[Ads-l] noggin

[Brett Bydairk]

When I learned this song 45+ Years ago, these were the lyrics I learned:

CH: Oh, where is me grog, me jolly, jolly grog,
All for me beer and tobacco!
Oh, I spent all me tin on the lassies drinkin' gin,
And across the western ocean I must wander.

Where are me shoes, me jolly, jolly shoes,
All for me beer and tobacco!
Oh, the soles are all wore out, and the tops are knocked about,
And me feet are lookin' out for better weather!

>From there, the verses proceed up the body -
Where are me pants
Where is me shirt
Where is me hat

And ends with
Where is me bed, me jolly, jolly bed
All for me beer and tobacco!
Oh, I lent it to a whore, and the sheets they are all tore,
And the springs are lookin' out for better weather!

As you see, the words 'noggin, noggin' are replaced with the words 'jolly, jolly', and the word 'gone' is, um, gone.
Due to the folk process, there is probably no way to tell which set of words came first.

Brett

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2019 1:03 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: noggin

The Blarney Lads have a recording of “All for Me Grog” (http://pakvim.net/watch/HgpcNpOlxJA <http://pakvim.net/watch/HgpcNpOlxJA>), whose lyrics include what appears to be the adjective “noggin”.

****
Where are me boots, me noggin, noggin boots
they're all gone for beer and tobacco
For the heels they are worn out and the toes are kicked about
And the soles are looking for better weather

…

Where is me shirt me noggin, noggin shirt
It's all gone for beer and tobacco
For the collar is all worn and the sleeves they are all torn
And the tail is looking for better weather

####
####

I’m not sure what “gone for” means. Has the singer worn them out due to beer and tobacco or has the singer sold them for beer and tobacco?

The OED defines “noggin” as a small drinking vessel. I suppose “noggin boots” could be “drinking boots”. Just listening to the song, I thought “noggin" meant either “fucking” or “awesome”.

This same song appears in Shakespeare, issue 65, spring 2017, p. 19 (https://tinyurl.com/y3xl3b7c <https://tinyurl.com/y3xl3b7c>), which says it’s based on the 1956 recording by Al Lloyd.

There are a couple of instances on the internet of “noggin” (meaning “head”) being spelled as “naggin” and a citation that appears to be unrelated at https://www.jstor.org/stable/25473871?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents <https://www.jstor.org/stable/25473871?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>, but I couldn’t find the meaning for the song above.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org