Sea Lion Woman
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Sea Lion Woman" (also "Sea-Line Woman", "See [the] Lyin' Woman" or "C-Line Woman") is a traditional American folk song. The exact origins of "See-Line Woman" are unknown but it is believed to have originated in the southern United States. It was first recorded by Herbert Halpert on May 13, 1939. Halpert was compiling a series of field recordings for the Library of Congress in Byhalia, MS, when he ran across Walter and Mary Shipp, a minister and a choir director of a local church. Shipp's daughters, Katherine and Christine, were featured on the recording of a sparse version of "Sea Lion Woman" that defined the basic rhymes and rhythm of the song. Two weeks later the song was covered by musicologist and folklorist John Lomax. This proved to be the first of many covers, though most are based on the version introduced to the pop catalog by Nina Simone in 1964. Notable covers include Ollabelle's version featured in the 2006 album Riverside Battle Songs under the name "See Line Woman" and Feist's cover featured in the 2007 album The Reminder.
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Lyrics
Sea Lion Woman / Sea Lion She drank coffee / Sea Lion She drank tea / Sea Lion And he gamble lie / Sea Lion
Way down yonder / Sea Lion I'm going maul / Sea Lion And the rooster crow / Sea Lion and he got no lie / Sea Lion
Sea lion woman / Sea Lion she drank coffee / Sea Lion She drank tea / Sea Lion And she gamble lie / Sea Lion
Sea lion woman / Sea Lion she drank coffee / Sea Lion She drank tea / Sea Lion And a gamble lie / Sea Lion
Nina Simone version
Nina Simone popularized the song as "See-Line Woman" in 1964.
Feist version
The song was covered by Feist on her 2007 album The Reminder. "Sea Lion Woman" is Feist's original title for this song but on the album it was shortened to "Sealion". Although their version was based on the original lyrics, Feist and Bass were credited as writers for the Reminder recording. It charted in the Canadian Charts under the name "Sea Lion Woman".
Charts
"Sea Lion Woman" has charted only in one country through digital downloads.
Chart (2008) | Position |
---|---|
Canada | 94 |