“Sea Lion Woman” (also “Sea-Line Woman”, “See [the] Lyin’ Woman”, “She Lyin’ Woman”, “See-Line Woman”, or “C-Line Woman”) is a traditional American folk song originally used as a children’s playground song.[1]
The exact origins of the song are unknown but it is believed to have originated in the southern United States. It was first recorded by folklore researcher Herbert Halpert on May 13, 1939.[2] Halpert was compiling a series of field recordings for the Library of Congress in Byhalia, MS, when he ran across Walter Shipp, a minister, and his wife Mary, a choir director of a local church. Halpert recorded Shipp’s daughters, Katharine and Christeen, singing a sparse version of “Sea Lion Woman” that defined the basic rhymes and rhythm of the song.
Notable covers include a version by Nina Simone (1964) under the name See-Line Woman, 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. The Easybeats also recorded it, the song closing their 1967 album Friday On My Mind. A version remixed by Greg Hale Jones and Russell Ziecker entitled She Began To Lie, contains extracts from the original traditional song performed by the Shipp sisters and was used on the soundtrack of the 1999 feature film The General’s Daughter.[3]
Lyrics:
Sea Lion Woman (Sea Lion)
She drank coffee (Sea Lion)
She drank tea (Sea Lion)
And he gamble lie (Sea Lion)
Way down yonder (Sea Lion)
I’m going maul (Sea Lion)
And the rooster crow (Sea Lion)
And he got no lie (Sea Lion)
Sea lion woman (Sea Lion)
She drank coffee (Sea Lion)
She drank tea (Sea Lion)
And she gamble lie (Sea Lion)
Sea lion woman (Sea Lion)
She drank coffee (Sea Lion)
She drank tea (Sea Lion)
And a gamble lie (Sea Lion)
Nina Simone version
Nina Simone popularized the song as “See-Line Woman” on her 1964 album Broadway-Blues-Ballads. The song was remixed by Masters at Work for the 2002 compilation Verve//Remixed, by J.Viewz in 2008 and by Ogris Debris in 2012.
Nina Simone “See-Line Woman” lyrics:
Alright yeah, alright
Sea lion woman, she drink coffee
She drink tea and then go home
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, dressed in green
Wears silk stockings with golden seams
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, dressed in red
Make a man lose his head
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, black dress on
For a thousand dollars, she wail and she moan
Sea lion woman
Wiggle, wiggle, turn like a cat
Wink at a man and he wink back
Now child, sea lion woman
Empty his pockets and wreck his days
Make him love her
And she’ll fly away, yeah yeah
Sea lion 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
Feist version
The song was covered by Feist on her 2007 album The Reminder. “Sea Lion Woman” is Feist’s original title for this song but on the album it was shortened to “Sealion”. Despite their version being based on the original lyrics, Feist and Bass were credited as writers for the Reminder recording. It charted in the Canadian Charts under the name “Sea Lion Woman”.
Feist “Sea Lion Woman” Lyrics:
Sea lion woman
She drink coffee
Sea lion woman
She drink tea
And a rooster crows
Sea lion woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And a rooster crows
Sea lion woman
Dressed in red
Smile at the man
When you wake up in his bed
Sea lion woman
Dressed in black
Wink at the man
Then stab him in his back
Sea lion woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And a rooster crows
Sea lion woman
Dressed in white
Marry the man
And you’ll spend a long sweet life
Sea lion woman
Dressed in green
Silver lining and golden seams
Sea lion woman
Dressed in blue
Call on the man
And hope he knows what he can do
Sea lion…
Sea lion woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And a rooster crows
Sea lion woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And a rooster crows
Sea lion woman
Dressed in the blue
Call on the man
And hope he knows what he can do
Sea lion woman
Dressed in red
Smile at the man
When you wake up in his bed
Sea lion woman….
songs that sampled Nina Simone’s See-Line Woman:
See Line Woman by The Songstress (1998)
Le Grand Frère by Abd Al Malik (2006)
Bad News by Kanye West (2008)
Paradise Circus by Massive Attack (2009)
Cover versions of Nina Simone’s See-Line Woman:
See Line Woman by The Easybeats (1967)
C Lime Woman by The People Movers (1997)
See Line Woman by Randy Crawford and Joe Sample (2006)
Remixes of Nina Simone’s See-Line Woman:
See-Line Woman (Masters at Work Remix) remix by Masters at Work (2002)
