From John Henry Epps, Nathanial Wellman, Jess Allen and Chrlie Rutledge in Tampa, Florida

Epps, Wellman, Allen and Rutledge were longshoremen for the Ball Steamship Company. They were recorded in 1944 in Tampa, Florida by John Becker and Alan Lomax. The original recording is held by the Archive of Folk Culture at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, AFS 7092 A1.

1. Way down on the Mobile Bay
   Way, hey, hey
   Way down on the Mobile Bay
   So long, so long.
2. Well the captain and the mate got trouble in mind
   ‘Cause he got drunk couldn’t make no sound.
3. Way down on the Mobile Bay
   Way down on the Mobile Bay.
4. Well a bully mate and a header, too
   Well I can’t put up with a lazy crew.
5. Goin’ away gonna come no more
   Goin’ away gonna come no more.
6. Goin’ back to the Mobile Bay
   Goin’ back to the Mobile Bay.
7. Way down on the Mobile Bay
   Way down on the Mobile Bay.