Donkey Riding
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A variant on an older shanty called "Highland Laddie", which is attested from at least around 1840.[1] It's unclear when the "donkey" version emerged; one account places it as far back as 1876,[2] though this reference may not be fully reliable, having been written some fifty years after the fact.[3] The Oxford Song Book: Vol II does support it being widespread by the 1880s-90s.[4] There is also disagreement whether they count as two separate songs, or merely variants on the same song; indeed, some versions seem to combine the two very thoroughly.[5] In any event, it was a popular and widespread song, used a capstan shanty at sea and a cotton-screwing shanty in port, with versions known in Canadian lumber camps and as playground songs in the West Indies,[6] though this ubiquity does make it difficult to pinpoint any particular point of origin.
The Longest Johns released their version on 5 September 2025 on the Folly EP from Pieces of Eight.
Factoids
Common wisdom holds that the "donkey" in the chorus refers to a "donkey engine", a steam engine used to operate shipboard machinery such as cranes and pumps, as well as steam-powered winches in logging operations. However, there is some debate over this claim, not least of all because it's not entirely clear whether the "donkey" chorus was added to the shanty before or after the widespread adoption of donkey engines.[7] It's also possible that the line originally referred to actual beasts of burden, and came to be associated with the steam engines later as they came into common use.
Lyrics
As performed on the album.
{Chorus}
Way, hey, and away we'll go
Donkey riding, donkey riding
Way, hey, and away we'll go
Riding on a donkey
Was you ever in Quebec
Launching timber on the deck
Where you break your bleedin' neck
Riding on a donkey
{Chorus}
Was you ever in Timbuktu
Where they'll beat ya black and blue
Work is hard, and the drinking too
Riding on a donkey
{Chorus}
Was you ever in Mobile Bay
Screwing cotton all the day
Purser's gonna take half your pay
Riding on a donkey
{Chorus}
Was you ever in London town
Where the gals, they do come down
See the king in a golden crown
Riding on a donkey
{Chorus}
Was you ever 'round Cape Horn
Where the weather's never warm
Wish to Christ you'd never been born
Riding on a donkey
{Chorus 2x}
Recordings
Stream/Purchase
YouTube Videos
Full Band Streams
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/twentyyearsbefor00ersk/page/296/mode/2up
- ↑ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015040462080&seq=90
- ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=41062#4193738
- ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=41062#4193733
- ↑ https://archives.vwml.org/records/CC/1/412
- ↑ https://balladindex.org/Ballads/Doe050.html
- ↑ https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/whats-on/stories/the-fascinating-history-and-hazards-of-donkey-engines-and-boilers