oskar lewis weblog » see the lyin’ woman

see the lyin’ woman

March 11th 2009 @ 12:00 am music

yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah
alright ye
see-line woman
she drink coffee
she drink tea
and then go home
see-line woman
see-line woman
dressed in green
wears silk stockings
with golden seams
see-line woman
see-line woman
dressed in red
make a man lose his head
see-line woman
see-line woman
black dress on
for a thousand dollars
she wail and she moan
see-line woman
wiggle wiggle
turn like a cat
wink at a man
and he wink back
now child
see-line woman
empty his pockets
and wreck his days
make him love her
and she’ll fly away
see-line woman
take it on out now
empty his pockets
and she wreck his days
and she make him love her
then she sure fly away
she got a black dress on
for a thousand dollars
she wail and she moan…

(wiki) “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.

Feist does (and did when i saw her last week) a great version of the Nina Simone classic “See Line Woman”… although she did rename it “Sealion” on her Reminder album. It’s about a high class hooker- rather than a pinniped mammal.
- NINA SIMONE -