> Lal Waterson > Songs > Some Old Salty

Some Old Salty

[ Roud - ; Lal Waterson, Oliver Knight]

Lal Waterson, Maria Gilhooley, Norma Waterson, Jim Boyes, Barry Coope, Lester Simpson, and Oliver Knight sang Lal’s song Some Old Salty in 1996 on her album Once in a Blue Moon. This track was also include in 1999 on the Topic Records sampler English Originals.

A live version of Some Old Salty sung at Cropredy 1999 by Maddy Prior, Jacqui McShee, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg and Chris Leslie is on Cropredy—The Best and the Guests, the bonus CD of Free Reed’s Fairport unConventioNal 4 CD set of 2002.

Salt Fare, North Sea on Chumbawamba’s 2002 album Readymades has a vocal sample of Lal Waterson and Oliver Knight from Some Old Salty.

Jo Freya’s Lal Waterson Project sang Some Old Salty on their 2007 album Lal.

Simpson · Cutting · Kerr sang Some Old Salty in 2015 on their Topic CD Murmurs.

Emily Portman sang Some Old Salty in 2022 on the Topic anthology Sea Song Sessions.

Lyrics

Lal Waterson et al sing Some Old Salty

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
Some old salty, how he used to rock me.
Jelly Roll or Jerry Lee, how he used to rock me.

Salt fare, North Sea,
Weird stare. Further than the eye can see.
He had a head like a toy shop, bow legged stance off,
Must have been the rolling sea.

Hull Fair waltzers, bopping to Brenda Lee.
River boat jazz cruise, jiving to the Two-Nineteen.

Down there for dancing, come on Mr Chester please.
Play “Deliah’s gone” for one more round, some old salty’s on his feet.

(repeat first verse)

Down “The Abercrombie”