Interesting Facts about the Clear The Track Let The Bulgine Run – Whall
“Clear The Track Let The Bulgine Run” is another song with the word “bulgine”. This is capstan shanty, it has almost the same tune as an Irish folk song “Shule Agra”, but the refrains have definitely Negro influence. The song is a typical mixture of Irish and Negro sentiments and is one of the so many shanties that passed through the shanty mart of Mobile. Whall says it was a minstrel ditty, and so far as the version is concerned, he is correct. Stan Hugill does not give us original music, which as he says is very similar to his version, however, I will use original Whall music notation.
This song will be reconstructed as the halyard shanty.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Songs and Shanties” Collected by William Boultbee Whall (1927) 6th edition.
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 344).
The Record of the Clear The Track Let The Bulgine Run – Whall
You also can find this record on my YouTube channel here or directly listen below. Additionally, if you want to share your opinion about the record or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or leave a comment at the bottom of this blog article.
The musical notation
The full lyrics
Clear The Track Let The Bulgine Run – Whall
Oh, the world was made in six days and ended on the seventh,
– Ah he, ah ho, are ye mos’ done?
But accordin’ to de contract it ought of been eleven,
– So clear de track, let the bulgine run.
– To my hi-rig-a-jig in a low back car,
– Ah he, ah ho, are you most done?
– Hurrah, my boys, and away we’ll go,
– So clear de track, let the bulgine run.
* 2 *
But the masons struck for wages and dey would not work,
So dey came to de conclusion dat dey fill him up wid dirt.
* 3 *
Now Adam was de first man and Eve was de oder,
And Cain he was a wicked man because he killed his brudder.
* 4 *
O ‘way down in de garden where de apples hang low,
Ole Satan got the pull and de man had to go.
* 5 *
Young Joseph was de fav’rite and eat his mush whole,
But his brudders sell his coat and dey put him in a hole.
* 6 *
Ole Moses licked de Pharaoh and drown him in de sea.
And de chillen came along, dat land for to see.
* 7 *
Lille David was de Boss, when he finished up Goliah,
But he played it potty low on de old man Uriah.
* 8 *
Ye may talk about yer yaller gals and round-de-corner Sallies,
Dey couldn’t come to tea with de Queens in de forests.
* 9 *
Daniel, in de den, done sleep all de night,
Never mind de lion nor de tiger, not a mite.
* 10 *
Jonah was a hungry man, ‘cos he eat de whale,
He manage very well till he come to de tail.
* 11 *
Dat’s all de fur dat de story goes,
So hurry up to heaven in yo’ best suit o’ clothes.