I have to thank Monika Jenne and
De Saitenspeeler, a folk lore group in Berne, North Germany, for having
Erie Canal in my repertoire. I had the pleasure of helping them out on a few occasions with my concertina and especially when the played it during
Ceilidh 2003. The song itself is a fine tale of a dreadful voyage on the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo whereby the only the son of the sea-cook was left to tell the tale. It has a find rousing chorus which just demands to be belted out.