Author: McGuinn

Capo on 1st fret.
[Em] I’ve got an old [Bm] mule, and [G] her name is [Am] Sal, [Em] Fifteen years on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal
[Em] She’s a good old [Bm] worker and a [G] good old [Am] pal, [Em] Fifteen years on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal
[G] We’ve hauled some barges in [D] our day, [C] filled with lumber, [B7] coal and hay.
[Em] And every [Bm] inch of the [G] way I [Am] know, [Em] From Albany to [D] Buff [Em] alo

[G] Low bridge, [D] everybody down, [G] Low bridge, [D] cause we’re coming to a town.
[Em] You can always [Bm] tell your neighbor; [G] you can always tell your [Am] pal.
[Em] If he’s ever navigated on the [D] Erie [Em] Canal

We’d better look ’round for a job old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
You bet your life I wouldn’t part with Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Giddyap there gal we’ve passed that lock, we’ll make Rome ‘fore six o-clock
So one more trip and then we’ll go, Right straight back to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town
Once a man named Mike McGinty tried to put it over Sal
Now he’s way down at the bottom of the Erie Canal

Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal? Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Oh, I’d like to see a mule as good as Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
A friend of mine once got her sore, Now, he’s got a broken jaw.
Cause she let fly with her iron toe and kicked him into Buffalo.

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town.
If you’re looking ’round for trouble, better stay away from Sal.
She’s the only fighting donkey on the Erie Canal

I don’t have to call when I want my Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She trots from her stall like a good old gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
I eat my meals with Sal each day, I eat beef and she eat hay.
She isn’t so slow if you want to know, she put the “Buff” in Buffalo

Chorus: Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town
Eats a bale of hay for dinner, and on top of that, my Sal.
Tries to drink up all the water in the Erie Canal

You’ll soon hear them sing everything about my gal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
It’s a darned fool ditty ’bout my darned fool Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
Oh, every band will play it soon, Darned fool words and darned fool tune!
You’ll hear it sung everywhere you go, from Mexico to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, I’ve got the finest mule in town.
She’s a perfect, perfect lady, and she blushes like a gal.
If she hears you sing about her and the Erie Canal.

[D] In eighteen-forty on a [Em] stormy sea,
[A] A band of sailors, [G] brave and [D] free,
[D] Hoist the sails and [Em] trim the mast,
[A] We’re bound for adventures, [G] far [D] a-vast!

With sun-kissed faces and calloused hands,
We’ll roam the waters of distant lands,
Through raging tempests and tranquil breeze,
We’ll sing our songs across the seas.
CH
As stars will guide us through the night,
We’ll tell old tales by lantern light,
Of pirates bold and mermaids fair,
Legends with a sailor’s flair.

So raise your voices, let the chorus ring,
To the rhythm of the sea, we’ll sing,
Together we stand, come storm or gale,
Our brotherhood will never fail.
CH
As the years go by and we grow old,
The tales we wove will be retold,
With laughter and tears, we’ll reminisce,
Of the days we sailed with hearts of bliss.

So here’s to the life we’ve chosen true,
To the sea and the crew, both old and new,
With every voyage, a story to share,
Of eighteen-forty, when we were there.
CH

[Em] In eighteen and [D] forty-two, our packet ship set Em] sail,
With winds a-howlin’ through the storm a hearty [D] crew to [B7] hail,
[Em] She cut through the waves with her sturdy hull, her masts they [D] kissed the [B7] sky
[Em] Through storm and calm, we [D] journeyed on beneath the heavens [Em] high.
[G] Heavens high, heavens [D] high [Em] beneath the heavens [B7] high
[Em] Through storm and calm, we [D] journeyed on [Em] beneath the [D] heavens [Em] high.

From New York’s harbor, we’d embarked when our pilot gave the go!
We braved the seas with hearts so bold, with raging ebbs and flow,
A packet ship, so sleek and swift, through the foam we glide,
A sailor’s life is grand me boys, on the ocean with his bride!
His bride, his bride, on the ocean with his bride!
A sailor’s life is grand me boys, on the ocean with his bride!

With each new day, our spirits strong, as we pressed ahead,
Guided by the stars at night, as the moonlight spread
A cargo of treasures and dreams me lads our joy cannot be told
With a romance as precious as a hearty pirate’s gold
Pirate’s gold, pirate’s gold, as a hearty pirate’s gold
With a romance as precious as a hearty pirate’s gold

So raise your voices, me boys, and sing, of that daring quest,
As we bid farewell to our packet ship, that made us sail our best!
We’ll sing our songs of distant lands, all across the sea,
In eighteen forty-two me lads a tale we tell with glee!
With glee, with glee, a tale we tell with glee
In eighteen forty-two me lads a tale we tell with glee!