Not P but Moby-Dick (21)

[Ian Livingston]

A day's work for one soul might seem a day off to another. I feel like I'm
retired these days, but folks say I work harder than most, which is a nice
ratio, given the relative salary I earn now over the skimpy scrapings I got
when I put my bodily wellbeing and my life on the line most days. Not much
similar between a hoe and a harpoon, but I've known a few old potato
farmers who couldn't stand up straight when they were my current age. Never
met a harpooneer.

On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 8:49 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> I wasn’t paying close attention to the conversation. But the call aboard a
> ship for a dance (despite the mention of a hoe) would not usually be
> associated with a hoedown. The hoe is (I think) meant to be thought a
> “quaint” (not manly) tool.  The harpoon is (I think) meant as the object of
> ironic comparison.
>
> On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 4:27 PM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Could be. That was my immediate association with Melville using it here.
>> Put down the hoe, have a little party, dance off the aches and pains, and
>> give out holler now and then. Yee-haw!
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 11:39 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Might it literally have derived from the farm workers “putting their
>>> hoes down?”
>>>
>>> On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 1:25 PM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yes, regarding association, though here the 'dance' is labor. The Long
>>>> Island sailor's call that "all legs go to harvest soon" is
>>>> acknowledgement
>>>> that the Pequod is entering the latitudes where will they will soon be
>>>> lowering boats to hunt whales. Hoedowns are traditionally events marking
>>>> the harvest season. So, dance now, while you have the energy, you'll
>>>> soon
>>>> be bone-weary from bending to the work.
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 5:53 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com
>>>> >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > There may indeed be a connection. The first quote in OED for hoedown:
>>>> >
>>>> > As to dancing, no Long-Island negro could shuffle you ‘double
>>>> trouble’, or
>>>> > ‘hoe corn and dig potatoes’ more scientifically.
>>>> > *Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff,
>>>> Esq.,
>>>> > and others* • 1st edition, 24 Jan. 1807–25 Jan. 1808.
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 9:21 PM Mike Jing <
>>>> gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>>>> > wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > > Also from Chapter 40:
>>>> > >
>>>> > > LONG-ISLAND SAILOR.
>>>> > > Well, well, ye sulkies, there’s plenty more of us. Hoe corn when
>>>> you may,
>>>> > > say I. All legs go to harvest soon. Ah! here comes the music; now
>>>> for it!
>>>> > >
>>>> > > The Norton Critical Edition says this is "A call to a hoedown, or a
>>>> > square
>>>> > > dance." Does "hoe corn" have anything to do with hoedown?
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Also, what does "All legs go to harvest soon" mean here?
>>>> > >
>>>> > >
>>>> > --
>>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>>
>>>