#92 Roll the Old Chariot

The style of chanty called a “walkaway” or “runaway chorus” or “stamp and go” seems to be well-known these days. I believe this is so due to the writing of Stan Hugill and a few others—because the historical record before them doesn’t say that much about it. And in terms of actually naming songs that were used for this maneouver, the earlier texts (as far as I can remember at least) only name the example of “Drunken Sailor” and, in one instance, “A-Roving.” That is, “Drunken Sailor” is the chanty around which discussion of this chanty form took place.

However, Hugill, in Shanties from the Seven Seas, added a few more to the repertoire of “walkaway” chanties, including the recently discussed “Hieland Laddie.” “Roll the Old Chariot,” according to him, was another.

This, in some form, was a spiritual used by the Salvation Army of the late 19th century. Before that, it is reported to have been an African-American song, but I’m unable to find the details right now. Anyway…

As a chanty, "We'll roll the old chariot along" was referred to once as an “old favourite”—but not until 1903.

The song was collected by Robert W. Gordon in the San Fransisco Bay area ca.1922/3 and, happily, that recording is with us. It can be heard here.

Lyrics:

Roll the old chariot along


And we'll roll the old chariot along


And we'll roll the old chariot along


And we'll all hang on behind.

If the devil's in the way,
We'll roll it over him


If the devil's in the way,
Why we'll roll it over him,


If the devil's in the way,
We'll roll it over him.


And we'll all hang on behind.

J.M. Carpenter, too, collected it in the 1920s from sailors in the U.K. George Simpson’s (first shipped in 1888) version began,

If the devil's in the way we will roll it over him

If the devil's in the way we will roll it over him

If the devil's in the way we will roll it over him

And we'll all hang on behind.

Row, row, carry him along

And we'll row, row, carry him along

And we'll row, row, row, carry him along

And we'll all hang on behind.

Doerflinger (1951) collected it from Dick Maitland (first shipped ca.1869/70), Staten Island.

We’ll roll the golden chariot along (x3)

[cho.] And we’ll all hang on behind!

If the devil’s in the road we’ll roll it over him,

As with “Donkey Riding,” this also appeared in The Oxford Song Book II (Wood 1927), as follows:

Roll the old chariot along (x3)

And we’ll all hang on behind

A plate of hot scouse wouldn’t do us any harm (x2)

It would roll, roll, roll the old chariot along

A new plum duff wouldn’t do us any harm,

A glass of whiskey hot wouldn’t do us any harm, [etc.]

It may not be a coincidence that the melodic shape and the lyrical form resemble “Drunken Sailor.” In my rendition, I include both Hugill’s major mode melody and the minor mode melody given elsewhere.

Hanging on behind,

Ranzo :{