The John B. Sails

"The John B. Sails" is a folk song that first appeared in a 1917 American novel, "Pieces of Eight", written by Richard Le Gallienne. The "secret" narrator of the story describes it as "one of the quaint Nassau ditties," [Le Gallienne, "Pieces of Eight", p. 30: " 'And you, boys, there; haven't you got a song you can put up? How about 'The "John B." sails?' ' And I led them off, the hiss and swirl of the sea, and the wind making a brisk undertone as we sang one of the quaint Nassau ditties."] the first verse and chorus of which are::Come on the sloop "John B." ":My grandfather and me,:Round Nassau town we did roam;:Drinking all night, ve got in a fight,:Ve feel so break-up, ve vant to go home.::"(Chorus)"::So h'ist up the "John B." sails,:::See how the mainsail set,::Send for the captain—shore, let us go home,::Let me go home, let me go home,::I feel so break-up, I vant to go home.

Whether it was an authentic folk song or one created for the novel is not stated.

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg included it in his 1927 collection of folksongs, "The American Songbag", as "The John B. Sails." He states that he collected it from John & Evelyn McCutchen who told him, "Time and 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 and a ring-bolt. These relics are now preserved and built into the Watch Tower, designed by Mr. Howard Shaw and built on our southern coast a couple of points east by north of the star Canopus." John McCutchen was a political cartoonist from Chicago.

Sandburg's version has only minor variations from those by Le Gallienne, but Sandburg does add an additional verse::De poor cook he got fits,:Tro' 'way all de grits,:Den he took an' eat up all o' my corn!:Lemme go home, I want to go home!:Dis is de worst trip since I been born!

His version of "The John B Sails" is the one most often recorded. It is perhaps the remarks by the McCutcheons, which Sandburg attached to the song, that a frequent title—"Wreck Of The John B"—is derived, since no lyrics report a wreck.

Alan Lomax recording

Alan Lomax included the song in his 1935 collection, "Deep River of Song", as "Histe Up The John B Sail"; sung by the Cleveland Simmons Group, Old Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas, July 1935.

Pop recordings

Among others, the song has been recorded by:
* The Weavers - "Wreck Of The John B" (1950)
* The Kingston Trio - "Sloop John B" (1958)
* Jimmie Rodgers - "Wreck Of The John B" (1960)
* The Beach Boys - "Sloop John B" (1966)

References

Bibliography

*Le Gallienne, Ricard. "Pieces of Eight: Being the Authentic Narrative of a Treasure Discovered in the Bahama Islands, in the Year 1903—Now First Given to the Public." Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company (1922) (Copyright 1917, The Butterick Publishing Co.).
*Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle. " [http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ballads/San022.html The John B. Sails] ". "The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World". Hosted by [http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ California State University, Fresno, Folklore] , 2007.