Sea Lion Woman

"Sea Lion Woman"
Song

"Sea Lion Woman" is a song by Feist on her 2007 album The Reminder. It is a cover of the song "See-Line Woman."

The exact origins of "See-Line Woman" are unknown but was first recorded by musicologist Alan Lomax in the southern United States. It was performed and recorded by Nina Simone in 1964 and covered by Ollabelle on their 2006 album Riverside Battle Songs under the name "See Line Woman" before being covered by Feist. Though it is a traditional song, Feist and Bass and are also credited with the writing of the song on The Reminder.

On All Music Guide, Steve Leggett writes a slight different version of the story:

On May 13, 1939, Herbert Halpert made a series of field recordings in Byhalia, MS, including several with the family of Walter and Mary Shipp.

Walter, a sharecropper and minister, and Mary, a choir director, had 14 children, several of whom participated in the archival project, but the couple's two daughters, Katherine and Christine, then 19 and 20 years old, were the real standouts, delivering several rope-skipping rhymes and rhythms that still have an intimate and haunting power all these years later, particularly the eerie and mysterious fragment called "Sea Lion Woman."

The lyrics of this song for keeping time are simple enough, mostly about drinking coffee and drinking tea, but there's an ominous, edgy, and unsaid eeriness about it that moves beyond words and meaning. The lyric has been given several variant titles over the years, including "Sea Lion Woman," "See Lyin' Woman," "C-Line Woman," "See-Lye Woman," "See Line Woman" (this is the title used by Nina Simone for her version), and "She Lyin' Woman," all of which only adds to the enigmatic nature of the recording that the Shipp sisters made that day.

Greg Hale Jones looped the original field recording of the song to lengthen it, added electronically enhanced ambience, and placed two versions of the modernized version (still containing Katherine and Christine's vocals) on The General's Daughter soundtrack in 1999. The end result was spooky and atmospheric, but then so was the original, which continues to fascinate anyone who hears it.

In youtube, you can watch different versions and compare the lyrics, which mantain the feeling of the song but add some twists in each version:

Nina Simone - See line woman
Nina Simone - See-Line Woman (Original Album Mix)]
Feist - Sea Lion Woman (Live)]

Nina Simone version

Nina Simone first popularized the song as "See-Line Woman" in 1964.

The song may be heard in its entirety on Last.fm.

"Sealion"

"Sea Lion Woman" is Feist's original title for this song but on the album it was shortened to "Sealion". It charted in the Canadian Charts under the name "Sea Lion Woman".

Music video

No music video was created since it was not initially released (only on the Internet digital download).

Charts

"Sea Lion Woman" has charted only in one country through digital downloads.

Chart (2008)	Position
Canada	94