our queer elders
joe carstairs
“I was never a little girl. I came out of the womb queer.”
—j.c.
joe carstairs (1900-1993) was a world war i ambulance driver, british powerboat racer, and, later, ruler of a small island in the bahamas. known as the “fastest woman on the water,” joe dressed masculine, had arms full of tattoos, and lived for adventure and practical jokes. when joe purchased her first powerboat, her then girlfriend ruth baldwin gave her a stuffed leather doll, which joe named lord tod wadley. joe was especially attached to the doll, having forced-perspective photos taken with it, including lord tod wadley’s name alongside her own on the name plaque of her london apartment, and never taking it on the water (lest it get lost). in 1934, joe purchased the island of whale cay in the bahamas, where she developed her own community that included a church, school, lighthouse, and cannery. joe hosted many well-known guests and had relationships with several starlets of the era, including marlene dietrich.
joe at the christening of her boat, sonia ii in 1931, photo from the rake.
about the song
joe (with lord tod wadley) and marlene (on joe’s boat).
photos from summerscale & doyle.
joe and marlene first met in france in 1937—joe was too intimidated to make eye contact. two years later, the two met again, this time on the water. marlene saw joe from a distance and mistook her for a man. as described by marlene’s daughter, “the first thought on seeing him had been pirate—followed by pillage and plunder.” once joe’s schooner got closer, the sailor “turned from a sexy boy into a sexy, flat-chested woman.” while their relationship ended poorly (at one point joe described marlene as a “wicked old woman”), they were rumored to have reconciled by the 1980s.
this song is written from marlene’s point of view about that fated second meeting—apparently joe really was the only person marlene would let call her “babe”—but I couldn’t resist a reference to the famous lord tod wadley!
runabout
I was a runabout on the movie scene
a big shot Paramount to the silver screen
but in '37 on the Riviera
you were ignoring me
but my doll, my doll you'll find me in the summer sun
we’ll moor just off the shore and finish what we started
my doll my doll don’t go tricking anyone
it's 1939; and my, you're looking fine
you were a runabout on the open sea
always setting out for the strongest breeze
my dapper sailor, my handsome queen
forever unmooring me
my doll, my doll find me in the summer sun
we’ll moor just off the shore and finish what we started
my doll, my doll don’t go tricking anyone
it's 1941; we've just begun
drop the anchor nail your colors to the mast
tighten the rigging the storm is coming fast
only you would ever dare to call me babe
you're the hook, I'm the bait
my doll, my doll I found you in the summer sun
let's moor just off the shore and finish what we started
my doll, my doll you found me in the summer sun
let's moor just off the shore and look at what we've done
I won't see you again until 1981
k.a.castagno 2022
recommended reading
the queen of whale cay: the extraordinary life of ‘joe’ carstairs, the fastest woman on water by kate summerscale, published 1997.
the world according to joe, published february 2022 by the rake.
not your average joe, by brock switzer for the mariner’s museum and park. published september 2020.