[Dixielandjazz] Snag it

[Jim O'Briant]

Glen Page wrote:

> Seems to me that the verse of Snag It is referring to working 
> conditions in the Pen, or possibly on the chain gang.
> 
> " Captain, Captain" is the man in charge of the work gang and he "must 
> be cross" because the workers are not keeping on schedule. Because of 
> this he is not letting  them "knock off"
> at twelve o'clock for lunch or a break. In that environment it is not 
> foreseeable that they would be finished for the day.

The same terms could also be said or sung by roustabouts on a steamboat,
either loading & unloading cargo at a river town, or in the early days,
"wooding up" -- that is, carrying wood from a riverside wood yard onto the
boat to fuel the boilers.

Jim O'Briant
Gilroy, CA
Tuba & Leader, The Zinfandel Stompers