When I found out that I needed to select and perform four folk songs this year as part of my course I knew that I wanted to tackle something new and different. I decided as you know to perform songs from Aaron Copland’s series of American Folk Songs which he composed in the early 1950s.
One of the hardest parts was choosing which four songs to sing, “The Boatmen’s Dance” became the third of my selections and one that I thoroughly enjoyed performing.

The original version was credited to Dan Emmett in 1843 and was considered to be a celebration of the lives and exploits of the Ohio River boatmen. As immigration from Europe to the USA soared in the early 1800s the Ohio / Mississippi rivers became busier and busier as one of the primary routes for safe and secure travel for the Europeans searching for a new and better life for their families.
As people travelled down the river they often kept diaries or journals and there are many references to the jovial nature of the boatmen and their expertise on the fiddle.

In an issue of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, called “Folk Music on the Midwestern Frontier 1788-1825’, by Harry R. Stevens, Duke University one traveller (Timothy Flint, 1826) wrote “almost every boat, while it lies in the harbour, has one or more fiddlers scraping continually aboard, to which you often see the boatmen dancing.”
Another observed: “As the boats were laid to for the night in an eddy, a part of the crew could give them headway on starting in the morning, while the others struck up a tune on their fiddles…The boatmen, as a class, were masters of the fiddle, and the music, heard through the distance from these boats, was more sweet and animating than any I have ever heard since. When the boats stopped for the night at or near a settlement, a dance was got up, if possible, which all the boatmen would attend. ”

The Boatmen’s Dance
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
The boatmen dance, the boatmen sing,
The boatmen up to ev’rything,
And when the boatman gets on shore
He spends his cash and works for more.
Then dance the boatmen dance,
O dance the boatmen dance.
O dance all night ’til broad daylight,
And go home with the gals in the mornin’.
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
I went on board the other day
To see what the boatmen had to say.
There I let my passion loose
An’ they cram me in the callaboose.
O dance the boatmen dance,
O dance the boatmen dance.
O dance all night ’til broad daylight,
And go home with the gals in the mornin’.
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
The boatman is a thrifty man,
There’s none can do as the boatman can.
I never see a pretty gal in my life
But that she was a boatman’s wife.
O dance the boatmen dance,
O dance the boatmen dance.
O dance all night ’til broad daylight,
And go home with the gals in the mornin’.
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
High row the boatmen row,
Floatin’ down the river the Ohio.
I hope that you are all singing along with me on these songs

I have been asked along with my best friend Jessica Hurst to perform our folk songs during the judging interval at this year’s Bruce Millar Gulliver singing competition. There will be a surprise for those that can make it, Jess and I will be also be performing a duet but I wonder if you can guess which one ? I will reveal all next week after the event. I am posting a bit earlier than usual tonight because I am going to try and get an early night and a get a good long sleep.
Love this song Charlotte. I listened to it about 10 times yesterday..your photo is lovely too.😚
Happy you enjoyed it keep practising and we’ll duet in April 😀.
Best wishes
Charlotte
+1, I love this song too and definitely beyond my ability to sing along 🙂
Love this song Charlotte,Thanks for introducing me to The Boatmen’s Dance
You’re welcome Luis thanks for visiting.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Sing like no-ones listening 😜 that’s what I do, the little girl upstairs calls me the singer girl,
Best wishes
Charlotte
Lovely, Charlotte, and I love the history you give with it. I am a huge Copeland fan, so you are making me happy. It’s so nice to have your lovely voice to listen to.
I like to do my research for every piece a bit of advice my first singing teacher gave me, she had a card box and this is my equivalent.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Charlotte, I so love this song and you do a wonderful job singing it. Like your dress, too. xxx
Thanks Mary, I love this dress it’s an old favourite.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Very nice and interesting Charlotte, thanks a lot !! Have a fantastic week !! 🙂
Merci, a very interesting week for me just having a relaxing morning before a 10am to 9pm rehearsal 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
A really interesting post. Thanks for introducing me to The Boatmen’s Dance, which was a new one to me.
I love to do fresh pieces, happy to bring it to you.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Lovely, Charlotte. I would rather listen to you than sing along. Thanks for sharing. xo
I’m sure you’ll be practising the chorus in the shower Janice 😀.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Your voice is exquisite and I totally enjoy your musical posts. Compliments, as well, to the time and effort put into your posts and much appreciation for the posting of lyrics.
Thank you it makes me happy you enjoy them.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Refreshingly different from your usual repertoire Charlotte! 🙂 It’s amazing how many “Ordinary” people could play musical instruments back than. Of course they didn’t have the massive distractions we have these days! – FB being just one! lol 🙂
Music in schools in so important for this reason, now some schools don’t have singing assemblies it makes me sad that these old folk songs won’t get their usual hearing. I don’t spend much time on Facebook don’t have enough spare 😀.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I tried singing with you but fell out pretty quickly. Would be like kicking the ball with Pele. Loved the boatman song.
Haha 😄 so pleased you enjoyed The Boatman Song John.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Awesome! I worked and lived in Ohio for about 20 years… great place, great song and a super rendition. Brava!
Thanks Annette, I’d love to visit Ohio one day now this song has brought the place alive for me.
Best wishes
Charlotte
You’ve chosen well with Copland, and you sing this song beautifully. You might be interested to know that one of the Ohio boatman at that time was a future American president, the young Abraham Lincoln. I don’t think he had skills, music-wise, though. 😉
That is interesting Tom, now I’m curious to know more about him.
Best wishes
Charlotte
The tune of your song has been in my mind for the last week, and as you can see it made it into my blog, with one slight alteration–river is wide is the American version.
https://spiritinpolitics.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/river-is-wide-i-cannot-get-oer/
Oo I like this one Missy H – yer bee a talented lass me thinks 😀
I can see you singing along in the harvest, baritone I’d guess 😊.
All the best
MissyH 😜
I don’t believe there is a name for my tone of warbling.
Beautifully sung! Another song with change of tempo. I like the background to the song too – well researched, Charlotte! Charles Dickens travelled to Canada and America in 1842 and went down the R Ohio on a steam ship. His descriptions of what he saw are very good but he was very fastidious and he didn’t like having to share washing facilities! He was very standoffish and couldn’t understand the friendliness of the Americans either.
Interesting info Clare thanks for adding to my knowledge 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
My pleasure Charlotte x
I love this song! I’m trying to keep up with you and sing along but hey ??? Maybe not 😀 beautiful. Xx
Keeeep practising, Terry will learn to love it 😄.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Beautifully sung. Fanfare for the Uncommon Girl.
🙂
I like what you’ve done there Terry 😊. Thank you.
Best wishes
Charlotte
How are you Terry? Not heard from you for a while and thought about you 🙋🏼✨
That was great what a voice
Thanks Barbara 😀.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Really loved this one!
I’m looking forward to singing them all on Sunday to a live audience, exciting.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Of course I sang along…just many octaves lower and occasionally straining my poor vocal cords!
Love it, but don’t strain 😳 I’ll do the high notes you can take the bass line 😃.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I probably could not do the bass lines well either. Do not get me wrong…I can carry a tune but I might need some studio magic to carry me over!
Truly, truly beautiful works of art, thank you so very much for sharing, and thank you also for following the work we are doing here at the VABWM. Please click this link and receive my personal welcome message.
http://youtu.be/nmtRGnexnbk
Thank you for your message 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
This is the song I have been waiting for ~ and it did not disappoint…in fact you exceeded expectations. An incredible pace and clarity with your voice, beautiful work Charlotte!
Can you see why your most beautiful boatman photographs made me think of this song. A brilliant glimpse into another culture.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
So true ~ such a wonderful song…and your voice seems so perfectly created to bring it to us all. Cheers
Beautiful song, thank you for giving it to us. Looking forward to reading more! Cheers. Adrián
Jessica Hurst and Me – This is a cool photo with smiles
Beautiful! And so fascinating!
Found this page while searching for the lyrics to The Boatmen’s Dance. Listened to your beautiful version and it literally brought tears to my eyes, thank you Charlotte. Am an old man now, but grew up within the sound of the Ohio riverboats, had two uncles who worked all their lives on those boats. Thank you for bringing back memories of a place very dear to me.
What a lovely message, thank you so much Philip, I enjoy singing these songs and I’m glad you enjoyed my version.
My best wishes
Charlotte’s