Erie Canal in Popular Culture
Article source: Wikipedia
Camillus sits at the halfway point on the Erie Canal. Sim's Store was a popular stop along the Canal, taking advantage of its proximity to Gere Lock and Belle Isle where boats needed to stop to navigate the lock.
The song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" became a popular tune in the American culture, reflecting the notoriety of the Erie Canal throughout the nation. The song is attributed to Thomas S. Allen, although the songwriter and origins have been questioned. Originally recorded in 1912 with sheet music published by F.B. Haviland Publishing Company in 1913, it was written after the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, which would replace the Erie Canal, was well underway, furthering the change from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic. Also known as "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal", "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal", "Erie Canal Song", "Erie Barge Canal", and "Mule Named Sal", the song memorializes the years from 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, transforming New York into the Empire State and bringing a surge in traffic to the Town of Camillus.
The music cover published in 1913 depicts a boy on a mule getting down to pass under a bridge, but the reference to "low bridge" in the song refers to travelers who would typically ride on top of the boats. The low bridges would require them to get down out of the way to allow safe passage under a bridge.
Traditional Lyrics to The Erie Canal Song
I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
We've hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And every inch of the way I (we) know
From Albany to Buffalo
Chorus:
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge cause we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal
Get up there Sal, we've passed that lock,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
And we'll make Rome before six o'clock
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
One more trip and back we'll go
Through the rain and sleet and snow
And every inch of the way I (we) know
From Albany to Buffalo
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.