I put up a video of this song not long ago, but couldn't resist adding this one as a companion piece.

Last night, my wife and I went on a boat ride with members of the Hong Kong St David's Society to Rainbow Restaurant on Lamma Island. After several beers both on the hour-long boat road and with the seafood meal, nothing could stop this group of mainly Welsh guys from bursting into song, led by Terry Brewster. We even got the group at the next table to join in.

This song is also known as "I Wanna Go Home" and "John B Sails". Carl Sandburg collected an early version from John & Evelyn McCutcheon of Treasure Island, West Indies where, according to Sandburg, "time & usage have given this song almost the dignity of a national anthem around Nassau. The weathered ribs of the historic craft lie imbedded in the sand at Governor's Harbor, whence an expedition, especially sent up for the purpose in 1926, extracted a knee of horseflesh & a ring-bolt. These relies are now preserved & built into the Watch Tower."

As I mentioned last time I put up a video of the song, it is possible that the sloop's bad luck was due to its name. "John B" in Afro-Carribean culture, sounds like "jumby" -- a West African term referring to the undead creature that has been anglicized to "zombie."

Alan Lomax colle

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