There is a little bit of confusion over who to credit this track to. It was released as a single on Merge Records and credited to Alf Danielson. However, the recording of Mary Had a Steamboat was done, not as a solo effort, but by Danielson’s former band, Stephen - in the days when you could call something that without thinking of Adam Buxton & Joe Cornish. In the interests of consistency, I’m going to credit it to Danielson here, just as Peel did on the 2/1/93 programme.
Although the track is not an inversion of Mary Had a Little Lamb, it does have its roots in children songs, namely a hand-clapping song called Miss Susie Had a Steamboat. Both tracks share the same opening verse, but whereas the rhyme has gone on in some versions I saw for a further 9 stanzas, Danielson contents himself with one further verse about the steamboat’s journey into Hell, conjuring visions of the Styx, while also suggesting that he was influenced by Gene Wilder’s performance in the paddle steamer scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Given the way that Danielson seems to lose interest as the track goes on, it’s a shame that the budget didn’t extend to licensing Wilder’s performance into the recording, which could have elevated this from a quite interesting piece of noise rock into something truly special.
Video courtesy of Stephen - Topic
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