The song, Low Bridge, Everybody Down (aka The Erie Canal Song), is widely known. Some people sing it with the words “fifteen years on the Erie Canal” while others sing “fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.” Does it really matter?
The typical explanation for “fifteen miles” is: that is the distance a mule or horse could pull a boat in a six- to eight-hour shift. At a speed of three or four miles per hour, that distance seems a bit short. But, let's not make too big a deal of this questionable distance estimate.
More importantly, “fifteen years” makes more sense in the context of the song and its times. Written by Thomas S. Allen (a successful Tin Pan Alley songwriter who worked in Rochester in this time period), the song was recorded in 1912 and published as sheet music in 1913. At that time, construction of the New York State Barge Canal was well under way (began in 1905 and completed in 1918) and many sections of the Old Erie had already been replaced and abandoned. Motorized propulsion was already displacing mules and horses on the Old Erie and, if anyone had doubts about the demise of this old way of locomotion (and indeed, the whole way of life on the Old Erie) the new Barge Canal would not have a towpath.
This historical context is evident from the sheet music. In the lower right portion of the sheet music cover, notice the newspaper clipping superimposed over the waters of the canal.
PLANS TO DISPOSE OF UNUSED PART OF CANAL
Albany, Nov. 23.--Superintendent Peck, of the State Department of Public Works, will recommend to the next legislature the passage of a measure providing for the disposal of the abandoned portion of the Erie canal in such a manner as to secure an equitable return to the state. He believes that this land should be taken over by municipalities for building purposes.
Allen probably learned about the demise of the Old Erie and its replacement by the new Barge Canal while working in Rochester. In his song, he made “Sal” the “poster child” for this dramatic change and its impact on the canallers who made their life on the Old Erie. It is clear from the song that Sal is more than just “a good old worker and a good old pal,” she's a partner, a member of the family, reflected in these lines excerpted from the song:
Where would I be if I lost my pal?
I don't have to call when I want my Sal ...
She trots from her stall like a good old gal.
I eat me meals with Sal each day.
The demise of the Old Erie and its way of life is brought into focus with the following lines:
We'd better look 'round for a job old gal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
You bet your life I'd never part with Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
The singer of this song has worked on the Erie for only fifteen years. He might have started working when he was only ten or fifteen years old. He's too young to retire! He has to find another job! And so does Sal. And they're going to look for it together.
In other respects, the song seems to acknowledge that the Old Erie has died and, with Sal as the stand-in for this lost way of life, we're sitting around at the funeral sharing funny stories about good old Sal.
“Giddap there gal, here comes a lock” vs. “Giddap there gal, we've passed that lock”
Here's another change to the words that matters: I learned the words (probably in fourth grade), “Giddap there gal, here comes a lock” instead of the original words, “Giddap there gal, we've passed that lock.” Here's why the words I learned are wrong and the original words are right.
First, hauling a 20- or 30-ton boat behind, you can't just suddenly speed up. And, even if you could, you would not take the risk of hitting the lock and damaging your boat or, damaging the lock and getting fined by the Canal commission.
Second, while the boat is in the lock chamber, the towline is detached and the mule takes a rest while the boat is locking through. When the boat is at the new level and the gate is ready to be opened, the towline is reattached and the hoggee has to get the mule going again. The original words make so much more sense: “Giddap there gal, we've passed that lock.”
“You'll always know your neighbor” vs. “You can always tell your neighbor”
I learned the words:
You'll always know your neighbor
You'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on
The Erie Canal
But, the original words are:
You can always tell your neighbor
You can always tell your pal
If he's ever navigated on
The Erie Canal
Again, in the context of the song and its times, it makes a difference. The singer of the song has lost his job on the Old Erie Canal and has had to find a new job. Nonetheless, when he meets someone new, he can tell—by the way he talks, by his mannerisms—if he ever navigated on the Erie Canal.
