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Sloop John B
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"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, possibly recorded earliest by The Weavers under the title "Wreck of the John B", the song taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg (1927). Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". This recording appears on the album Bahamas 1935: Chanteys And Anthems From Andros And Cat Island.
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Encyclopedia
"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, possibly recorded earliest by The Weavers under the title "Wreck of the John B", the song taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg (1927). Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". This recording appears on the album Bahamas 1935: Chanteys And Anthems From Andros And Cat Island. The song was adapted by Weavers member Lee Hays. The recording of the song which directly influenced The Beach Boys was by The Kingston Trio.
This version was ranked #271 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The John B. was an old sponger boat whose crew were in the habit of getting notoriously merry whenever they made port. It was wrecked and sunk at Governor's Harbour in Eleuthera, the Bahamas, in about 1900.
Beach Boys version
Creative process
Idea for the song
The Beach Boys' Alan Jardine, who was a keen folk music fan, suggested to Brian Wilson that the Beach Boys should do a cover version of "Sloop John B". As Jardine explains:
- Brian was at the piano. I asked him if I could sit down and show him something. I laid out the chord pattern for 'Sloop John B'. I said, 'Remember this song?' I played it. He said, 'I'm not a big fan of the Kingston Trio.' He wasn't into folk music. But I didn't give up on the idea. So what I did was to sit down and play it for him in the Beach Boys idiom. I figured if I gave it to him in the right light, he might end up believing in it. So I modified the chord changes so it would be a little more interesting. The original song is basically a three-chord song, and I knew that wouldn't fly. So I put some minor changes in there, and it stretched out the possibilities from a vocal point of view. Anyway, I played it, walked away from the piano and we went back to work. The very next day, I got a phone call to come down to the studio. Brian played the song for me, and I was blown away. The idea stage to the completed track took less than 24 hours.
Choosing the lead vocalist
Al Jardine then explains that Brian "then lined us up one at a time to try out for the lead vocal. I had naturally assumed I would sing the lead, since I had brought in the arrangement. It was like interviewing for a job. Pretty funny. He didn't like any of us. My vocal had a much more mellow approach because I was bringing it from the folk idiom. For the radio, we needed a more rock approach. Brian and Mike ended up singing it. But I had a lot of fun bringing the idea to the band. It was very rewarding in every way but one; I was never given label credit for my contribution." On the final recording, Brian Wilson sang the first and third verses, while Mike Love sang the second verse. The box set The Pet Sounds Sessions includes two alternate takes, one with Carl Wilson singing lead on the first two verses, and one with Brian Wilson singing all parts.
Lyrics changes
Brian Wilson changed the lyrics in three of the lines of the song. He changed the lyric "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "This is the worst trip I've ever been on". He also changed the lyric "I feel so break up" to "I feel so broke up." The line "broke into the people's trunk" is changed to "Broke in the captain's trunk."
Success
The single, backed with the B side "You're So Good to Me", was released on March 21, 1966. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 2, and peaked at #3 on May 7, remaining on the chart, in total, for 11 weeks. It also charted highly throughout the world, remaining as one of the Beach Boys' most popular and memorable hits.
Details
- Written by: Traditional
- Arranged by: Brian Wilson
- Time: 2 min 56 sec
- Produced by: Brian Wilson
- Instrumental track: recorded July 12, 1965 at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California. Engineered by Chuck Britz
- Vocals track: recorded December 22, 1965 at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
- New lead vocal and 12 string electric guitar overdub: recorded December 29, 1965 at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
- High harmony lead and additional backing tracks: recorded January 1966 at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
Performers
Cover versions
The song has been recorded by many artists, including The Calypso Bandits, Japanese rock band Ulfuls, Joseph Spence, Tom Fogerty, Roger Whittaker, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dick Dale, Catch 22, The Ventures, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Relient K, Dan Zanes, and Okkervil River. In 1960, Lonnie Donegan had a UK Top 10 hit with it under the title "I Wanna Go Home". A portion of the song appears in the live album from Carbon Leaf's 5 Alive! tour.
Cultural references
On occasions the song is chanted at Football grounds, firstly by Manchester United fans, then adopted by FC United supporters.
- Dr. Miguelito Loveless, in the TV series The Wild Wild West sang a version of this in a duet with Antoinette in the episode titled "The Night of the Raven" (original air date 30 September 1966).
- In the episode "Open Water" of the television show CSI: Miami, which was about a double murder on a cruise ship, the song is played at the end of the episode.
- The indie folk rock band Okkervil River adopts the chorus of the song, making it a song about John Berryman, as an outro to the final song "John Allyn Smith Sails" on their The Stage Names LP.
- During the BBC programme Three Men and Another Boat with Griff Rhys Jones, Dara O'Brien and Rory McGrath, McGrath is heard singing the popular song whilst out sailing in the English Channel.
- In the film Full of It, the main character Sam and his family sing the song while driving Sam to school.
- In Alan Dean Foster's book Spellsinger, the main character finds himself in a boat at sea and sings this song as a spell to get his companions and himself home, but only succeeds in getting everyone drunk/sick - and just missing his chance to get back to his own dimension.
- In Calendar Girls, the song is heard as a "victory" song just as the protagonists realize that their "failed" press conference has only been re-located to a larger room and was a bigger success than previously expected.
- Bill Mumy sings this song in an episode of "Lost in Space."
- The song is played to close out the episode "The Sword of Orion" of the television show Sports Night.
- The John B pub in British Columbia is named after the song.
- In many Jewish communities, the poem "Dror Yikra" by Dunash ben Labrat is sometimes sung to the tune of "Sloop John B" because of its similar meter.
- In the film Forrest Gump, based on Winston Groom's novel, the song can be heard in the background playing on a radio as Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, finishes his very cynical, revelatory lecture to Forrest and Bubba, played by Tom Hanks and Mykelti Williamson, respectively. The words, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on," help accentuate Forrest and Bubba's realization that they have arrived in a very tumultuous setting.
See also
Sources
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