Hog Eye Man

This traditional capstan shanty originated in the United States in the mid-19th century. Many of the song's lyrics are shared with Johnny Come Down to Hilo and, in fact, the two songs share a tune. It has a reputation for being one of the more bawdy shanties in existence; collector W.B. Whall, in his collection Ships, Sea Songs and Shanties (1913), comments that "much of this shanty is unprintable". ^[1]

Andy currently leads the song, though verses were alternated with Anna during performances when she was with the band.

Factoids

The meaning of the term "hog-eye" has been the subject of extensive debate. Whall says that it was slang for a barge, popular around the time of the California Gold Rush for transportation before the advent of coast-to-coast railroads. Reginald Nettel, in his book Sing a Song of England (1954), notes a possible antecedent in the term "ditch-hog", a derisive name used by deep-water sailors to refer to river sailors.^[2]

Another claim (albeit unverified) fleshes out the "barge" theory, saying, "in the Gold Rush days in California there was a kind of big barge that worked up and down the coast, and a bit on the inland rivers, that had big D rings on each side for towing. The rings were called 'hogeyes' and the men who worked on the barges were referred to as 'hogeye sailors' or 'hogeye men'".^[3]

Meanwhile, the Historical Dictionary of American Slang vol. 2 acknowledges the "barge" meaning, but also offers a definition referring to female genitalia,^[4] leading to speculation that "hog-eye man" might have meant something like "womanizer".

It's entirely possible that both meanings (and possibly more) were true, and the interpretation was left up to the singer and/or listener.

Several of the original verses, however, were much more straightforwardly obscene (not uncommon in shanties), netting the work's being archived in the Sex Research Institute of Indiana.^[5]

Lyrics

These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams.

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

Chorus:
With a hog-eye, oh
Row the boat ashore with a hog-eye
Steady on the jig with a hog-eye, oh
She wants the hog-eye man

Oh, the hog-eye man is the man for me
He was born and raised in Tennessee

{Chorus}

Oh, he came to the shack where Sally did dwell
He knocked on the door and he rung her bell

{Chorus}

Oh, who's been here since I been gone
A railroad navvy with his sea-boots on

{Chorus}

Oh, Sally's in the garden sifting sand
The hog-eye man sitting hand in hand

{Chorus}

Oh, Sally's in the garden, shelling peas
Her long yellow hair hangin' down to her knees

{Chorus}

Oh, I won't bear a hog-eye, damned if I do
Got chiggers in his feet and he can't wear shoes

{Chorus}

Oh, a hog-eye ship and a hog-eye crew
A hog-eye mate and a skipper too

{Chorus}

Steady on the jig with a hog-eye, oh
She wants the hog-eye man

Recordings

Streaming/Purchase

Smoke + Oakum version

Made of Ale version

YouTube Videos

Gig Videos

Full Band Streams

Chill Streams

Gaming Streams

[1] ttps://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/shipsseasongssha00whal

[2] ttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Sing_a_Song_of_England/OU9GAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=ditch

[3] ttps://www.hogeyenavvy.com/the-band

[4] ttps://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11353#1291798

[5] ttps://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/songs/hogeyeman.html

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]