The Erie Canal (Low Bridge)
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Standard Notation
Mandolin Tablature
Song Sheet
Thomas S. Allen
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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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 haul'd some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And every inch of the way we know
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 ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal
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
'Cause she let fly with an iron toe
And kicked him back to Buffalo
Chorus
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, we've passed that lock
We'll make Rome 'bout six o'clock
One more trip and back we'll go
Right back home to Buffalo
Chorus
Far from being a sailing song, the popular song<br> "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" was written in 1905 by<br> Thomas S. Allen after Erie Canal barge traffic was<br> converted from mule power to engine power, raising the<br> speed of traffic. Also known as<br> "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal", "Erie Canal Song" and<br> "Mule Named Sal", the song memorializes the years from<br> 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of<br> Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.<br> The version using the word "miles" refers to the average<br> distance a mule would tow a barge before resting or<br> being relieved by another mule.<br> Vernon Dalhart made an early reording of it. It was later<br> recorded by Glenn Yarborough, Pete Seeger, the Weavers,<br> The Kingston Trio, The Hardtackers and The Sons of the Pioneers.<br> This is not same as the traditional "The E-ri-ee Canal" song<br> which satirically compares bargemen with sailors.<br> I learned this song from the Kingston Trio recording.<br>
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