Far from being a sailing song, "The E-ri-e Canal" is a song written probably sometime during the 1800's about life on the Erie Canal. It tells the story of a problem ridden trip from Albany to Buffalo. The canal men were more teamsters than sailors, their main duty being to manage the horses or mules used to pull the barges. The trip between Albany and Buffalo was 363 miles. The canal had 36 locks and an elevation differential of about 565 feet. It opened on October 26, 1825. This system preceded the development of the railways and allowed larger cargos to be carried than wagons. "The E-ri-e Canal" has been recorded by Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, The Hardtackers and others. This is not the same song as "The Erie Canal", also known as "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" or "Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal" which is a song composed in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen. I learned this song from The Burl Ives Songbook.