(ALABAMA) JOHN CHEROKEE
This is another halyard chantey. The type of rhythm and the lyrical content indicate that slaves in the West Indies or in the Gulf states originally sang this song. In fact, when John Cherokee is referred to as an "Indian man," it probably means he was from the West Indies. Sailors might have learned the song from freed slaves who joined the ship's crew or from black waterfront workers in the Southern states. It depicts the brutal treatment that many men faced at the hands of the captains and mates.
Well, this is a story of John Cherokee
Alabama John Cherokee
He was an Indian man from Miramashi
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
Now John Cherokee was an Indian man
Alabama John Cherokee
They made him a slave down in Alabam’
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
Well, they put him aboard a whaling ship
Alabama John Cherokee
And again and again he gave them the slip
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
Well, they caught him again and they chained him tight
Alabama John Cherokee
And they put him in the hold without any light
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
He had nothing to eat and nothing to drink
Alabama John Cherokee
Until his bones began to clink
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
Gave him nothing to eat and nothing to drink
Alabama John Cherokee
Until he dropped dead at the Captain’s feet
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
And now his ghost, it can be seen
Alabama John Cherokee
Sitting on the main truck, all slimy and green
Alabama John Cherokee
CHORUS
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
At the break of dawn he goes below
Alabama John Cherokee
And that is when the rooster crows
Alabama John Cherokee
Waayy haay oh Alabama John Cherokee
