The Longest Johns formed in June 2012 after first singing together at a friend's barbecue. The original line up consisted of Josh Bowker, Andy Yates, Jonathan Darley and Dave Robinson. About a week later, they posted their first video on YouTube, singing "Haul Away Joe." They released their debut EP, Bones in the Ocean, in 2013, the title track of which is still one of their most popular. Their first full album, Written in Salt, was released in 2016, featuring tracks such as Drunken Sailor, Old Maui and Randy Dandy-O.
In June 2018 they released their second album, Between Wind & Water, which contained the smash hit "Wellerman". This recording, as well as the one used in the bands' Sea of Thieves series "Open Crewsing" would go on to cause the viral sensation in the years to come.
In October 2019, the band announced that Anna Cornish would be leaving the band to focus on her other band, The Norfolk Broads.
In March 2020, they released a song titled "Flatten the Curve", urging people to stay indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, the band released their third studio album, Cures What Ails Ya. This album was the Johns' first album featuring a full array of instruments on half of the songs.
In March 2023, The Longest Johns released a collab album, The Longest Pony, featuring collabs with the Barcelona folk group, El Pony Pisador. The album features the song "Al Pirata Joan Torrellas" which sung only in Catalan.
On 1 May 2023, the band announced the departure of founding member Dave Robinson.
Woodpile
The Longest Johns Lyrics
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(Way down in Florida)
Them girls all dance to the old banjo
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round!
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
Oh, what can you do in Tampa Bay? (hey)
(Way down in Florida)
But give them pretty girls all your pay
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
And we'll roll the woodpile down
We'll roll'em high, and we'll roll'em low! (hey)
(Way down in Florida)
We'll roll'er up and away we'll go
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
And we'll roll the woodpile down
Oh, roust and bust her is the cry (hey)
(Way down in Florida)
A sailor's wage is never high
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
And we'll roll the woodpile down
Oh, one more pull and that will do (hey)
(Way down in Florida)
For we're the boys to kick her through
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
And we'll roll the woodpile down
The song "Woodpile" by The Longest Johns is a traditional sea shanty that talks about rolling the woodpile down while working in Florida and Georgia. The lyrics talk about the monotony of working in the South where the only solace is the beautiful girls they can spend their wages on. The song starts with the description of the South where the roosters crow and the girls dance to the old banjo. The chorus "Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' the whole world round!" describes the monotony of their work, but they find solace in thinking about the pretty girls who are on the Georgia line. They would roll the woodpile high and low, and away they go with their pay to their fine gal. The song talks about the sailor's wage not being high, but they would keep working and kicking through their work.
Overall, "Woodpile" is a simple song with repetitive lyrics, but it perfectly captures the monotony and struggles of the working-class people in the South. The use of a sea shanty also helps to mimic the feeling of repetitive and hard work undertaken by sailors in the endless sea.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah-way down South where the cocks do crow (hey)
We are down in Florida where roosters crow
Them girls all dance to the old banjo
The girls here are dancing to the tunes of an old banjo
Rollin' (Rollin) Rollin' (Rollin)
Rollin' the whole world round!
That fine gal a-mine's on the Georgia line
And we'll roll the woodpile down!
We're rolling, rolling, rolling the world around while my girl is waiting for me on the Georgia line and we'll finish the job before reuniting
Oh, what can you do in Tampa Bay? (hey)
In Tampa Bay, we wonder what else we can do
But give them pretty girls all your pay
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
We'll spend our money on the pretty girls here and then get back to our work of rolling the woodpile down
We'll roll'em high, and we'll roll'em low! (hey)
We'll roll the logs high and low
We'll roll'er up and away we'll go
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
We'll roll the logs up and then take them away while completing our task of rolling the woodpile down
Oh, roust and bust her is the cry (hey)
We shout 'roust and bust her' as we work
A sailor's wage is never high
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
We don't earn much but we're here to get the job done of rolling the woodpile down
Oh, one more pull and that will do (hey)
(Way down in Florida)
For we're the boys to kick her through
(And we'll roll the woodpile down)
One more pull and the job will be done, we're the ones to complete it and then we'll move on to rolling the woodpile down
Contributed by Carson Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.