The Boatman's Dance

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"The Boatman's Dance" is a minstrel song credited to Dan Emmett in 1843. In 1950 it was revived and arranged by Aaron Copland as part of his set of Old American Songs.

It is a celebration of the Ohio River boatmen, bawdy and wily, and is easily recognizable by its repeated clarion cry: "Hey, ho, the boatman row, sailin' on the river on the Ohio."

The song went through numerous revisions before a settled version passed into the repertoire. Both the minstrel version and the Copland arrangement are widely performed and recorded.

The bluegrass jam band

External links

• Audio (mp3 and .ram) performed by Thomas Hampson and Wolfram Rieger.