Can my life get any better?  OMG, I was in a music video today!  A bunch of us met this morning at the Erie Canal Museum, 318 Erie Boulevard East, Syracuse, New York 13202 to sing into a camera and a drone.  It was more like lip-syncing to the tune of “Low Bridge”, the ditty we all learned in 4th grade, which is about the time all New York State kids find out about the Erie Canal.  It only took an hour and a half, but it made me smile the whole day and I am still giddy about it. <3

[excerpt from Facebook] The popular song “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen after Erie Canal barge traffic was converted from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic.

There’s an age old debate between each coast about whether the lyrics are “15 miles or 15 years”

Originally it was 15 years – but it was folk artist Pete Seeger who made the song become part of the folk repertoire and recognizable to every child in every school!

In fact, you would sing the song in class…and those days seem to have passed. So, we are asking our community to come out and sing our modernized re-imagined version!

The song will be recorded locally and utilize local musicians to create a fun easy to sing – a – long to version that James Domroe of 325 Productions will create a music video for with scenes in Clinton Square and by the Erie Canal Museum downtown!!!

Low Bridge

I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles 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 miles 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.

This was the brainchild of uber-cool guy Michael John Heagerty.  His enthusiasm for this city is so infectious.  You may recognize him from the New York State Fair, riding around in The Big Yellow Fellow, a barcycle for ten.  I rode on it at the Irish Fest a few weeks ago and it was so silly fun.  I just love that I can now begin a sentence with – one time on The Big Yellow Fellow (someday I will also be able to begin a sentence with one time in Paris or one time in Milan, or one time in Mykonos…).  Michael was the man in the yellow suit minus a Curious George monkey.

The video we made will be joined with the music track, edited and distributed to local elementary schools.  The Erie Canal is a big deal around here.  I mean, we all spend time on it – hiking, biking, rollerblading, etc., that is, the mule named Sal’s trail, not in the actual drink, although I do see people kayaking in there sometimes.

The museum itself was fun too.  I walked around both floors and checked out their little gift shop.  They are open Monday-Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sundays 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Next month there is a gingerbread house contest and other festive events for the holidays.  Call (315) 471-0593 for more information or to schedule a school tour.