[Dixielandjazz] Lead and Chords Needed - ROW, ROW, ROW

[PBurke113 at aol.com]

BudTuba,
I found your thread looking for the lyrics for RowRowRow from last summer. 
Hope you found them in time. 

Because I have an Ada Jones CD version of the song, I was searching for 
different versions of the lyrics today and found that when I searched "Row Row Row" 
by itself I got the lead-in that became the children's song "Row Row Row Your 
Boat" and discovered that the best search was "Then He'd Row Row Row". They 
even had some midi instrumental playbacks (piano). I also discovered back when 
I first heard the song (by Jones) that the "row, row, row" was a lot slower 
than what it became in later years (thanks to Eddie Cantor et al)....which made 
sense when you think the timing of someone rowing. Slower makes it almost 
sensuous. In addition, I noticed that all the illustration I find for the song 
seem to ignore the lyrics, "he'd jump in his boat and they would spoon". They all 
show her sitting in the stern seat opposite him. I imagine that such a scene 
of him rowing and her sitting in his lap would have been a bit risque for the 
time. And it really was quite a risque song if you listen to it, what with all 
that spooning and landing among grand trees, and "he knew just how to row, he 
was a rowing Romeo" and all. Or maybe people have forgotten what spooning 
was.

Just wanted to say all this and your thread jumped up and gave me a place to 
say it. I absolutely love the song like I absolutely love early 20th century 
popular music. My hundred or so 1899-1940 CD collection attests to that. I 
almost committed to buying a gramophone, but upon studying it a bit more found out 
that a)most was cylinder recorded and are generally pretty worn by now, and 
b)it's the music I love, not especially the medium.

Patrick Burke


Pat Burke's oft updated photo gallery, updated to 2-22-04