| Play/Download Music File Lesley Nelson |
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| This song was usually a capstan shanty, but it was also used for pumping. It dates to the 1860s.*
Most of the versions of this shanty were obscene, and they have been sanitized by most collectors. One collector tied the obscenity to a hidden meaning of "hog-eye." However, hog-eye refers to a type of barge that was invented for the overland trade and used on the canals and rivers during the Gold Rush. A "ditch-hog" was the term used by American seamen to refer to a sailor of inland waterways. Hugill speculates that the collector confused "dead-eye" (which does have both nautical and vulgar meanings) with hog-eye. Regardless of the confusion, there were several verses of the shanty that were obscene.** |
The ox-eyed man is the man for me, He came a sailing from o'er the sea Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. Oh, May in the garden a shelling her peas, And bird singing gaily among the trees. Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. Oh, May looked up and she saw her fate In the ox-eyed man passing by the gate Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. The ox-eyed man gave a fond look of love, And charmed May's heart which was pure as a dove, Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. Oh, May in the parlour a-sitting on his knee, And kissing the sailor who'd come o'er the sea Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. Oh, May in the garden a-shelling her peas, Now weeps for the sailor who sail'd o'er the sea. Heigh ho for the ox-eyed man. |
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| From
Fifty Sailor's Songs or Chanties and **Shanties from the Seven Seas See Bibliography for full information. *From a Digital Tradition Forum Thread - referring to notes on the CD Blow the Man Down by Ian Campbell. |
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