Salty Dog Blues

251."Salty Dog Blues" is a traditional American folk, blues, and bluegrass standard that dates to the early 1900s. A “salty dog” is slang for sailors and may refer to someone seeking sex without the commitment of a traditional relationship. An additional antidote is that early sailors often mistook manatees for mermaids. Probably the result of too long at sea, or too much rum, or maybe it was the combination of both. The song was first recorded by Papa Charlie Jackson in 1924. Also famously covered by Flatt & Scruggs, The Foggy Mountain Boys, Doc Watson, David Grisman, and Taj Mahal.