the highway
And pull in that driveway,
Will they run to the window again?

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China Journal: Part Three

by | July 30, 2015 | Essays, Journal, Teaching | 0 Comments

III My teachers could have ridden with Jesse James For all the time they stole from me... ~Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America      Today it was a temple built into the mountainside west of West Lake. Mr. Toe drove us out there. In most ways I just follow Rob...
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Dad

by | December 4, 2013 | Poetry | 0 Comments

Moaning like a lost whale the thin ice bellowed behind us then cracked and rang as if spit from a whip. The sharp steel of my over-sized skates etched unspeakable joy into the slate-grey, reptilian skin of Walden Pond. Our mismatched hands gripped together in the...
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Guns, Me, and Rural America

by | February 27, 2018 | Essays, Journal | 0 Comments

     Sometimes I start writing without knowing where I stand—unsure of even where I stand. I have to trust some innate wisdom or audacity will cull through the bullshit we are all heir to in what Hamlet laments is “this earthly coil” we are forced to face when we wake...
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Chores

by | May 15, 2016 | Journal, Poetry | 0 Comments

The day sometimes slip away from me, a huge pine half-bucked in the backyard, the kids old tree fort cut into slabs, a ton of coal waiting to be moved in a train of buckets to the bin. Sipping cold water on the back deck, sharpening the dulled teeth of a worn...
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Paris: 11/13/15

by | November 14, 2015 | Essays, Journal | 0 Comments

It is a sad day for humanity. Another sad day on top of many others happening every day--many in places we hear about only obliquley and sometimes not at all. Paris is that much closer to home for most of us here and in Europe, but freedom and tolerance has to...
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A Priori

by | May 24, 2016 | Journal, Poetry | 0 Comments

How do I know what I know? The sharp angles of this simple cottage perfected  in every board sawn, shingle split and beam hewn into place goes together placed, splined, slid together, bound more by intuition than knowing.
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Another Day…

by | July 7, 2016 | Journal | 0 Comments

I've been somewhat lax about posting in here of late, but I have been giving myself a bit of a break from writing. In fact, I spent the last month or so just living--and that has been just fine with me. I set a simple goal for myself this summer to get in shape. PJ...
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China Journal: Part One

by | July 23, 2015 | Essays, Journal, Teaching | 0 Comments

I           The dull staccato throb in light rain on a dark night. Unseen barges make their way up the QianTian River—concrete shores marked by the arch of the bridge, the spans of beam stretched on beam, the impeccable symmetry of the street-lights broken by a stream...
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There is in an easiness

by | June 8, 2018 | Journal | 0 Comments

When I begin to think of myself. My girded shell squeezing Oysters in a jar; My oily viscera Jammed and joggled Into impossible places. My pancreas Is never where it should be; My esophagus cut cleanly Swirls in a diaspora. My tongue is a trapped In a tangle of...
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Rainmaker

by | August 28, 2014 | Essays, Journal | 0 Comments

I loved the rain last night. Last week, in a bow to reality, I reclaimed my gardens and made them into yard. Four of my kids got poison ivy in the process and I (and more "they") got an extra ten feet of width to add to the soccer field--for really that is about the...
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Somewhere North of Bangor

by | August 12, 2014 | Fires in the Belly, Songs | 0 Comments

Somewhere north of Bangor
on the run from Tennessee.
Lost in back scrub paper land
in section TR-3.
It’s hit him he’s an outlaw
a Georgia cracker’s son,
who killed a man in Nashville
with his daddies favorite gun.
It’s hit him with the loneliness
of wondering where you are
on a long ago railway
stretched between two stars.

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The Small Potato

by | October 17, 2014 | Journal, Teaching | 0 Comments

Maybe there is a God. I just came home and sat down in the kitchen to grade some papers and input some grades, but the internet is buggy and slow, and I thought, "maybe this is the message" that I am trading my soul for work. I even remember myself  pontificating in...
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