The Hog-Eye Man

Inspired by the old capstan shanty “The Hog-Eye Man,” this design puts one of the song’s most mysterious characters front and center. A “hog-eye” was associated with the shallow-draft barges and inland boatmen of 19th-century America, and deep-water sailors seem to have used the term with a bit of rough-edged mockery. In the shanty, though, the Hog-Eye Man is no wallflower—“all she wants is the hog-eye man.”

Our artwork imagines him as the swaggering riverboat hand the song suggests: boots wet, pole in hand, and entirely too pleased with himself. Like many traditional shanties, “The Hog-Eye Man” survives in numerous versions, some considerably less suitable for polite company than others. This one keeps the wink, the bravado, and the chorus everybody remembers—without making you explain the rest of the verses at the dinner table.

• 100% cotton
• Sport Grey is 90% cotton, 10% polyester
• Ash Grey is 99% cotton, 1% polyester
• Heather colors are 50% cotton, 50% polyester
• Fabric weight: 5.0–5.3 oz/yd² (170-180 g/m²)
• Open-end yarn
• Tubular fabric
• Taped neck and shoulders
• Double seam at sleeves and bottom hem
• Blank product sourced from Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Mexico

Disclaimers: 
• Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.
• Dark color speckles throughout the fabric are expected for the color Natural.

Size guide