Pay Me My Money Down

Pay Me My Money Down – seems to have begun life as a sea-shanty, and is often given a lilting, calypso feel. In the ports of the southern United States it was not unusual for captains to insist that their ships be unloaded as soon as they arrived at the quayside, promising to pay the dock workers the next morning. But come the next morning the ship had gone, and the workers were left unpaid. As so often with folk songs, the lyrics were frequently adapted for local conditions. Presumably Mr Howard and Mr Steven were rich bosses. Even today, the lyrics are often brought up to date with the addition of extra verses. For example, in the version of Pay Me My Money Down that Bruce Springsteen recorded for his Seeger Sessions album, he added a lyric about wishing he was Mr Gates, which may be a reference to the Microsoft founder (see this Mudcat thread for alternative lyrics). Pay Me My Money Down was also famously recorded by The Weavers and the Kingston Trio, and there is an affecting recent version by Dan Zanes.