A Night by de Galley Fire
(Alternately: A Life by the Galley Fire)

For information on this song as part of the blackface minstrel tradition, please see
its page in The Juba Project's Minstrelsy Database.

For an alternate interpretation of this song, see The Mid-Atlantic Minstrel Show -- another item in this project's 'Artists Respond to Juba' section.

Credits

Art Babayants, piano; Alison Jutzi, vocals; Dennis Patrick, sound technician.

Lyrics

Image c. British Library, all rights reserved. Further reproduction is prohibited

Verse 1
A night by de galley fire,
When de steam’s up in de pot,
Dis Nigger him do admire,
When de water am bakin’ hot.
When de steam’s up in de pot,
Dis Nigger him do admire,
When de water am bakin’ hot.
Like a Cat wid no tail I pine,
For what I neber seen,
Oh! De pig in de boiling brine,
Am jis de ting for him.

Verse 2
In de galley once more am I,
Wid de pepper an’ salt an’ “Sling,”
Wid a nice boil’d pancake pie;
De Nigger him neber get thin.
Oh nicely de Pork him boil,
Wid a fat fried sugar’d Cheese,
De Nig no care for toil,
Den dis Nigger sing out so fine,
As de fat on de pot him see,
Pork, Cheese an’ a pie in brine,
Am jis de ting for me.

Chorus
A night by the galley fire,
When de Copper am steaming free;
Dis Nigger him so admire,
‘Tis zacly ting for me.

Publication Information

Published by B. Williams, II. Paternoster Row, & 170 Gt. Dovor Rd., London.

British Library Shelf Number: H.2342

Accessioned: 08 November 1856