"Sally In The Garden" (Siftin Sand) Lyrics & Comments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents the lyrics for the well known old fiddle tune & sea shanty "Sally In The Garden".

This post is a companion to the previous pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/various-somewhat-discreetly-worded.html Various (Somewhat Discreetly Worded) Meanings Of "Hog-Eye" and "Hog-Eye Man".

Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63007#1020844 for information about "Sally In The Garden", and "Hog Eye Man" songs.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the collectors and the featured performers of this song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
[The first "Sally in the garden sifting sand" line in these examples is italics to highlight it.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marianne (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:46 PM

re: "sifting sand"

1906 Gilchrist, Annie G., Frank Kidson, Lucy E. Broadwood, Cecil J. Sharp, and J.A. Fuller-Maitland. "Sailors' Songs, Collected by Annie G. Gilchrist." Journal of the Folk-Song Society 2(9): 236-249.

Gilchrist got this chanty ca.1906-06 from a Mr. W. Bolton, a 66 yr old retired sailor of 35 yrs (merchant and navy), last voyage in 1887.

THE HAWK'S-EYE MAN. Capstan Chanty.

Oh, the 'awk's-eye man is the man for me,
And when he comes ashore he has a jolly spree,
And the 'awk's-eye—
Roll the boat ashore, And the 'awk's-eye—
Roll the boat ashore, And the 'awk's-eye, Ho!
She wants the 'awk's-eye man.

Scraps of other verses were recollected as follows:

Sally in the garden sifting sand,
And Jenny in the house with the hawk's-eye man.

With his hawk's-eye ...
And when he comes ashore
He rattles at my door,
Oh, Johnnie is my hawk's-eye man.

1917 Robinson, Captain John. "Songs of the Chanty-Man: IV." The Bellman 23(577) (4 Aug. 1917): 123-128.

It's possible that the words of this one were edited for publication.

The Ox-eyed Man.

The ox-eyed man is the man for me,
For he is blind and he cannot see,
With his ox-eye,
[cho.] I knew an old ni&&&r* with an ox-eye!
Row the boat ashore, with the ox-eye,
All she wants is the ox-eyed man!
…
"The girl on the shore, whose name is Sall,
Is waiting there, for the ox-eyed man.

"Sall is in the garden, picking peas,
Here long brown ringlets hang to her knees.

"Sall is on the beach, a-sifting sand,
And is thinking much of the ox-eyed man.

"Go home, Sall, he will come no more,
For he got drowned, as he rowed ashore."
-snip-
*This word that is commonly known now as the "n word" is fully spelled out in these lyrics.

Source: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9916#3207494
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Example #2

Chicken in the bread tray, pecking that dough (or kicking up dough)
Sally will your dog bit, no sir no
(then straight into)
Chorus 1: Sallys in the garden, sifting, sifting
Sally’s in the garden, sifting sand

Sally’s in the garden, sifting, sifting
Sally’s in the garden sifting sand
Chorus 1: Sally’s in the garden sifting, sifting
Sally’s upstairs with the hogeye man

Sally’s in the garden, sifting, sifting
Sally’s in the garden sifting sand
Chorus 1. Sally’s in the garden sifting, sifting
Sally’s upstairs with the hogeye man

Sally will your dog bite, no sir, no
Daddy cut his biter off a long time ago
Chorus 2 Sally’s in the garden sifting sand
Sally’s upstairs with a hog-eyed man

Source: http://moldfarm.com/category/banjo/old-time-lyrics/page/2/
-snip-
This version is also known as "Granny Will Your Dog Bite" and "Chicken In The Bread Tray". A text version of that song is included in Thomas W. Talley's now classic 1922 collection Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise. Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123317#2714299 for that example.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THESE SONGS
The colloquial meaning of a woman "sifting sand" is an allusion to prostitution with the location of those acts being on the beach. Early examples of the Calypso song [All Day All Night] "Mary Ann" refer to Mary Ann down by the sea side sifting sand". Those examples were much more bawdy than the folk version that is most commonly known today. Read examples of those versions in the Mudcat thread on "Marianne" whose link is found above.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/various-somewhat-discreetly-worded.html for information, comments, and examples of the phrase & song "Hog Eye Man".

I believe that the most relevant definition that fits the above songs is that a "hog eye man" (or "hawk eye man" or ox eyed man") is a womanizer, a man who is very sexually active (with women), similar to "Jody", the African American folk character & the military cadence character.
-snip-
Notice that this song refers to an interracial "relationship" between a Black man and a White woman (i.e. "Here [sic] long brown ringlets hang to her knees."):

There are a number of banjo & other instrumental versions of "Sally In The Garden" (sifting sand) that can be found online. Among those videos are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcxAPN4ozJQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipavVrFgvYg.

However, I've not yet found any vocal renditions of this song on YouTube or anywhere else online.

There are numerous parodies of the song "Sally In The Garden". Among those parodies is one that was popularized by author Kurt Vonnegut http://izquotes.com/quote/275942

Sally in the garden,
Siftin' cinders,
Lifted up her leg,
And farted like a man,
The bursting of her bloomers broke sixteen winders,
The cheeks of her ass went (blam, blam, blam)”
―Kurt Vonnegut

Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63007 for [earlier?] examples of that parody.

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Various (Somewhat Discreetly Worded) Meanings Of "Hog-Eye" and "Hog-Eye Man"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides discreetly worded definitions and excerpts from online discussions about the meanings of the vernacular American English terms "hog-eye" and "hogeye man".

This post also provides comments about the meaning of the word "navvy" as found in the song "Hog Eye Man" and in other folk songs.

In addition, this post showcases two YouTube examples of the song "Hog Eye Man".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/sally-in-garden-siftin-sand-lyrics.html for the companion pancocojams post "Sally In The Garden" (Siftin Sand) Lyrics & Comments.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the collectors and the featured performers of this song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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DEFINITIONS
There are several definitions for the American English terms "hog-eye" and "hog-eye man". These meanings range from socially correct to what some consider to be quite obscene. I've presented these definitions in the chronological order that I think they were coined [based on my admittedly limited online reading on this subject.]

Hog eye & Hog-Eye Man
1. a barge used on the canals and rivers of the United States at the time of the Gold Rush in California (1850) ...hog-eye man being one of the crew of a hog-eye) [Captain Whall, "Sea Songs and Shanties", first printed in 1910, is perhaps the best collection of 19th c. sailors work songs. quote by Q in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11353 [23 May 08 - 01:56 PM]

2. Hog eye- a female's sexual parts (vulva or vagina); An equivalent African American Blues/Jazz vernacular term is "jelly roll".

Hog-eye man: a womanizer, a man who is very sexually active (with women) [These definitions & comments are found in the Mudcat post whose link is given above.]
-snip-
This description is very similar to "Jody", the African American folk character & the military cadence character.

3. hog-eye - a squint (eye) appearance; "Hog-eye man": a man who had a squint eye (similar to "popeye" and bug-eye - a person who has bulging eyes
From http://hogeyenavvy.com/the-band
Garry still swears by his grandfather's definition that sailors were called 'hogeyes' because they squinted in the sun (like pigs, and like Popeye!)."
-snip-
Read that article for more definitions of "hog-eye" and the word "navvy". That article and others mentions that "Hog-eye" is used as place names in the United States and elsewhere.

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Navvy - a semi skilled laborer [from the word "navigation"]

Subject: RE: I give up. What's a HOGEYE?
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 07 Jun 99 - 07:44 AM

The term Navvy has been around since the beginning of the 19th century, and has always been used to refer common laborers on any project which requires digging/excavation: canals, earthworks, pipelines, levees, railroads. Later, when a machine was developed to do this work, it was called--as one might expect--the steam navvy. The term was, indeed, taken from the word navigator, but not in any way limited to seafaring--more having to do with surveying.
The tow-path driver responsible for the draft animals which towed barges and canal boats on the old canal systems was known as the HOGGY; that possibly might be the basis for the term hog-eye, through folk etymology.
-snip-
Read Q [23 May 08 - 04:22 PM] in the above linked Mudcat post for a related song and term "ox-eyed man". And read the comments in that post about the sexualized meaning of "one eyed" and "dead-eye".

Also, read this comment about the racialized meaning of the term "hog-eye man" and the substitution of the terms "navy man" or "railroad man" for what is now known as the "n word" in other versions of the song.

Subject: RE: I give up. What's a HOGEYE?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 07:26 PM

I first heard this song a hell of a long time ago and it was sung as "railroad ni&&&r* with his sea-boots on". (Although why a railroad man be wearing sea-boots is beyond me!) The song was referred to as a "ni&&&r* shanty", lumped in with others like "Bullgine" and the cotton-screwing songs as being of African-American origin.
I always understood the Hogeye Man to be, firstly, Black. And secondly, one adept at getting some hog-eye.(more power to him!)
So many shanties have been sanitized. Agree with Guest, lighter, above that "navvy" was just cleaning it up.
Don't know the origin of the word but a navvy is a laborer.
-snip-
This word was fully spelled out in this quote.

That comment refers to these lines in versions of the song "Hog Eye Man":
"Railroad navvy with his hog-eye" and "railroad navy with his big boots on" or "railroad navy with his sea-boots on".

It's likely that the "sea boots on" phrase was coined to conform with the misapprehension that "navvy" meant a sailor.

However, read the comment by Matthew B : 06 Jun 99 - 08:43 PM who wrote that he was surprised to read that "railroad navy" was the original description that was used in that song.

I'm not sure which phrase whether "railroad navy" or "railroad ni&&&r" was the earliest phrase. However, "big buck ni&&&r with his sea boots on" was likely a later coinage.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THE TERMS "HOGEYE" AND "HOG-EYE MAN"
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11353
Subject: RE: I give up. What's a HOGEYE?
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 19 Apr 12 - 01:18 PM

...To sum up: "hog's-eye" and "hogeye" had a both clean and dirty meanings. The various Mudcat minds that have discussed the matter over many years are essentially unanimous in their belief as to what the dirty meaning was.

I'm inclined to agree with Gibb's suspicion that at the moment of its creation, "The Hogeye Man" (or just a line about the "hogeye man") simply referred to a barge sailor. (If that meaning had not been both natural and probable, I can't imagine the strait-laced Whall publishing the shanty in any form.)

Dirty interpretations presumably didn't take hold for some singers till at least ten minutes later. If a sexual "hog's-eye" actually predated the shanty, that would only make reinterpretation inevitable.

**
Subject: RE: I give up. What's a HOGEYE?
From: Kim C
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 02:05 PM

I am a HUGE fan of shanties and this is one of my favorites. My, what a lively discussion! My conclusion is, like so many bawdy songs of old, hog-eye has a double meaning and those who get it, get it, and those who don't can still enjoy the song and not feel like they're out of the loop...
-snip-
Read that post for more comments about these terms song and also for various lyrics for the song "Hog-Eye Man".

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FEATURED EXAMPLES OF THE SONG "HOG EYE MAN"
Example #1: Martin Carthy & Family: Hog-Eye Man



wolfgpunkt, Uploaded on May 31, 2009

From: Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, ANTI- 2006.

Explanatory liner notes by record label ANTI-:
A hog-eye was apparently a type of barge used in the canals and rivers of America from the 1850's onward. Thus, "hog-eye man" was used in derogation by the deep water sailors who used this chantey at the capstan. Many of the original verses to this chantey were far too obscene to have ever found their way into print.

Image: Miss Marjorie Joesting: Rock On: 1926.
Marjorie, the future Mrs. Arthur Lange, was both Miss Washington, D.C., and a Miss America runner-up at Atlantic City in 1926.
National Photo Company Collection glass negative, August 2, 1926.
Via Shorpy: http://www.shorpy.com/node/4282

Lyrics and annotations in http://ismaels.wordpress.com/2009/06/

Lyrics:

1. Oh, hand me down my riding cane,
I’m off to meet my darlin’ Jane.

Chorus: And a hog-eye!
Railroad navvy with his hog-eye,
Steady on a jig with a hog-eye-o,
She wants the hog-eye man!

2. Oh, the hog-eye man is the man for me,
Sailin’ down from o’er the sea. – Chorus.

3. Oh, he came to the shack where Sally did dwell,
He knocked on the door, he rung a bell. – Chorus.

4. Oh, who’s been here since I been gone,
Railroad navvy with his sea boots on. – Chorus.

5. If I catch him here with Sally once more,
I’ll sling me hook, go to sea once more. – Chorus.

6. Oh, Sally’s in the garden sifting sand,
Her hog-eye man sittin’ hand in hand. – Chorus.

7. Oh, Sally’s in the garden, punchin’ dough,
The cheeks of her arse go chuff, chuff, chuff! – Chorus.

8. Oh, I won’t wear a hog-eye, damned if I do,
Got jiggers in his feet and he can’t wear shoes. – Chorus.

9. Oh, the hog-eye man is the man for me,
He is blind and he cannot see. – Chorus.

10. Oh, a hog-eye ship and a hog-eye crew,
A hog-eye mate and a skipper too. – Chorus.

Explanatory liner notes by ANTI-:
A hog-eye was apparently a type of barge used in the canals and rivers of America from the 1850′s onward. Thus, “hog-eye man” was used in derogation by the deep water sailors who used this chantey at the capstan. Many of the original verses to this chantey were far too obscene to have ever found their way into print.

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Example #2: The Morris Brothers - "Hog Eyed Man"



Cridantis Videos, Uploaded on Dec 1, 2009

I found this record, dusty and badly warped, in a box from the attic. According to my mother it was my older brother's favorite childhood record.

Arranged by John and David Morris
-snip-
Unfortunately, I don't feel capable of transcribing this rendition of "Hog Eyed Man".

Here are two comments from that sound file's discussion thread:
TamarZucker, 2012
"LOVE IT!!!! This is a sea shanty. Hog eyed man refers to the same thing as a one eyed snake.-a sexual allusion. I wonder if joining the Morris Brothers was Jim Carter (of Johnny Cash 's wife's family I believe) did the animal noises as he was well known for them?

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TamarZucker, 2012
"and "Cindy's in the bed with the hog eyed man." I love this recording!."

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A Partial List Of African American Play Party Songs

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides a partial listing of 19th century American play party songs that I think may have been originally composed by African Americans or which may have African American variants. This post also includes my comments about why I think it's important to mention that a particular play party song or any other folk song (or rhyme) comes from originated from or was later influenced by African American culture and not just American culture.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, sociological, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown original composers of play party songs, and thanks to those who collected examples of this song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT PLAY PARTY SONGS
"Play party songs" is a reference for singing games from 19th century America that took the place of dancing at social events since dancing & playing musical instruments were prohibited in those communities.

Online articles about play party songs routinely refer to the European sources of those songs and routinely omit any acknowledgement that a number of play party songs are of African American origin or have African American influences. For example, the album notes to "American Play Parties" by Pete Seeger, Mika Seeger, and Rev. Larry Eisenberg FW07604 provides this description of play party songs:
"To evade the religious prohibition against dancing in certain American communities, young people in the 19th century devised an ingenious solution—they adapted children’s games, which were permitted. The result was so-called play parties. Participants sang creative songs to cue movements, and the events were great “mixers.” The only element lacking was instrumental music."
http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=19300

The author of that album's notes cites "Anglo-American" as the cultural group that is the source of the play party songs which are found on that album. However, I believe that at least three songs of the fourteen songs that are included on that album are of African American origin: "Shake Them 'Simmons Down", "Goodbye Liza Jane", and "Great Big House in New Orleans". Some of the other songs on that album may also be of African American origin or those versions of the song may have been African American influenced. Yet based on its wording, people reading those album notes would believe that all of those songs are only from Anglo-Americans.

Here are other examples of online articles about play party songs that only refer to the European and/or Anglo-American sources of those songs:

http://www.ecrs.org/ofplayandplayfulness/play_parties.html
"The play party is one of America's most important contributions to the world of folk dances and folk games. It is rooted in the customs of the old countries from which the early settlers came. Defined simply, a play party is a kind of country dance done to a singing accompaniment. The songs and figures of our early play parties harken back to Scottish, English, Irish and German folk traditions."

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http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/792
"Waltz the Hall: The American Play Party" by Alan L. Spurgeon
“The play party was a popular form of American folk entertainment that included songs, dances, and sometimes games. Though based upon European and English antecedents, play parties were truly an American phenomenon, first mentioned in print in 1837.”

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_party
"A play party is a social event in which people gather to sing and dance. Play parties began in the 1830s in the United States as a route around strict religious practices banning dancing and the playing of musical instruments. The areas most influenced by the practice were the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Folk songs, many of European and English origin, were used as means to give the attendants choreographed movements for each phrase. No instruments were played at the events, as they were banned by the religious movements of the area. Singing and clapping were used to convey each song. Because dancing was banned, the movements took on the quality of children's games. Though the performance of play parties dwindled in the 1950s, music educators use them as ways to incorporate music and dance in their classrooms."
-snip-
While I agree with the statement that the "figures [dance formations] of our early play parties harken back to Scottish, English, Irish and German folk traditions", I don't believe that the lyrics of every play party song came from European or Anglo-American sources. I'm also not certain if every tune used for play party songs came from European or Anglo-American sources.

Notice that I use past tenses, since it's my sense that any composition that would have been called a play party song in the 19th century is now called a "singing game". Indeed, "singing game" is commonly used to refer to those 19th century play party songs.

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WHY I BELIEVE THAT PLAY PARTY SONGS THAT HAVE AFRICAN AMERICAN SOURCES SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED AS AFRICAN AMERICAN AS WELL AS AMERICAN PLAY PARTY SONGS*
I strongly believe that it's important to acknowledge that African Americans also contributed to America's play party repertoire for the sake of historical documentation, and for psychological reasons. Providing the information that some American folk songs are of African American origin helps build and reinforce group esteem in a population that is still being maligned and a population that is still experiencing the effects and consequences of personal racism and of institutional racism.

People may think that they are being "color-blind" by not mentioning race (when they are teaching children folk songs and at other times). However, by not mentioning race they are actually reinforcing the viewpoint that only White people are responsible for accomplishments. This is because both online and offline "White" is the default race (just as "male" is the default gender). When no race is mentioned for an individual (unless the discussion is about some criminal act or something that is stereotypically considered to be the purview of a particular race/ethnicity), people automatically assume that that person is White (just as people automatically assume that people posting online are male).

Regardless of their race or ethnicity, children shouldn't be led to believe that White people were the only composers of play party songs or other folk songs.

*This comment also applies to other American folk songs.

UPDATE: February 26, 2014
I want to clarify that the list of songs below is mostly guessing on my part. I'm very interested in learning what songs other folks think should or shouldn't be on this list.

Also, I want to clarify that from my reading, it seems likely that Black folks sung and danced to play-party songs from Anglo-American sources, and White folks sung and danced to play-party songs from African American sources. Furthermore, some (if not many) of these songs may have had both Anglo-American and African American sources/influences, as was the case with many 19th century minstrel songs.

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A PARTIAL LIST OF AMERICAN PLAY PARTY SONGS THAT HAVE AFRICAN AMERICAN SOURCES/INFLUENCES*

"Alabama Gal"

"Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight"

"Charlie Over The Ocean"

"Chicken In The Fence Post"

"Draw Me A Bucket Of Water" (also known as "Frog In The Bucket")

"Goodbye Liza Jane" (and other "Li'l Liza Jane" songs)

"Going 'Round The Assembly" (also known as "Bounce Around") [This may be a singing game and not a play party game.]

"Great Big House in New Orleans"

"Hello Susan Brown"

"Tideo" (also known as "Jingle At The Window")

"Little Johnny Brown" [This may be a game song and not a play party song]

"Old Grandpaw Yet", [updated entry, 2/26/2014]

"Paw Paw Patch"

"Shake Them 'Simmons Down"

"Rabbit In The Pea Patch" [updated entry, 2/26/2014]

"Riding In A Buggy Miss Mary Jane"

"Roxie Anne" [updated entry, 2/26/2014]

"Weevily Wheat" (also known as "Charley He's A Dandy", "Four In The Middle", "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss”, "Coffee Grows On White Oak Trees", and "Over The River ").

"We're Marching 'Round the Levy"

*This is only a partial listing of play party songs that I believe have African American sources. By "sources" I mean "origins and/or influences". I based this list on information I read from the collectors of those songs, and/or from the song's lyrics. By "song lyrics I particularly mean the following:
-the presence of floating verses which are found in (other) folk songs that are attributed to African Americans

-the presence of geographical references to places where Black people lived during the time the earliest examples of that song was collected

and
- the songs' use of African American Vernacular English (although I'm aware that non-Black Southerners also used that same or similar dialect and grammar
-snip-
Some of these song titles may be variant forms of the a particular play party song. Also, some of these songs have have Black versions and White versions.

I welcome additions & corrections to this list.

Some of these songs are showcased in other pancocojams posts. Links to two of those posts are given in the Related Links section below.

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UPDATE: February 26, 2014
The album notes to the vinyl record Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural & Urban Children's Songs (NW 291 Mono), written by Kate Rinzler include an informative overview of play party songs, as well as lyrics to three play party songs "Rabbit In The Pea Patch", "Old Grandpaw Yet", and "Roxie Anne". I believe those songs are of African American origin.

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RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/08/chicken-in-fence-post-information-lyrics.html

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http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/united-states-play-party-songs-other.html
"Draw Me A Bucket Of Water & Three Other African American Children's Singing Games"

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http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-african-american-origins-of-crawdad.html

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http://www.cocojams.com/content/childrens-singing-game-going-round-assembly-bounce-around

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http://www.balladofamerica.com/music/indexes/albums/volume2.htm

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Odetta - Jack O' Diamonds (sound file & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the Blues song "Jack of Diamonds" (Is A Hard Card To Play) as recorded by Odetta in 1956. Odetta's lyrics for this now classic Blues song are also included in this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/blind-lemon-jefferson-jack-of-diamonds.html for a companion post of Blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson's 1926 version of this song.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Odetta - Jack O' Diamonds



Nostalgicjukebox, Published on Aug 19, 2013

From the album Odetta - "Sings Ballads And Blues" [1956 Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues Tradition TLP1010]
-snip-
Here's information about Odetta from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odetta
"Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a civil and human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement".[4] Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she was influential to many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin"..."

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LYRICS: JACK OF DIAMONDS (IS A HARD CARD TO PLAY)
(as recorded by Odetta)

Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play
Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play
Jack O' Diamonds is a card
Sending many poor man to his grave
Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play

Put your Jack on the Queen
It'll turn your money green
Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play
Put your Jack on the Queen
And it'll turn your money green
Your Jack is a hard card to play

[Humming]

Put your Jack on the Queen
It'll turn your money green
Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play

Well I tell you
[?] its old enough to change
keep on playing
Man you're far to win
Keep your Jack on the Queen
It'll turn your money green
Jack O' Diamonds is a hard card to play

Source: http://www.lyrics59.com/lyrics-1417548/odetta/jack-o%5C'-diamonds.html

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COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SONG
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_Diamonds_(song).
"It [Jack o'Diamonds] was sung by railroad men who had lost money playing Coon can.[2]."
-snip-
From http://www.rummy-games.com/rules/conquian.html
"Conquian (also known as "Cooncan", "Coon Can", and "Coon-Can") is generally regarded as the earliest form of Rummy (see Rummy History). It features all of the basic features common to all Rummy games.
-snip-
Note that the name "Coon Can" isn't related to the [now always highly derogatory] referent for Black people "coons".

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COMMENTS ABOUT CERTAIN LYRICS
"Jack of Diamonds is a hard card to play"

From http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=1102696

02-01-2001, 12:14 PM puddleglum
"...since the Jack is the lowest of the face cards it is hard to play because for it to win all of the other face cards have to have been played and by then someone might have run out of diamonds and use the trump. So it is a card that looks important but has little real value. Also it is a one eyed jack. It seems the metaphor is of feeling of having something but of not having enough to make a difference."

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Johnny Angel
"I'm with puddleglum on this. The significance of the Jack of Diamonds is that it's the lowest ranked face card, and therefore a tempting but lousy bet. Like the old song says:

Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, well I know you of old
Robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold.
If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck
I'd dive to the bottom and never come up.
But the ocean ain't whiskey and I ain't a duck.
I play Jack of Diamonds and trust to my luck."
-snip-
Click http://planetpeschel.com/the-wimsey-annotations/the-short-stories/the-queens-square/
for information about & analysis of the Jack of Diamonds song that includes the line "
Here's a brief excerpt from that page: [This is] "A 19th century American folk song, with the melody based on the Scottish song “Farewell to Tarwathie.”.

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"Put [or "keep"] your Jack on your Queen/ It'll will turn your money green"

I think that the verse signifies that in the card game of coon can (the card game that this song is said to refer to as per the Wikipedia article cited above) the Jack of Diamonds beats the Queen (note that in the United States all paper money is the color green) and the person playing the Jack would therefore win the money that was betted.

Click http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5267.30 for a discussion about these lines. Here's one entry from that discussion that was posted by blueshome; February 08, 2009, 03:08:01 PM:
"In Bob Campbell's "Dices Blues" he has the line:
"My buddy played the Jack when he give me that hard-luck queen"

and in the following stanza:
"Jack o'diamonds, jack o'diamonds will turn your money green"

This would seem to refer to the same game with the jack beating the queen."

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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/grizzly-bear-as-sung-by-black-texas.html for the song "Grizzly Bear" that refers to "Jack Of Diamonds". In that song "Jack Of Diamonds refers to a particular man and not a card.

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Thanks to Odetta for her musical legacy.

Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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