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".

 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.

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'".

Meanwhile, the *Historical Dictionary of American Slang vol. 2* acknowledges the "barge" meaning, but also offers a definition referring to female genitalia, 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.

## 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

1. ↑ https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/shipsseasongssha00whal
2. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sing\_a\_Song\_of\_England/OU9GAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=ditch
3. ↑ https://www.hogeyenavvy.com/the-band
4. ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11353#1291798
5. ↑ https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/songs/hogeyeman.html