Old Bloke Pickin' on the Banjo

A traditional capstan shanty that likely has its origins with black and Irish workers on the American railroads. The exact lineage of the song is difficult to trace, as many versions seem to consist largely of fragments from other songs, with lyrics often bordering on nonsensical. The earliest known written evidence of this version is its inclusion in Cecil J. Sharp's 1914 collection *English Folk-Chanteys*, but it likely emerged in the mid-19th century.

### Factoids

The song is closely related to, and may be a variant on, a song titled "Song of the Pinewoods" — the Roud index lists them as separate songs, but the Traditional Ballad Index groups them together. In any case, there is significant overlap between the two, often with only a chorus separating them.

It also appears to bear some relation to an Irish folk song called "Shule Agra"; one version of the "Pinewoods" variant has the chorus beginning, "Shu-li, shu-li, shula-racka-ru" (cf. "Shule Agra": "Shule, shule, shule a vil a ghra"), and Sharp calls the tune a variant on the same.

Other related songs include a shanty called "Paddy Works on the Railway" and a shore song known as "Pat Do This"; as noted on Mainly Norfolk, "There is obviously a complex of related texts, locations, tunes and floating verses which it is impossible to tease out and give sequence to."

The TLJ version of the song originally used the traditional title "Old Moke Pickin' on the Banjo". "Moke" in 19th century British slang referred to a donkey or mule. This usage also existed in the US, where the song originated, but there it was much more commonly used as a derogatory term for a black person, especially one associated with minstrelsy. Some sources also attest a broader meaning of "foolish person" in general, but the racialized usage seems to have been more common. When this definition was brought to the band's attention during the September 2022 livestream, they opted to change the lyric to "bloke" to avoid harmful connotations.

The exact meaning of **give her gyp** is unclear, though "to give (a person or thing) gyp" is recorded in late 19th c. British slang meaning "to punish or assault", or "to cause pain or distress to". This may be a more generalized slang usage, something like the modern "give it hell".

**Mud hook** was slang for an anchor.

## Lyrics

These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams; they largely match those recorded by Stan Hugill in his collection *Shanties of the Seven Seas*.

>
> He bang, she bang, daddy shot a bear
>
> Shot him in the stern me boys and never turned a hair
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
> Hoo-ra! What the hell's the row?
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> Pat get back, take in yer slack, heave away me boys
>
> Heave away me bully boys, why don't y' make some noise?
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Rock her block, chock'a block, heave the capstan round
>
> Fish that flamin' anchor up for we are outward bound
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Out chocks, two blocks, heave away or bust
>
> Bend your backs me bully boys, kick up some flamin' dust
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Roll her boys, bowl her boys, give her flamin' gyp
>
> Drag the anchor off the mud and let the bastard rip
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Whiskey-oh! Johnny-oh! The mud hook is in sight
>
> 'Tis a hell of a way to the gals that wait and the old Nantucket Light
>
> We're all from the railroad too-ra-loo
>
> And the old bloke pickin' on the banjo
>
>
>
> {Chorus 2x}
>
>
>
>

## Recordings

#### Full Band Streams

* The Longest Johns and Friends, April. w/Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith (30 Apr 2019)
* Spooktober Spectacular and Farewell to Anna Livestream (30 Oct 2019)
* Stream If You Wanna Go Faster (12 May 2021)
* Nice Stream Sundae (Wednesday) (1 Sep 2021)
* Cadbury Stream Egg (13 Apr 2022)
* Heinz Baked Stream (14 Sep 2022)
* Streamship Troopers (15 Mar 2023)
* Stream Lantern (27 Sep 2023)

#### Chill Streams

* JD & Andy Chilltime - 27/01/2020
* JD and Andy Chilltime - 03/02/2020
* Welcome to Chilltown! With Andy and JD - 23/03/2020

#### Gaming Streams

* Boat! Boat! Boat! Boat! Boat! - 21/08/2020
* \*bangs table\* boat boat dogs vaults sing boat! - 11/09/2020
* Sea of Sings! with Captain\_Falcore! SHANT! - 2/11/2020
* Shants on the sea! - 16/11/2020
* Sea of Joviality with KroTukk and KHARITES\_ - 28/11/2020
* Musical larceny on the big blue wet thing - 7/12/2020
* Let's do a sing and get in the sea !drops - 11/12/2020
* Let's do pirate stuff - 12/12/2020
* Sea of Sings, ye scurvy dogs! | - 4/01/2021
* Sea of Sings! Pirate malarkey afoot! - 15/01/2021
* Virtual Pirate Concert with Krotukk - 16/01/2021
* It's yarr time! Sea of Sings! Set sails to 100% - 22/01/2021
* Game Dev stream! Yarrs for everyone! - 05/02/2021
* Sea of Sings! Boats and stuff! - 15/02/2021
* Let's get in the sea and do a music! - 14/05/2021
* Help me, Bob, we're bullies in a galley! - with Kharites\_ & Krotukk! - 28/05/2021
* Singing and a'Sailing with RobRaven - 16/08/2021
* Sea of Sings - Putting the rum in rumbustiousness since 1862 - 06/09/2021
* Pirate stuff GO! - 24/09/2021

1. ↑ https://mainlynorfolk.info/danny.spooner/songs/theoldmokepickingonabanjo.html
2. ↑ https://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/Be022.html
3. ↑ https://mainlynorfolk.info/danny.spooner/songs/theoldmokepickingonabanjo.html
4. ↑ https://mainlynorfolk.info/danny.spooner/songs/theoldmokepickingonabanjo.html
5. ↑ https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/315413/origin-of-moke-used-in-the-mildly-derogatory-term-you-lil-moke
6. ↑ gyp, n.5." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2022, www.oed.com/view/Entry/82876. Accessed 28 May 2022.
7. ↑ https://www.lexico.com/definition/mud-hook
8. ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=71721#1228985