Music Monday: Erie Canal

From the 1915 sheet music of "Low Bridge, Everybody Down." To see a PDF of the original sheet music, click on the image for the link.

"The Erie Canal Song," also known as "Low Bridge, Everybody Down," was first published in 1905 by Thomas Allen. Reacting to the changeover from mule power to powered barges and tugboats, Allen captured the nostalgia of 80 years of mule power on the canal, as well as some of its dangers - including low bridges!

Construction on the New York State Barge Canal began in 1905 and was completed in 1918, an expansion of the original Erie and Lake Champlain Canals, widening the channel and charting new courses around cities like Rochester. This signaled an end to mule-powered canals in New York State, as the D&H Canal had closed several years earlier, in 1899 (although cement was still transported by canal from Rosendale to Rondout on the D&H until 1917). 

This particular version was recorded by Bruce Springsteen for the album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006). 

Erie Canal Lyrics
I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
We know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo

[Chorus]
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal

[Verse 2]
We'd better look around for a job, old gal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
You can bet your life I'll never part with Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

Get up mule, here comes a lock
We'll make Rome about six o'clock
One more trip and back we'll go
Right back home to Buffalo

[Chorus]
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal

[Verse 3]
Where would I be if I lost my pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
I'd like to see a mule good as my Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

A friend of mine once got her sore
Now he's got a broken jaw
Because she let fly with an iron toe
And kicked him back to Buffalo

[Chorus]
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal

​
Did you grow up singing this song in school? Have you ever visited the Erie Canal? Tell us your memories in the comments!

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