http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Gramps
“Baby Gramps’s performances on “Rogue’s Gallery” (Anti), a two-disc set of sea chanteys produced by Hal Willner, are among the album’s best, and that’s saying a lot: among the other contributors are Sting, Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams, Bono, Bryan Ferry, Nick Cave, Van Dyke Parks and Bill Frisell.” - Ben Ratlif, The New York Times
According to an article in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Baby Gramps is acknowledged as one of the top 50 most influential musicians in the last 100 years along with Ray Charles, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernestine Anderson, John Cage, Bill Frisell, Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, The Wailers, The Ventures, Sound Garden, and Pearl Jam. He is credited with making Seattle audiences aware of old blues and novelty songs that the rest of the world has mostly forgotten.
Baby Gramps toured England and Ireland this past summer (2008) as part of the Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys CD Concert Tour with Tim Robbins (actor), Martha and Rufus Wainright, Jenny Muldaur (Maria and Geoff's daughter), Lou Reed, The Watersons, Martin Carthy and Eliza, Suzanne Vega, Ralph Steadman, and many other internationally know performers. The Rogues Gallery CD, produced by Johnny Depp and Hal Wilner in connection with The Pirates of the Caribbean film, landed Baby Gramps on the David Letterman Show.
Baby Gramps is a high energy humorously entertaining performer with an endless repertoire. He plays an acoustic antique National Steel guitar and sings his own unique arrangements of rags, jazz, & blues songs from the 20's & 30's and many originals with wordplay, humor, and throat singing. He appeals to a wide range of audiences from folk to jamband to punk to old timey traditional and to kids of all ages. Venues he performs at vary from intimate coffeehouses and pubs, to large concert halls, theaters, and festivals.
Cape Cod Girls
Baby Gramps Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bound away, Pound away!
Comb their hair on the cod fish bones
On their way to Australia!
Heave her up, my bully bully boys
Bound away, Pound away!
Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise
Cap Cod girls don't use no sleds
Bound away, Pound away!
Slide down the hills on the cod fish heads
On their way to Australia!
Heave her up, my bully bully boys
Bound away, Pound away!
Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise
Bound away for Australia!
Cap Cod girls don't use no pills
Bound away, Pound away!
They get their pep from the cod fish gills
Bound away for Australia!
Heave her up, my bully bully boys
Bound away, Pound away!
Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise
Bound away for Australia!
Cap Cod girls don't have a ta-toil
Bound away, Pound away!
They get their pep from the cod fish oil
On their way to Australia!
Heave her up, my bully bully boys
Bound away, Pound away!
Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise
Bound away for Australia!
The lyrics of Baby Gramps's song, "Cape Cod Girls," offers a fascinating glimpse into the maritime culture and lifestyle of Cape Cod girls. The song suggests that Cape Cod girls are strong and independent, and they do not need help with grooming themselves. Instead, they prefer to use cod fish bones to comb their hair and gain energy from the fish gills and oil. The lyrics also state that they do not use sleds but prefer to slide down hills on cod fish heads.
The chorus section of the song, "Heave her up, my bully bully boys, Bound away, Pound away! Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise, Bound away for Australia!" gives emphasis to the maritime theme of the song. The call and response pattern of the chorus section signify the sea shanty genre, as it was customary for sailors to sing work songs while performing repetitive tasks.
Interestingly, the lyrics assert that the Cape Cod girls are bound away for Australia. It could represent that the girls are resilient and determined, and they are setting out for a long voyage to succeed in their goals. The song has a light-hearted tone and presents a compelling perspective on the maritime culture of Cape Cod girls.
Line by Line Meaning
Cape Cod girls they don't use no combs
The women of Cape Cod do not use combs for their hair
Comb their hair on the cod fish bones
They instead use the bones of the cod fish to comb their hair
On their way to Australia!
This is something they do while preparing for their journey to Australia
Heave her up, my bully bully boys
The artist is addressing a group of men to help with something
Heave her up, now don't ye make a noise
He is asking them to do so quietly
Cap Cod girls don't use no sleds
Cape Cod girls do not use sleds
Slide down the hills on the cod fish heads
Instead, they slide down hills using the heads of the cod fish
They get their pep from the cod fish gills
The women of Cape Cod get their energy from the gills of the cod fish
Cap Cod girls don't have a ta-toil
Cape Cod girls do not have a taint of hard work
They get their pep from the cod fish oil
They instead get their energy from the oil of the cod fish
Bound away for Australia!
All of these things are happening as they are preparing to embark on a journey to Australia
Writer(s): Traditional, Daniel Zanes
Contributed by Chase C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.