The Glendy Burk

The Glendy Burken is an American folk song by Stephen Foster. It appears in James Buckley's New Banjo Book published in 1860.^[1] The Glendy Burke of the song is a paddle steamer plying the Mississippi River basin.^[2] The boat was named for Glendy Burke: the 29th mayor of New Orleans.

Lyrics

De Glendy Burk is a mighty fast boat,

Wid a mighty fast captain too;

He sits up dah on de hurricane roof

And he keeps his eye on de crew.

I cant stay here, for dey work too hard;

I'm bound to leave dis town;

I'll take my duds and tote 'em on my back

When de Glendy Burk comes down.

Chorus:

Ho! for Lou'siana!

I'm bound to leave dis town;

I'll take my duds and tote 'em on my back

When de Glendy Burk comes down.

De Glendy Burk has a funny old crew

And dey sing de boatman's song,

Dey burn de pitch and de pine knot too,

For to shove de boat along.

De smoke goes up and de ingine roars

And de wheel goes round and round,

So fair you well! for I'll take a little ride

When de Glendy Burk comes down.

I'll work all night in de wind and storm,

I'll work all day in de rain,

Till I find myself on de levy dock

In New Orleans again.

Dey make me mow in de hay field here

And knock my head wid de flail,

I'll go wha dey work wid de sugar

And de cane And roll on de cotton bale.

My lady love is as pretty as a pink,

I'll meet her on de way

I'll take her back to de sunny old south

And dah I'll make her stay.

So dont you fret my honey dear,

Oh! dont you fret Miss Brown

I'll take you back 'fore de middle of de week

When de Glendy Burk comes down.^[3]

References