Hog Eye Man

This traditional capstan shanty originated in the United States in the mid-19th century. Many of the song's lyrics are shared with Johnny Come Down to Hilo and, in fact, the two songs share a tune. It has a reputation for being one of the more bawdy shanties in existence; collector W.B. Whall, in his collection Ships, Sea Songs and Shanties (1913), comments that "much of this shanty is unprintable". https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/shipsseasongssha00whal
 Andy currently leads the song, though verses were alternated with Anna during performances when she was with the band.
===Factoids===
The meaning of the term "hog-eye" has been the subject of extensive debate. Whall says that it was slang for a barge, popular around the time of the California Gold Rush for transportation before the advent of coast-to-coast railroads. Reginald Nettel, in his book Sing a Song of England (1954), notes a possible antecedent in the term "ditch-hog", a derisive name used by deep-water sailors to refer to river sailors.https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sing_a_Song_of_England/OU9GAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=ditch
Another claim (albeit unverified) fleshes out the "barge" theory, saying, "in the Gold Rush days in California there was a kind of big barge that worked up and down the coast, and a bit on the inland rivers, that had big D rings on each side for towing.  The rings were called 'hogeyes' and the men who worked on the barges were referred to as 'hogeye sailors' or 'hogeye men'".https://www.hogeyenavvy.com/the-band
Meanwhile, the Historical Dictionary of American Slang vol. 2 acknowledges the "barge" meaning, but also offers a definition referring to female genitalia,https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11353#1291798 leading to speculation that "hog-eye man" might have meant something like "womanizer".
It's entirely possible that both meanings (and possibly more) were true, and the interpretation was left up to the singer and/or listener.
Several of the original verses, however, were much more straightforwardly obscene (not uncommon in shanties), netting the work's being archived in the Sex Research Institute of Indiana.https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/songs/hogeyeman.html
==Lyrics==
These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams.
Oh, hand me down my riding cane,
I'm off to meet my darlin' Jane.
Chorus:
With a hog-eye, oh
Row the boat ashore with a hog-eye
Steady on the jig with a hog-eye, oh
She wants the hog-eye man
Oh, the hog-eye man is the man for me
He was born and raised in Tennessee
{Chorus}
Oh, he came to the shack where Sally did dwell
He knocked on the door and he rung her bell
{Chorus}
Oh, who's been here since I been gone
A railroad navvy with his sea-boots on
{Chorus}
Oh, Sally's in the garden sifting sand
The hog-eye man sitting hand in hand
{Chorus}
Oh, Sally's in the garden, shelling peas
Her long yellow hair hangin' down to her knees
{Chorus}
Oh, I won't bear a hog-eye, damned if I do
Got chiggers in his feet and he can't wear shoes
{Chorus}
Oh, a hog-eye ship and a hog-eye crew
A hog-eye mate and a skipper too
{Chorus}
Steady on the jig with a hog-eye, oh
She wants the hog-eye man
==Recordings==
====Streaming/Purchase====
*Amazon Music (Smoke + Oakum version)
*Amazon Music (Made of Ale version)
*Apple Music/iTunes (Smoke + Oakum version)
*Apple Music/iTunes (Made of Ale version)
*Deezer (Smoke + Oakum version)
*Deezer (Made of Ale version)
*Pandora (Smoke + Oakum version)
*Spotify (Smoke + Oakum version)
*Spotify (Made of Ale version)
====YouTube Videos====
*Music Video
*Made of Ale Video
====Gig Videos====
*Old Songs (25 Feb 2022)
*Le Poisson Rouge, NYC (27 Feb 2022)
*Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI (6 Mar 2022)
*The Wickham Festival (05 Aug 2022)
*The Studio at the Factory - Dallas, TX (23 Nov 2022)
*Jimmy's - Liverpool (9 Dec 2022)
*Kraków, Poland (26 Feb 2023)
*Cursus Festival 2023
====Full Band Streams====
*The Longest Johns Early Octobermas (2 Oct 2019)
*Stream If You Wanna Go Faster (12 May 2021)
*Amazing Technicolor Stream-coat!! (7 Jul 2021)
*Nightmare on Elm Stream (27 Oct 2021)
*Ex-Stream Sports (15 Feb 2022)
*Strème de Menthe (27 Jul 2022)
*Streamworks (18 Jan 2023)
*Davestream Beleaver (30 May 2023)
*Jingle Jam 2023 | Day 4 (4 Dec 2023)
*JINGLE JAM DAY 8! The Longest Johns Live Jingle Jam Concert (8 Dec 2023)
====Chill Streams====
*Friday morning super folk music time with Andy! - 19/06/2020 
*Can you survive the chilldome? Playing mostly folk music... - 26/06/2020 
*Observe the Chilldome. Playing mostly folk music... - 17/07/2020 
*Pack your bags! We're moving to Chillbury Town. - 14/08/2020 
*Look out! It's a music! Playing mostly folk... - 21/08/2020 
*Music? Music! - 25/09/2020 
*Super Friday Morning Folk Music Time! - 23/10/2020 
*Super Friday Folk Music Time! - 18/12/2020 
*Bonus music time! GO! - 23/12/2020 
*It's banjo time, come on grab your banjo related accessories... - 23/10/2021 
*To the Banjo Cave! - 29/11/2021 
*Banjon Banjoff - 21/01/2022 
====Gaming Streams====
*Galleon.........Galley off! - 05/07/2021 
*Sea of Sings LIVE | The Longest Johns Sea of Thieves Stream (11 Aug 2021)
*The seas are alive, with the sound of cannons! with Kharites_ and Krotukk - 30/07/2021
*Sing and Sail with Friends! Joined by @brionykay - 09/08/2021 
*Set feet, Kro! Set feet, Kro! Set feet, Kro! Set feet, Kro! - 03/09/2021 
*Sea of Sings - Putting the rum in rumbustiousness since 1862 - 06/09/2021 
*Pirate stuff GO! - 24/09/2021 
*Aga Do Do Do, Eat Pineapples Do A Stream! With KHARITES_ and Krotukk - 08/10/2021 
*Sailing with friends and singing shanties? I'd ship that! with Krotukk - 15/10/2021 
*Say "A shoddily shod ship" 3 times fast... - 29/10/2021 
*Bo.........@? - 15/11/2021 
*We're Back!! First Sing & Sail of 2022 - 10/01/2022 
*New things?!? Well, new to us anyway. Now with added Spammals!! - 28/03/2022 
*Sea of Sings for War Child - 30/05/2022 
Category:Songs
Category:Traditional
Category:Andy Songs
Category:Smoke + Oakum
Category:Made of Ale Sessions