Erie Canal lyrics

We were forty miles from Albany
Forget it I never shall.
What a terrible storm we had one night
On the E-ri-e - Canal.

[chorus:]
O the E-ri-e was a-rising
And the gin was a-getting low.
And I scarcely think we`ll get a drink
Till we get to Buff-a-lo-o-o
Till we get to Buffalo.

We were loaded down with barley
We were chock-full up on rye.
The captain he looked down at me
With his gol-durned wicked eye.

Two days out from Syracuse
The vessel struck a shoal;
We like to all be foundered
On a chunk o` Lackawanna coal.

We hollered to the captain
On the towpath, treadin` dirt
He jumped on board and stopped the leak
With his old red flannel shirt.

The cook she was a grand old gal
Stood six foot in her socks.
Had a foot just like an elephant
And her breath would open locks.

The wind begins to whistle
The waves begin to roll
We had to reef our royals
On that ragin` canal.

The cook came to our rescue
She had a ragged dress;
We h`isted her upon the pole
As a signal of distress.

When we got to Syracuse
Off-mule, he was dead;
The nigh mule got blind staggers
We cracked him on the head.

The cook is in the Police Gazette
The captain went to jail;
And I`m the only son-of-a-sea-cook