Alison Krauss – Bonita And Bill Butler lyrics

Bonita and Bill Butler
by Sidney Cox. Sung by Dan Timinski and Union Station

scantling yards = where the narrow ribs (scantling) for riverboats or other sailing ships created the hull
Wheeling, West Virginia = on the Ohio River, one of the largest in the US, and a good site for a shipyard
wheelhouse cub = a kid growing up wanting to pilot a riverboat
open door = an invitation to learn the river and become a pilot
packet ways = packet steamers took on both cargo and passengers, so a yard where boats of this type were assembled
a Sweeney = slang for an Irishman
wed the keel = attached the ribs of the hull to the keel of the ship
my Bonita = the name of the riverboat he fell in love with
from her timbers = from the time she was just timber on the ground
till she moored = to the time she was launched and tied up at the dock
paid the fare in billet = billet was the passenger category of travel
Vicksburg (Mississippi) = a key river town in the Civil War
hand the tiller on the course = help work the "arm" that controlled the rudder of a shop and set the direction of sailing
sealed the vow = sealed a promise (like marriage) to be faithful to "my Bonita"
her dowry = the price paid by a husband in some cultures to the woman he was marrying
her dowry was my life between the shores = a life of sailing back and forth between ports on the opposite banks of a river
born with rogue'in ways = misspelled in most versions. A 'rogue' was a man without moral boundaries in his life
steered me like a woman = like a woman (mother, wife) determined to keep her (boy, man) out of trouble
from the port calls = the towns where the Bonita tied up to the dock
and the bawds that led me stray = bawdy, lewd, obscene, filthy temptations (probably women and bars)
led me stray = led me astray
(cal-ee-ope) = rural pronunciation for caliope = an organ, powered by the ship's steam engine
serenades = many riverboats would play music will tied up, in order to drum up interest and business from the town
gamble shards = uncertain. small coins? can't find any reference online.
to pull her chains = uncertain, but probably to help with tying the ship up to the local dock
striker = uncertain
striker's boast would fain me loss = would deceive me
about the wrecks the shoals were keeping = about how many ships ran aground in shallow water and were lost
how the old girl's got poor Billy's ransom saved = also uncertain
lake at Bistineau = a long, narrow waterway on the Red River in Louisiana
Dixie = a town in Caddo Parish, in the far northwest corner of Louisiana
on her main = on her cargo deck
as the great raft disappeared = probably a "raft" of logs being floated downriver to a mill
the watermark went sinking = the line along the side of a boat showing how shallow or deep she was loaded
right hard = with huge force
a listing on the bank = the log raft struck the Bonita, tipping her cargo into the water and driving her onto the riverbank
furnace still ablaze = the ship's boiler still on full steam and setting the ship on fire
stood my last upon her = stood on her deck for the last time
climbed the prow = climbed up the sinking and inclined deck and onto the point of the ship's bow = his way of escape
took a landsman's trade = found work in a job on land, never captained a riverboat again
derelict now Milady = a last tribute to the wrecked (derelict) ship that he calls "My lady"
watch log = a record kept on ship of changes in the river's course, and so on
concorded = (rural) he probably means "recorded", but "concorded" would be a statement that he was not responsible
bosun = the senior officer of the deck, probably second-in-command after the pilot
eight bells for the change = similar to a police officer's retirement or death being honored with "We have the watch."
take to widder walks = (rural) widows would often walk together in the evenings for mutual comfort; he joins them
gin I stopped a drinking = he gives up alcohol, hopefully to win the heart of a widow
three score aloft this crooked frame = 60 years of age and bent over now
striker's boast etc etc = see earlier section

Thank you dfclark for taking the time to research and explain this interesting song and its meanings! I think the pull her chains part is to engage the calliope whistle myself. I dont have anything to add but that though! Kind of a sad song to me but I find it very easy to think about falling in love with a boat and the water as a young man.

So Sweeney isn’t referring to an Irish man here.... I don’t believe. “In the packet ways a Sweeney...” Ways was a captain who wrote a lot about river boats. A Packet is a river boat that held cargo and passengers. So a little clever use of words in the packet ways (in the packet style) while paying tribute to captain ways. And a Sweeney would refer to the Sweeney family who owned and operated river boat yards on the Ohio river. Where this song takes place

So Sweeney isn’t referring to an Irish man here.... I don’t believe. “In the packet ways a Sweeney...” Ways was a captain who wrote a lot about river boats. A Packet is a river boat that held cargo and passengers. So a little clever use of words in the packet ways (in the packet style) while paying tribute to captain's ways. And a Sweeney would refer to the Sweeney family who owned and operated river boat yards on the Ohio River. Where this song takes place

In past centuries coins and precious metals were cut into pieces as currency. For example the term "pieces of eight" referring to the practice of cutting Spanish coins such as doubloons into eight pieces. In old English such pieces were often referred to a "shards". Perhaps this is what the boys are gambling with?