| 011 Marinero que se fue a la mar |
El sea shanty deriva su nombre del vocablo francés “chanter” (cantar) e identifica a las canciones laborales a bordo de los barcos.
Hay quienes especulan que los shanties han sido cantados desde los primeros años del siglo XV y los que sobrevivieron pudieron ser conservados y coleccionados desde el siglo XIX hasta el final de los días de los barcos de vapor, en la primera mitad del siglo XX.
En los días en los que los músculos humanos eran la única fuente de poder disponible a bordo de los barcos, los shanties cumplían con un par de propósitos fundamentales: Por el lado laboral se utilizaban para aumentar la productividad en los trabajos realizados en la mar al coordinar, bajo el mismo ritmo, los esfuerzos de muchos marineros remando en línea, conjuntamente, por largos períodos en aquellos tiempos de los barcos a vela. Y, por el lado social, el cantar y escuchar las canciones, además de ser placentero, aligeraba la tensión y el trabajo pesado en los largos viajes de entonces, creaba vínculos entre los tripulantes y reducía el riesgo de motín.
La mayoría de los shanties están estructurados de forma antifonal, son canciones de “llamada y respuesta” en las que una voz que dirige al grupo, el Shantyman, canta la línea y el coro de marineros le responden (en forma similar a la cadencia de las órdenes militares). Los buenos shantymen eran marineros bien valorados y respetados.
Los shanties se agrupan, básicamente, en cuatro tipos:
- Halyard shanty para el trabajo pesado que requiere más tiempo entre jalón y jalón
- Short haul shanty que se utiliza para tareas de acarreo que requieren jalar rápido en un relativo corto tiempo
- Capstan shanty para las tareas largas y repetitivas, que requieren un ritmo sostenido pero no involucran trabajo en línea como el izamiento del ancla.
- Stamp-‘n’-go shanty se usan únicamente en barcos de gran calado donde los marineros deben tomarse de las manos con sus espaldas hacia atrás y dirigirse hacia el puente del barco cantando y marcando el ritmo.
Mi madre me había dicho que el nombre lo tomó del libro "Las inquietudes de Shanti Andía" novela que Pío Baroja, publicó en 1911, y que clasificó dentro de la serie El mar, además de que en sánscrito quiere decir paz, y yo creo que también mucho tuvo que ver el desarrollo de la novela con el nombre de estos cantos.
Zambullámonos pues en ritmo, hagamos un ejercicio de trabajo colectivo… sintámonos mar adentro, espalda con espalda, dando la cara a la magnificencia de la mar profunda.
Dedicado a Juan de Oyarzabal
y a Shanti
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10,000 Miles Away
-Traditional-
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| Broadside (2012) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 1778 ; G/D 6:1102 ; Ballad Index MA084 ; Bodleian Roud 1778 ; Joseph Bryan Geoghegan (c. 1816-1889)] Ten Thousand Miles Away is a shanty printed in Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas, pp. 312-313. Sarah Makem sang it as Blow ye Winds Hi-O in two recording made by Diane Hamilton in 1956 and by Paul Carter and Sean O'Boyle in 1967. Both were included in 2011 on her Musical Traditions anthology As I Roved Out. Rod Stradling commented in the accompanying booklet: Written for the Music Hall by Joseph B. Geoghegan (1816-1889). He was born in Barton upon Irwell, Lancs, and probably wrote his songs while manager of the Star and Museum Music Hall in Bolton. More usually known as Ten Thousand Miles Away, it's found—though infrequently—all over the English-speaking world, with 47 Roud entries. Stan Hugill has a shanty version of it in Shanties from the Seven Seas, and few sound recordings are known: Robert Cinnamond, Hugh McAlindon, Louie Hooper and Fred Smale, both from Sussex, and the only one available on CD, Walter Pardon. The Halliard sang this shanty as A Thousand Miles Away on their album The Halliard : Jon Raven, originally published in 1968 and reissued on CD in 1997. Later, this recording was also included in the Halliard's CD Broadside Songs. The Halliard's version is somewhat different to Hugill's, it just shares two verses and half of Hugill's chorus. Bernard Wrigley sang Ten Thousand Miles Away in 1974 on his Topic album Rough & Wrigley. He noted: A transportation song from the nineteenth century stage, much parodied. Joanna Colcord says it was known among American sailormen, but it’s originally from London. Really it should be 9,537 miles, but that doesn’t rhyme . Tony Hall sang Ten Thousand Miles Away during the recording sessions for his 1977 Free Reed album Fieldvole Music. This recording was finally published in 2002 on the Free Reed anthology This Label Is Not Removable, and in 2007 on the original album's CD reissue. Walter Pardon sang Blow the Winds I-O in a recording made by Mike Yates in June 1978. It was published in 1983 on his Home Made Music album Bright Golden Store: Songs and Music from Knapton in Norfolk and in 2000 on his Musical Traditions anthology Put a Bit of Powder on It, Father. Brian Peters and Gordon Tyrrall sang Blow the Winds I-O in 1996 on their Harbourtown duo album, Clear the Road. Jon Boden sang a version quite similar to Hugill's as the September 25, 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day, though he chose to call it Blow the Winds High-O after the first chorus line. A few years earlier, John Spiers and Jon Boden sang an abbreviated form of Blow the Winds High-O with just two verses, bookended by two John Spiers tunes (Holly's Reel and The Pork Pie Polka), on their 2005 Fellside CD Tunes. They commented in their sleeve notes: The first tune is a rant John wrote for his new niece who came to her first gig before she was born and the last one is a heel & toe polka that he wrote after running around the unlit Welsh countryside with The Folk Mutants. In the middle is a nautical ditty. Bellowhead recorded 10,000 Miles Away in 2012 for their album Broadside. |
10,000 Miles Away
My true love she was beautiful, My true love she was fair; Her eyes were like the diamonds bright And golden was her hair. And golden was her hair, my lads, As the big ship left the bay She said will you remember me Ten thousand miles away! Chorus (after each verse): And sing blow the winds high-o, A-roving I will go. I'll stay no more on England's shore For to hear the music play, For I'm off on the morning train And I won't be back again. For I'm taking a trip on a Government ship Ten thousand miles away. Oh dark and dismal was the day When last I saw my Meg, She'd a Government band around each hand And another one around the leg. And another one around the leg, my lads, As the big ship sailed away, I said that I'd be true to her Ten thousand miles away. Chorus Oh the sun may shine through a London fog And the river run quite clear, And the ocean's wine turn into brine And I'll forget my beer. and I'll forget my beer, my lads, And the landlord's cannot pay Before I'll forget my own dear Meg Ten thousand miles away. Chorus Chorus |
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Bottom of the Punch Bowl / East Nuke of Fyfe / Ye Mariners All
-Traditional-
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| Tippler's Tales(1978) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 1191 ; Ballad Index VWL103 ; VWML HAM/4/24/16 ; Bodleian Roud 1191 ; Wiltshire 1151 ; trad.] This song was collected by H.E.W. Hammond in 1907 from Mrs. Marina Russell, Upwey, Dorset, and published in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. A.L. Lloyd recorded it under the title A Jug of This for his album English Drinking Songs, and in 1960 as Ye Mar'ners All for the album A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. Like all tracks from this LP it was reissued in 2003 on the CD England & Her Traditional Songs. Lloyd wrote in the album's sleeve notes: Drunken-daft words married to a soberly handsome tune. The words were printed towards 1840 in a penny song-book published by Ryle of Seven Dials, London. The melody to which they became attached seems to belong more properly to the complaint of a betrayed girl, call A Brisk Young Sailor Courted Me or Died for Love. H.E.D. Hammond heard it sung by Mrs Russell (see One Night As I Lay in My Bed). At first he thought she sang “Ye mourners all” but later presumed she meant “mariners”. Martin Carthy sang Ye Mariners All in 1965 on his first, eponymous record, Martin Carthy, and nearly 30 years later with a few different words on Waterson:Carthy. He commented in the latter album's sleeve notes: Ye Mariners All was written down by the Hammond brothers in the early 1900s from the wonderful Dorset singer Marina Russell, who knew lots of bits of songs—all of them with fine, fine tunes. The brothers first thought that she had sung “mourners”, and a song from inside the pub to a funeral cortege telling them to lighten up does have a certain something, but later decided that they had in fact heard her say “mariners”. Kevin Connell sang A Jug of This at Folk Union One in 1969 which can be found on their privately issued album Blue Bell Folk Sing. John Goodluck sang Ye Mariners All in 1977 on his Traditional Sound Recordings album Monday's Childe. Fairport Convention sang Ye Mariners All on their 1978 album Tipplers Tales. A live recording from Cropredy 1983 was included in the following year on their cassette The Boot. Another live recording from Cropredy warm-ups at The Mill, Banbury, was included in 2017 on their anniversary album 50:50@50. Jim Mageean and Johnny Collins sang Ye Mariners All in 1979 on their Sweet Folk and Country album Make the Rafters Roar. Cyril Tawney sang A Jug of This on his 1994 Neptune Tapes cassette Down the Hatch. This track was also included in 2007 on his posthumous anthology The Song Goes On. Ray Driscoll sang Oh Mariners All to Gwilym Davies in June 1998 and February 2000. One of these recordings was included in 2008 on his posthumous CD Wild, Wild Berry. Davies commented in the accompanying notes: [A]lso known as A Jug of This or Ye Mourners All. This appears to be a remarkable survival of continuing oral tradition in Ray’s repertoire. Ray claimed to have learnt the song in the Navy in the 50s, possibly in Portsmouth. Ray’s tune is very similar to that collected by Hammond from Marina Russell in Upwey, Dorset in 1907 whilst some of the words are the same as those collected by Hammond from William Haines near Sherborne, Dorset in 1906 but Ray has some verses unique to him. In the absence of any other information, this appears to be a genuine transmission of oral folksong. Interestingly, Ray was willing to sing the song to me but dismissed it as ’a bit of a dirge”. Hughie Jones sang Ye Mar'ners All in 1999 on his Fellside CD Seascape. Tim van Eyken and Rob Harbron sang Ye Mariners in 2001 on their Beautiful Jo CD One Sunday Afternoon. Both were also part of Folk South West who recorded Ye Mariners All for their 2003 Fellside CD Fanfare for the South West. Tarras sang Ye Mariners All in 2001 too on their Topic CD Walking Down Mainstreet. Ditt Ditt Darium sang Ye Mariners All on their 2007 album Ifrån främmande land. Mawkin:Causley sang Ye Mariners All in 2008 on their CD Cold Ruin. Jon Boden sang Ye Mariners All as the March 27, 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He noted in his blog: Another song that I first heard on the magnificent first album by Waterson:Carthy, sung by Martin. Graham Metcalfe used to sing it at the Half Moon too I think. Good drinking song, despite not having much of a chorus. Cupola sang Ye Mariners All in 2015 on their CD Roam. They commented in their liner notes: Another of the songs we have been singing with The Tale of Ale project recently—the concise and characterful tale describes the age-old relationship between mariners and their grog . The Teacups sang Ye Mariners All in 2015 too on their Haystack CD Of Labour and Love. The Hungarian group Simply English sang Ye Mar'ners All on their 2017 CD Long Grey Beard and a Head That’s Bald. Jon Wilks sang Ye Mariners All on his 2017 album Songs from the Attic. Arrowsmith:Robb sang Ye Mariners All on their 2018 CD All the Salt. They noted: Ian [Robb] learned this many decades ago from the first edition of the great Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. |
Ye Mariners All
Oh, ye mariners all, as you pass by Call in and drink if you are dry Come spend, my lads, your money brisk And pop your nose in a jug of this Oh, ye mariners all, if you've half a crown You're welcome all for to sit down Come spend, my lads, your money brisk And pop your nose in a jug of this Oh, ye gentlemen all, as you pass by Call in and drink if you are dry Call in and drink, think naught amiss And pop your nose in a jug of this And now I'm old and can scarcely drawl Have an old grey beard and a head that's bald Fell my desire, fulfil my bliss A pretty girl and a jug of this Oh, when I'm in my grave and dead And all my sorrows are past and fled Transform me then into a fish And let me swim in a jug of this Oh, ye mariners all, as you pass by Call in and drink if you are dry Come spend, my lads, your money brisk And pop your nose in a jug of this |
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My Son John
-Traditional-
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| Rougue's Gallery (2006) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 678 ; Henry H131 ; Ballad Index MA126 ; trad.] Timothy Walsh of Devonport, Devon sang My Son Tim in a BBC recording made by Cyril Tawney on the anthology A Soldier’s Life for Me (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 8; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1970). The album's notes commented: This powerful anti-war piece exists in many variants—all of them striking and memorable. It dates from the Napoleonic wars when thousands of young Irishmen became cannon fodder in the long struggle between the English and the French. It is best known as Mrs McGrath. Around the time of World War I, it was the most popular marching song of the Irish Volunteers. Tim Hart and Maddy Prior recorded this song as My Son John in 1969 for their second duo album Folk Songs of Old England Vol. 2. The record's sleeve notes comment: Fred Hamer collected this song in Bedfordshire from the singing of David Parrott. A father and his disabled son are before a naval surgeon who is trying to cheat him of his disablement pension by claiming that he was careless to stand in the way of the cannon ball which shot his legs off. Martin Carthy sang My Son John in 2010 on The Imagined Village's second CD, Empire and Love. Thús video shows them at Bridport Arts Centre, Bridport UK. Jon Boden sang My Son Jon as the January 27, 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He noted in the blog: I seem to recall that my folk-hating school friends became rather attached to this particular song. I’m not entirely sure why but there’s something slightly Monty Python about the wording and perhaps that’s the appeal. It’s a strange combination of jollity and social comment. Andy Turner learned My Son Jon from Fred Hamer's book Garners Gay and sang it as the November 18, 2012 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week. |
My Son John
My son John was tall and slim And he had a leg for every limb But now he's got no legs at all For he ran a race with a cannonball Timmy doo dum da. Fa riddle da Wack for the riddle timmy roo dum da O' were you deaf or were you blind When ya left your two fine legs behind Or was it sailing on the sea Wore two fine legs right down to your knee Timmy doo dum da. Fa riddle da Wack for the riddle timmy roo dum da I was not deaf and I was not blind When I left two fine legs behind Nor was it sailing on the sea Wore me two fine legs right down to me knee Timmy doo dum da. Fa riddle da Wack for the riddle timmy roo dum da When I was tall and I was slim And I had a leg for every limb But now I've got no legs at all They were both shot away by a cannonball Timmy doo dum da. Fa riddle da Wack for the riddle timmy roo dum da Timmy doo dum da. Fa riddle da Wack for the riddle timmy roo dum da |
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Lowlands Low
-Traditional-
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| Rouges Gallery (2006) |
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Shanty
The song is also knows as 'The Island Lass' From the sleevenotes: This is a classic halyard chantey once popular in the West Indies. Many of the verses are direct references to getting the sails aloft. The "lowlands" was originally a reference to the Netherlands. |
Lowlands Low
Our packet is the island lass (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) There's a laddie howlin' at the main topmast (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) The old man he's from Barbados (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) He's got the name of Hammer Toes (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) He gives is us bread as hard as brass (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Our junk's as salt as a bailer's arse (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) The monkey's raised in a soldier's clothes (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Now, where he got 'em from, no one knows (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) We'll haul 'em high and let 'em dry (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) We'll trice 'em up into the sky (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) It's up aloft that yard must go (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Up aloft from down below (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Lowlands, me boys, and up she goes (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Get changed, me boys, for your shore-going clothes (Low lands lowlands lowlands low) Low lands lowlands lowlands low Low lands lowlands lowlands low Low lands lowlands lowlands low Low lands lowlands lowlands low |
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Blow The Man Down
-Traditional-
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| Bib & Tuck (2002) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 2624 ; Ballad Index Doe017 ; trad.] The halyard shanty Blow the Man Down was sung in classical style with alternate solo (by Harry H. Corbett) and chorus lines on A.L. Lloyd and Ewan MacColl's 1954/5 LP The Singing Sailor. It was reissued in 1957 on their Topic album Row Bullies Row and on their Wattle album Shanties and Fo'c'sle Songs, in 1958 on their Stinsol album Haul on the Bowlin', and in 1963 as title track of their Topic EP Blow the Man Down. It was also included in 1984 on the French compilation album Chants de Marins IV: Ballads, Complaintes et Shanties des Matelots Anglais, and in 1993 on the Topic collection of sea songs and shanties, Blow the Man Down. The latter album's notes comment: Hoisting the yards was often a long, heavy job. Accordingly, the halyard shanties were likely to be long, rambling songs. They were usually made up of alternate solo and chorus lines. The crew would rest on the rope while the shantyman sang his solo line and then take a good pull (sometimes two) as they bawled the refrain. Blow the Man Down is a classical halyard shanty that originated in the ships of the Black Ball Line. It is led here by Harry H. Corbett in true Liverpool style. Bob Grant accompanied by John Graham sang Blow the Man Down live at the Towersey Village Festival on the August/September bank holiday weekend 1968. This recording was released in the following year on the festival anthology Festival at Towersey. The Young Tradition sang Blow the Man Down on 17 November 1968 at their concert at Oberlin College, Ohio. The concert recording was published in 2013 on their Fledg'ling CD Oberlin 1968. Bob Hart sang Paradise Street (Blow the Man Down) on 8 July 1969 at home in Snape, Suffolk, to Rod and Danny Stradling. This recording was included in 1998 on his Musical Tradition anthology A Broadside. Rod Stradling noted: A sea shanty equally popular in North America as in England, and whilst it's appeared in dozens of books, Roud list almost 30 named singers among his 66 entries. John Roberts and Tony Barrand sang Blow the Man Down in 1973 on their album Across the Western Ocean. They noted: Another very popular shanty, the refrain of which has been married to several different texts, Blow the Man Down was used primarily for work on the halyards, (or “halliards”) on the long, slow task of hoisting the heavy yards and the courses of canvas sail. Our version is again taken from Hugill, though Colcord and Doerflinger each print several variants. The verses recount some of the treatment accorded to the sailors on the packet ships, perhaps only slightly exaggerated by the shantyman. John ‘Fud’ sang Blow the Man Down in 1976 on the Collector anthology of songs and chanteys from the days of commercial sail, Steady As She Goes. Matt Armour sang Blow the Man Down on The Shanty Men's eponymous 1978 Greenwich Village album The Shanty Men. Stan Hugill sang Blow the Man Down on board the Cutty Sark on the evening of 11 June 1979 during the Greenwich Festival. This concert was release in the same year on his Greenwich Village album Aboard the Cutty Sark. A live recording from the Festival of the Sea 1980 at the National Maritime Museum, San Francisco was included in the same year on the Folkways anthology Sea Music of Many Lands: The Pacific Heritage. A 1998 live recording from Mystic Seaport was released in 1998 on his CD In Concert at Mystic Seaport. A live recording from “Douarnenez 88” was included in 1992 on his Le Chasse-Marée CD Chants des Marins Anglais. Jim Mageean and Johnny Collins sang Blow the Man Down live in Friesland in 1983 on their Greenwich Village album Strontrace!, and Johnny Collins sang it in 1996 on his CD with Dave Webber and Pete Watkinson, Shanties & Songs of the Sea. Roy Harris sang Blow the Man Down live in 1997 at The White Lion folk club in Wherwell, Hampshire. The concert recording was released on 1999 on the WildGoose album Live at The Lion. Maddy Prior & the Girls (Rose Kemp and Abbie Lathe) sang a short version of Blow the Man Down with just three verses on their 2002 album Bib & Tuck. Phil Beer sang Blow the Man Down in a recording from a (then) forthcoming album on the BBC anthology Folk Awards 2009. Walking with Ghosts with Jackie Oates sang Blow the Man Down, including a sound sample from Harry H. Corbett from 1954 (see above), on the 2011 CD Fresh Handmade Sound: From Source to Sea. Amsher sang Blow the Man Down on their 2014 CD of songs collected by George Gardiner in 1905-09, Amsher Sings Hampshire Songs. Hughie Jones sang Blow the Man Down in 2014 on his Fellside CD Maritime Miscellany. The Salts sang Blow the Man Down in 2015 on their CD She Rises. |
Blow The Man Down
Now when the Black Baller is clear of the land Timme way, hay, blow the man down! The bosun he gives out the word of command Gimme some time to blow the man down! Lay aft there, lads, to the break of the poop Timme way, hay, blow the man down! Or I'll help you along with the toe of me boot Gimme some time to blow the man down! Chorus: Blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down Timme way, hay, blow the man down! Blow him right back to Liverpool town Gimme some time to blow the man down! It's larboard to starboard, on deck we will sprawl Timme way, hay, blow the man down! For kicking Jack Rogers commands the Black Ball Gimme some time to blow the man down! |
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Heave Away My Johnny
-Tradicional-
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| Short Sharp Shanties, Vol. 3 (Sea Songs of a Watchet Sailor) (2012) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 616 ; Ballad Index Doe063 ; trad.] Cecil Sharp collected the windlass shanty Heave Away My Johnnie from Captain Vickery of Minehead, Somerset, on August 8, 1904 [VWML CJS2/10/275] and on August 21, 1907 [VWML CJS2/9/1315, CJS2/10/1432] , and from the Watchet sailor John Short on April 21, 1914 [VWML CJS2/10/2888, RoudFS/S207947] . Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd sang Heave Away, My Johnny on 1957 on their Riverside album of whaling ballads and songs, Thar She Blows. Kenneth S. Goldstein commented in the sleeve notes: A favourite shanty for windlass work, when the ship was being warped out of harbour at the start of a trip. A log rope would be made fast to a ring at the quayside and run round a bollard at the pierhead and back to the ship's windlass. The shantyman would sit on the windlass head and sing while the spokesters strained to turn the windlass. As they turned, the rope would round the drum and the ship nosed seaward amid the tears of the women and the cheers of the men. This version was sung by the Indian Ocean whalers of the 1840s. ‘Kingston’ is another name for Hull. Louis Killen and chorus sang Heave Away My Johnny in 1964 on the Topic anthology of sea songs and shanties, Farewell Nancy. This track was also included in 1993 on the Topic CD Blow the Man Down. A.L. Lloyd commented in the sleeve notes: A capstan stands upright and is pushed round by trudging men. A windlass, serving much the same function, lies horizontally and is revolved by means of bars pulled from up to down. So windlass songs are generally more rhythmical than capstan shanties. Heave Away is usually considered a windlass song. Originally, it had words concerning a voyage of Irish migrants to America. Later, this text fell away. The version sung here was “devised” by A. L. Lloyd for the film of Moby Dick. The Young Tradition sang Heave Away, My Johnny at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, on November 17, 1968. This concert was published in 2013 on their Fledg'ling CD Oberlin 1968. Bernard Wrigley sang Heave Away, My Johnny in 1974 on the Topic album Sea Shanties. Danny Spooner sang All Bound to Go on his 1988 album We'll Either Bend or Break 'Er. Barbara Brown sang Heave Away My Johnny (We're All Bound to Go), accompanied on chorus by Keith Kendrick and Jackie Oates, in 2012 on the anthology of sea songs collected from John Short by Cecil Sharp, Short Sharp Shanties Vol. 3. The accompanying notes commented: Whall and Colcord both surmise an 1850s' origin to the shanty, but this assumption seems to be based on the fact that their texts are both Mr Tapscott versions. Hugill says that the most popular way of singing this shanty in the latter days of sail was with the “Sometimes we’re bound for Liverpool” set of words. Perhaps we have an evolution here where the form, tune and chorus remains fairly consistent, but the texts used move from Banks of the Sweet Dundee to Mr Tapscott to Sometimes we’re bound for Liverpool. Short, once again, gives us an early version and it may indicate that the shanty started life on the English side of the pond rather than the American. From Short’s three verses we have expanded the text from the closest broadside versions of Banks of the Sweet Dundee. The full text would take too much time for even the longest of tasks so we have exercised some précis skills without, hopefully, destroying the story! Tony Hall recorded Heave Away, Me Johnny Boys during the sessions for his 1977 Free Reed album Fieldvole Music. The track was left out, however, and had to wait until 2007 to be included onto the album's CD reissue. |
Heave Away My Johnny
It's of a farmer's daughter, so beautiful, I'm told, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, Her parents died and left to her five hundred pounds in gold, Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. Now there was a wealthy squire who oft her came to see, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, But Mary loved a ploughboy on the banks of the sweet Dundee. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. Her uncle and the squire rode out one summer's day, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, “Young William he's in favour,” her uncle he did say. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. “Indeed it's my intention to tie him to a tree Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, Or to bribe the press gang on the banks of the sweet Dundee.” Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. Now the press gang came for William when he was all alone, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, He boldly fought for liberty, but they were six to one. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. The blood did flow in torrents, “Pray, kill me now,” says he, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, “I would rather die for Mary on the banks of the sweet Dundee.” Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. This maid one day was walking, lamenting for her love, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, When she met the wealthy squire down in her uncle's grove. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. And he put his arms around her, “Stand off, base man,” said she; Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, “For you vanished the only man I love from the banks of the sweet Dundee.” Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. And young Mary took his pistols and the sword he used so free, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, But she did fire and shot the squire on the banks of the sweet Dundee. Her uncle overheard the noise and he hastened to the sound, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, “Since you have shot the squire I'll give you your death wound!” Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. “Stand off!” then cried young Mary, “undaunted I will be!” Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, She the trigger drew and her uncle slew on the banks of the sweet Dundee. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. He willed his gold to Mary who fought so valiantly, Heave away, my Johnny, heave away, Then he closed his eyes, no more to rise, on the banks of the sweet Dundee. Heave away my bonny boys, we're all bound to go. |
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Poor Old Horse
-Traditional-
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| Rise Up Like The Sun (1978) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 513 ; TYG 60 ; Ballad Index ShH85 ; VWML CJS2/10/2583 ; Bodleian Roud 513 ; Wiltshire 661 , 663 , 933 ; trad.] This ceremonial song is from Cecil Sharp's Folk Song for England. Shirley Collins recorded a two-verse fragment of it in her two-day session in London in 1958 for her 1960 LP False True Lovers. She and Alan Lomax commented in the sleeve notes: [This] is a landlubber relative of the familiar sea shanty: Say, old man, your horse will die, And I say so and I hope so, And if he dies I'll sell his skin, Poor old horse. There can be no doubt that the land-variant, which Sharp found as a part of the hobby-horse drama in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, is older by far. The hobby horse, an important actor in British springtime ceremonies, is a fantastic and sometimes terrifying mask which covers the entire body of the dancer. The horse-dancer goes the round of the community, often on May Day, alternately dying and being revived by his companions, symbolising the death of the old year, and of the fertility of the earth. These spring-time antics of the hobby-horse, which still amuse tourists in certain remote districts of western England, are a genuine survival of ancient pagan fertility rites. That a horse-mask dances in Britain on May Day is one more evidence of the importance of the horse-cult, widespread in all Europe thousands of years ago. Therefore, this charming little comic fragment, which Sharp had taught to all the school children in Britain, is a gentle breath of a pagan fertility rite that once upon a time was a compound of magic, religion, comedy and sex. Dave and Toni Arthur sang Poor Old Horse in 1969 on their Topic album The Lark in the Morning. They commented in their liner notes: Frank Kidson declared in his usual categoric way, that Poor Old Horse is a purely humanitarian view of the fate of old worn-out horses. But in fact, in at least three counties, in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Wiltshire the song was an integral part of the Christmas Ritual performed by parties of mummers, with one of their number disguised roughly as a horse. Celebrated in Kent is the Hooden Horse, banned in 1834 for creating havoc among the elderly people, but now resurrected, (it accompanies the East Kent and Ravensbourne Morris Men). The notion of the sacred luck-bringing, even world-creating horse (or bull, ram or billy-goat) is spread throughout the primitive world. In Britain, the ancient Celts had their horse-rituals, and the idea was reinforced by invading Norsemen. There are still plenty of evidences to be seen, from the great Uffington White Horse to the fiery, fecund, May-day Padstow ‘oss in Cornwall. Minehead has its town hobbyhorse, and in Wales at Midwinter the baleful Mari Llwyd appears with the dancer carrying a beribboned horse’s skull. In Cheshire, the mild-eyed souling horses of Antrobus are famous. Not forgetting the horse-headed man engraved on a bone, found in Pinhole Cave, Derbyshire, the only palaeolithic representation of a human figure discovered in England. The words sung here are from Alfred WiIliams’ Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames. The tune was sung at the Westmorland Festival of 1902 by a Mr Barber, and noted by Frank Kidson, one of the Folk Song Competition judges. It appears in Folk Song Journal No. 5. Roy Harris sang Poor Owd 'Oss in 1972 on his Topic album The Bitter and the Sweet. A.L. Lloyd commented in the album's sleeve notes: All over Europe at Midwinter the animal guisers come out, one disguised as a totemic beast—goat, ram, deer, horse, stork even—surrounded by a rowdy company of raggletaggle dancers, singers and noisemakers, down-at-heel descendants of the ancient animal gods and their attendant spirits. They sing for good luck and the price of a pint outside the cottage windows. The theory that the custom is originally Scandinavian is unconvincing. Wales has been great on horse-guising. See too Nottinghamshire, where Miss M.H. Mason collected the basis of Roy Harris’s version (he added bits from Miss C. Freeman. of Cuckney, Notts, who remembers the custom from her childhood, attached to a Christmastide folk play, and who provided the form of the opening dialogue). Detached from custom, the song has had a brisk life on innumerable broadsides, and has even turned up in the form of a sea-shanty. Muckram Wakes sang Poor Old Horse in 1983 on their Trailer album A Map of Derbyshire. They commented in their liner notes: S.O. Addy, in a paper entitled Guising and Mumming in Derbyshire published in the Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1907, writes: “In various places in North Derbyshire such as Norton, Eckington and Dronfield, a number of men used to go round with ‘the old horse’ on Christmas Eve. The body of the man who represented the horse was covered with cloth or tarpaulin, and the horse's head was made of wood, the mouth being opened by strings. When the men reached the door of a house, the ‘horseman’ got under the tarpaulin and hey began to sing.” The follows a prose conversation among the mummers. The conclusion is that the horse gets a new lease of life and attempts to worry a blacksmith who is called upon to shoe him. Addy adds, “I have been told by an old man in Eckington that, formerly, the mummers used to find out where an old horse was buried and dig its head up.” Similar customs exist in Yorkshire, according to Henderson, Folklore of the Northern Counties, where the Christmas mummers carry with them an image of a white horse, and in Lancashire where the horse is known as “Old Ball” and is performed at Easter. On dictionary definition of ball is “a white-faced horse”. Easter performance could have been a 12th-century throwback, when the Anglican Church began their year on March 25th. The horse was intended to personify the aged and changing year. The year, like a worn-out horse, had become old and decrepit, and as it ends the horse dies but is resurrected again. Repeating the horse from house to house suggests that it was a piece of magic intended to bring welfare to the people in the coming year Ancient races could not be sure that the setting sun would rise again, neither a new year would follow an old. Ian Giles sang Poor Old Horse, with words collected by Alfred Williams and a tune by Tom Bower, on Magpie Lane's 1994 Beautiful Jo album Speed the Plough. Cockersdale sang Poor Old Horse in 1998 on their Fellside CD Wide Open Skies. They commented in their liner notes: Another of the songs which we learned for [Sid Kipper's ‘Lateral History Programme’ for BBC Radio 2]; this one was found by Graham [Pirt] from the Northumbrian tradition. Although there are variants of this song found around the country the tune of this version is very characteristic of those found in other Northumbrian songs. John Kirkpatrick and chums sang Poor Old Horse in 1998 on their CD Wassail! A Traditional Celebration of an English Midwinter. He commented in his sleeve notes: This song was originally attached to a Christmas play—The Old Horse Play—that was reasonably widespread at the turn of the century in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and has still not entirely died out. Ceremonial performances of the song, with a horse's skull suitably decorated, can be found to this day in North Yorkshire. In the last verse the singer holding the skull kneels down to symbolise the death of the horse. As with the wren, we take the horse's strength to keep us going through the coming year. The song was taken up and widely distributed by broadside printers, so that it has been found all over the country even where the accompanying play is quite unknown. This is a jumble of some of the many variants. Crucible sang Old Horse in 2005 on their WildGoose CD Crux. They commented in their liner notes: We absorbed Old Horse over many a well-oiled late night session in the company of Dr Simon Heywood. This version was collected from a traveller by East Yorkshire singer and fiddler Jim Eldon. Kate Rusby sang Poor Old Horse in 2008 on her CD Sweet Bells. Pete Coe sang Poor Old Horse in 2010 on his CD Backbone. He commented in his liner notes: In South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire there's a Christmas play “The Old Horse”. It's a brief, riotous visiting ceremony, the horse often being made from the skull of a real horse painted red and black, killed and brought back to life. The song also circulated independently from the ritual, and this version is based on the one collected by Cecil Sharp in 1904 at Langport, Somerset, from C. Shire who appropriately, was a blacksmith. I've added a few bars of the old music hall tune Down the Road, “… woe mare, woe mare, you've earned your little bit of corn.” Andy Turner learned Poor Old Horse from Maud Karpeles' book The Crystal Spring: English Folk Songs Collected by Cecil Sharp. He sang it as the September 22, 2013 entry of his blog A Folk Song a Week. Lucy Farrell sang lead vocals Poor Old Horse on The Furrow Collective's 2015 EP Blow Out the Moon. She commented in the album's notes: I was drawn to Poor Old Horse in Songs of Man by Norman and Stracke initially because of the byline: “Humans are not the only creatures who are maudlin. Here is a case of ‘equine self pity’.” Martin Carthy used three Poor Old Horse verses for the song Old Horse on his album Out of the Cut. |
Poor Old Horse
They say, old man, your horse will die (And they say so, and we hope so) They say, old man, your horse will die (Oh poor old man) And if he dies then we'll tan his hide (And they say so, and we hope so) Aye and if he dies then we'll tan his hide (Oh poor old man) And if he lives then we'll ride again (And they say so, and we hope so) Aye and if he lives then we'll ride again (Oh poor old man) And it's after years of much abuse (And they say so, and we hope so) Then we'll salt him down for the sailors' use (Oh poor old man) He's as dead as a nail in the lamp room floor (And they say so, and we hope so) He's as dead as a nail in the lamp room floor (Oh poor old man) Aye and he won't bother us no more (And they say so, and we hope so) Aye and he won't bother us no more (Oh poor old man) And it's Sally's in the garden and she's picking the peas (And they say so, and we hope so) Aye and her long black hair's hangin' down to her knees (Oh poor old man) And it's Sally's in the kitchen and she's baking the duff (And they say so, and we hope so) Aye and the cheeks of her a are going chuff chuff chuff (Oh poor old man) And it's down the long and the winding road (And they say so, and we hope so) And it's down the long and the winding road (Oh poor old man) It's mahogany beef and the weevily bread (And they say so, and we hope so) It's mahogany beef and the weevily bread (Oh poor old man) And I thought I heard the old man say (And they say so, and we hope so) Just one more pull and then belay (Oh poor old man) Just one more pull and that will do (And they say so, and they hope so) For we're the lads to kick her through (Oh poor old man) |
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Times Are Hard and Wages Low (Leave her Johnny)
-Tradicional-
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| Short Sharp Shanties, Vol. 2 (Sea Songs of a Watchet Sailor) (2011) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 354 ; Henry H53b ; Ballad Index Doe089 ; trad.] In his book Shanties from the Seven Seas, Stan Hugill printed verses of Leave Her, Johnny as a halyard and as a pump shanty. He wrote: And now we come to the 'Johnny' song that usually ended the voyage—Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her! Collectors give pumps and halyards alike as the job it was used for. Terry and Whall call it a hauling song; Miss Colcord and Doerflinger give it for pumps. I think they are all right. It was probably sung at halyards with two solos and refrains, and when a full chorus was added then it was used at the pumps and even capstan. I learnt it partly from my mother's father, and he always sang the full chorus, and partly from an old Irish sailor, who also used the final chorus. It probably came to life about the time of the Irish potato famine, in the forties, and was originally sung in the Western Ocean Packets in this fashion: The later version Leave Her, Johnnies or as some sang it Leave Her, Bullies was sometimes sung during the voyage—at the pumps—but its better-known function was that of airing grievances just prior to the completion of the voyage either when warping the vessel in through the locks or at the final spell of the pumps (in wooden ships) after the vessel had docked. Many unprintable stanzas were sung, directed at the afterguard, the grub, and the owners. Bullen writes that: “to sing it before the last day or so was almost tantamount to mutiny.” Bob Roberts sang this song as Time for Us to Leave Her in a recording at Cecil Sharp House made by Peter Kennedy on the HMV album A Pinch of Salt: British Sea Songs Old and New, and in 1978 as Leave Her, Johnny on his Topic LP Songs from the Sailing Barges. A.L. Lloyd laconically commented in the sleeve notes: … As for the work-shanties Haul Away, Joe, Whiskey Johnny and Leave Her, Johnny, Bob converts them into lyrical social songs for the sake of their choruses. Danny Spooner sang Leave Her, Johnny on his 1988 album We'll Either Bend or Break 'Er, and on his 2009 CD Bold Reilly Gone Away. He noted: But the work is not over until the last ‘sucko’. Leave Her Johnnies was usually the last shanty sung on a journey. With the ship safely berthed, her sails harbour-furled and gear cleared away, there is one last job to do and that is to pump her dry. That job is only over when that sucking sound is heard and an officer gives the order, “That'll do men”. Louis Killen recorded Leave Her, Johnny in 1997 for his CD A Seaman's Garland: Sailors, Ships & Chanteys Vol. 2, where he commented: Of course, worksongs or chanteys were also a definitive part of the sailor's repertoire. The Black Ball Line (halyards), Goodbye, Fare Thee Well (capstan), and Leave Her, Johnny (pumps) need no description—their words of pride, longing, and hard work speak volumes. Louis Killen also sang in the chorus of Dan Milner's version of Leave Her, Johnny on the latter's 1998 CD Irish Ballads & Songs of the Sea. Geoff Kaufman et al sang Leave Her, Johnny in 2001 at the 22nd Annual Sea Music Festival at Mystic Seaport. And Lou Reed sang Leave Her, Johnny in 2006 on the anthology Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys. Jon Boden learnt Leave Her, Johnny from Daniel Jacks at a Forest School Camp when he was about 16 year old. He sang it as the Augst 23, 2010 entry of his A Folk Song a Day project. The words of his version can be found in the online FSC songbook. |
Times Are Hard and Wages Low (Leave her Johnny)
O, the times are hard and the wages low Leave her Johnny leave her O, the times are hard and the wages low It’s time for us to leave her. My old mother she wrote to me Leave her Johnny leave her “My loving son come home from sea. It’s time for us to leave her. I ‘ve got no money and I’ve got no clothes” Leave her Johnny leave her I will send you money I will send you clothes. It’s time for us to leave her. We all leave her when we get on dock Leave her Johnny leave her We’ll leave her and we want’ come back. It’s time for us to leave her. A leaking ship and a carping crew Leave her Johnny leave her o two long years (we pold her true)*. It’s time for us to leave her. A dollar a day is the sailors pay Leave her Johnny leave her pump all night and work all day. It’s time for us to leave her. We pumped her all ‘round the Horn Leave her Johnny leave her “It’s pump you bastards pump or drown”. It’s time for us to leave her. O I thought I heard the captain say Leave her Johnny leave her “we’ll go ashore when we pump her dry.” It’s time for us to leave her. Leave her Johnny like a man Leave her Johnny leave her leave her Johnny while you can It’s time for us to leave her. |
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The Mermaid
-Traditional-
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| Rogue's Gallery (2006) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 124 ; Child 289 ; G/D 1:27 ; Ballad Index C289 ; Bodleian Roud 124 ; Wiltshire 710 ; trad.] Jeannie Robertson sang Three Times 'Round Went Oor Gallant Ship as part of a medley of Aberdeen street games and songs in 1960 on her Prestige album Scottish Ballads and Folk Songs. William Howell of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, sang Our Gallant Ship on the anthology Sailormen and Servingmaids (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 6; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1970). Bob Hart sang The Mermaid at home in Snape, Suffolk, on July 8, 1969 to Rod and Danny Stradling. This recording was included in 1998 on his Musical Traditions anthology A Broadside. Rod Stradling commented in the accompanying booklet: Professor Child called this The Mermaid because, in most versions, the sailors sight a mermaid, a sign of bad-luck, before their ship is wrecked. It was published in a Newcastle Garland, dated 1765, as The Seamen's Distress, although later broadside printers often called it The Sailor's Caution. In America the song was often treated comically in 19th century college glee books and it may be that sometimes the American folk versions are serious reinterpretations of these one-time comic versions! Almeda Riddle from Heber Springs, Arkansas, sang The Nerrimac at Sea in 1972 on her Rounder album Ballads and Hymns from the Ozarks. Johnny Doughty sang The Mermaid to Mike Yates at home in Brighton, Sussex, in Summer 1976. This recording was released a year later on Doughty's Topic album of traditional songs from the Sussex coast, Round Rye Bay for More. Mike Yates commented in the sleeve notes: There is an old belief among sailors that the sighting of a mermaid is an omen of impending doom. However, our present song has not been traced prior to the mid-18th century when it was printed as The Seamen’s Distress in The Glasgow Lasses Garland, a Newcastle chapbook of c. 1765. In North America the song appeared on at least three commercial 78 rpm records during the 1920s and 30s. The Carter Family sang it for Bluebird as Waves on the Sea whilst Ernest Stoneman recorded it as The Sailor’s Song and, with his Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, as The Raging Sea, How it Roars (Victor), a version now reissued by Rounder Record. Jolly Jack sang this as The Sailor's Song in 1983 on their Fellside album Rolling Down to Old Maui. Martin Carthy sang Mermaid in 2006 on his and Dave Swarbrick's album Straws in the Wind. He commented in the sleeve notes: When I was a child, Mermaid was a song which we all sang a lot. That we didn't know all the words didn't matter. When in the summer of 1961 I met The Charles River Valley Boys all from Harvard University and they sang an Old Timey version of the song with the memorable line in the chorus “…The landlord lies sleeping down below…”, joy was unconfined. However the version sitting in the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs learned by E.T. Sweeting from a James Herridge in Twyford in 1906 is an altogether different kettle of fish from these jolly romps and makes for a much darker journey. Given that, as A.L. Lloyd says, the sight of a mermaid was the worst of omens, you would think that it would be an invitation to all sorts of songs but it's not so: this one song in its various forms and (possibly) the children's song The Big Ship Sails on the Alley-O seems to be it. Martin Carthy recorded it again in 2006 with Waterson:Carthy and with somewhat different verses for the double CD Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys, and Eliza Carthy sang it on 2010 on the Imagined Village CD Empire and Love, Pete Coe sang Mermaid in 2004 on his CD In Paper Houses. He commented in his liner notes: This grandiose minor tune came from a Dorset church organist and I selected verses which concentrated on the role of the mermaid. Stan Hugill told me that, in the days of sail, if a sailor saw a mermaid it could be a sign of good luck, or bad luck… I hope that makes things clear, then. Paul and Liz Davenport sang The Mermaid in 2008 on their Hallamshire Traditions CD Songbooks. Brian Peters sang The Sailor's Song in 2008 on his CD of Child ballads, Songs of Trial and Triumph. He commented: What I sing here is mostly what Dan Tate of Fancy Gap, Carroll County, Virginia, sang to Mike Yates on August 14, 1979. Mr Tate was a banjo player and singer, born in 1896, who Mike Yates met on the first of his Appalachian collecting trips. You can find out more about the music he recorded [on the Musical Traditions anthology Far in the Mountains]. I have to admit that the ballad has “evolved” unconsciously in my hands since I learned it from the Dan Tate recording, in that the characters should be introduced in turn as “the next on deck…”” etc., whereas in singing “the next to come in” I seem to have got muddled up with an English mummers’ calling-on song. Be warned not to learn it my way! More deliberately, I amended the second verse (which in the Tate version has the lady making an identical speech to the captain’s) in line with the wonderfully-spirited version recorded by Ernest Stoneman from Galax (just up the road from Fancy Gap) with his family band. My arrangement is a more conventional old-time / bluegrass effort than the Stoneman recording. Vic Shepherd and John Bowden with Linda Lee Welch sang The Merrimac at Sea in 2015 on their Hallamshire Traditions CD Still Waters. They noted: This song comes from the superb Arkansas singer Almeda ‘Granny’ Riddle. Recorded by John Quincy Wolf in 1952 and by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins in 1959, she became an important figure in the North American folk revival and performed at many festivals for more than 20 years, frequently sharing a stage with younger musicians such as Mike Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. In an interview in I970 Granny Riddle claimed to know ‘somewhere between five and seven hundred’ ballads. Despite its title the song has nothing to do with the frigate Merrimack which, rebuilt as the famous Civil War ironclad CSS Virginia fought with the USS Monitor at the first engagement between ironclad warships at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, but is instead a jolly version of The Mermaid (Child 289) which those of us of more advanced years can remember learning in school from Singing Together. |
The Mermaid
As we lay musing on our bed, So early morn at ease, We thought upon those lodging beds Poor sailors have at sea. Though last Easter day in the morning fair, We was not far from land, We spied a mermaid sitting on a rock With a comb and a glass in her hand, in her hand, With a comb and a glass in her hand. And first come the bosun of our ship With courage, stout and bold: “Stand fast, stand fast, brave lively lads, Stand fast, brave hearts of gold. For our gallant ship, she's gone to wreck, She was so lately trimmed, The raging seas have sprung her good, And the salt seas all run in, run in, And the salt seas all run in.” And up then spoke our cabin boy, Oh, a well spoke boy was he: “I'm sorry for my mother dear, I'm lost in the salt, salt sea. For last night, last night, the moon shone bright, And you know that she had sons five, Tonight she may look in the salt, salt waves And find but one alive, alive, And find but one alive.” For boats, for boats, you fair Plymouth girls, Don't you hear how the trumpet sound? For the want of a boat our good ship is lost And the most of the young men drowned, oh drowned, And the most of the young men drowned. |
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Rolling Sea
-Tradicional-
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| Rogue's Gallery (2006) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 506 ; trad.] Frankie Armstrong sang The Sailor Laddie in 1973 on the Topic theme album The Valiant Sailor: Songs & Ballads of Nelson's Navy which accompanied Roy Palmer's same-named book. Frankie's five songs on this album were included in 2000 on the Fellside CD reissue of her Topic LP Lovely on the Water. The album's liner notes commented: Despite her pride in the sailor lad's valour, his sweetheart still longs for peace, so that he will come home. A version of this song was heard at Gosport as early as 1781. Our text comes from John Aston's Real Sailor Songs (1891) and the tune from Stokoe and Reay, who give it in their Songs and Ballads of Northern England, under the title of O the Bonny Fisher Lad. Christine Kydd sang Sailor Laddie in 1993 on her Fellside album Heading Home; this track was also included in 2006 on the Fellside anthology Landmarks: 30 Years of a Leading Folk Music Label. Eliza Carthy sang this song as Rolling Sea in 2006 on the double CD Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys. The liner notes comment: This song is from the perspective of a woman ashore, waiting for her sailor (or any sailor) to return home (with prize money). The lyrics are from the Napoleonic period. Some verses are the voice of a wife or sweetheart. The verse that compares sailors and soldiers is a well known whore's ditty of the time. On the same album Eliza also sings, as part of Waterson:Carthy, the two songs The Mermaid and Hog-Eye Man. Tom & Barbara Brown sang Bonnie Sailor Laddie in 2008 on their WildGoose CD Beyond the Quay. They commented: Bonny Sailor Laddie is a happy marriage of tune and words that was contrived by Roy Palmer for his book (and the LP) The Valiant Sailor back in 1973: he took the tune O The Bonny Fisher Lad from Stokoe & Reay’s Songs and Ballads of Northern England and the words from Ashton’s Real Sailor Songs. Said the Maiden sang Rolling Sailor in 2013 on their EP Come Hither. |
Rolling Sea
Don't ya see the ships a'comin? Don't ya see them in full sail? Don't ya see the ships a'comin With their prizes at their tail? Oh, my little rolling sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on a rollin' sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) Sailors they get all the money Soldiers they get none but brass How I love my rolling sailor Soldiers they can kiss my--- Oh, my little rolling sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on the rolling sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) How can I be blithe and merry With my true love far from me? All those pretty little sailors They've been pressed and ta'en to sea Oh, my little rolling sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on the rolling sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) How I wish the press were over And the wars were at an end Then every sailor laddie Would be happy with his friend Oh, my little rolling sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on the rolling sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) When the wars they are all over Peace and plenty come again E'ry bonny sailor laddie Will come sailing on the main Oh, my little rolling sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on the rolling sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) Hope the wars will soon be over And the sailors, once come home Every lass will get a laddie She won't have to sleep alone Oh, my little, oh sailor Oh, my little rolling he How I love my rolling sailor When he's on the rolling sea (When he's on a rollin', rollin,' When he's on a rollin' sea.) |
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New York Girls
-Tradicional-
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| Ride (1989) |
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Polka / Sea Shanty
[ Roud 486 ; Ballad Index Doe058 ; trad.] Bob Roberts sang this song as Can't You Dance the Polka in a BBC Archive recording by Peter Kennedy from the 1950s on the compilation CD Sea Songs and Shanties. The Ian Campbell Folk Group sang New York Gals on their 1967 album, New Impressions. This was reissued in 2005 together with all of their Transatlantic recordings on their anthology The Times They Are A-Changin'. Steeleye Span recorded New York Girls with guest Peter Sellers (who played ukulele and went goon on the lines quoted in brackets) for their 1975 album Commoners Crown. The verses are very similar to the version in Stan Hugill's book Shanties from the Seven Seas, p. 283, titled The New York Gals. Steeleye Span's recording was also included in 1995 in the 2 CD compilation Spanning the Years. Unfortunately, the later BGO CD reissue of Commoners Crown finished early and left out Peter Sellers' matelote quip at the end. Sam Richards and Tish Stubbs sang New York Gals in 1977 on their Saydisc album Invitation to North America. They noted: Well, it could happen anywhere, but it’s the whores of Chatham and Bleeker Streets, 19th century New York’s red light area, that are singled out for Jack Tar’s invective in this, one of his shanties. The best known version has the chorus line “Oh you New York Gals can’t you dance the Polka?”—less explicit than the chorus we sing, but giving us an interesting sidelight on the song. The Polka, a Bohemian dance, swept Europe as a craze in the early 1840s. The song is indeed in the catchy 1-2-3- hop rhythm of the Polka and sings very well with that in mind. So although the best authorities claim Irish derivation for the tune, it is clear that the Polka craze moulded it into its seafaring form. Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas sang New York Girls on BBC Manchester's “Folk Like Us” charity cassette of 1987, Children in Need. Cyril Tawney sang New York Girls in 1990 on his Neptune cassette Sailor's Delight. This recording was also included in 2003 on his CD Nautical Tawney. According to Tom Lewis, as cited in the Mudcat Café thread Lyr Req: Can't You Dance the Polka? (from S Slade), the “Can't You Dance the Polka?” chorus […] is the ‘modern’ version of the song, dating from the eighteen-eighties. Before the popularity of the Polka at this time the same song had a last line in the chorus of “You Loves Us For Our Money”. John Roberts and Tony Barrand sang New York Girls with the pre-polka chorus on their 2000 CD of songs of the North Atlantic sailing packets, Across the Western Ocean. They commented in their liner notes: Also known as Can't You Dance the Polka?, this song achieved considerable popularity to the folk song revival of the late fifties and early sixties. On the packets it was used as a capstan shanty, though here it is sung more as a forebitter. This set is culled from one of the versions given by Hugill, and, in common with many other forebitters, gives an account of Jack Tar's treatment on shore at the hands of the ‘doxies,’ ladies whose livelihood depended on keeping him entertained, but whose honesty and trustworthiness as companions was sometimes questionable. Other versions are given by Colcord and Doerflinger. Steve Tilston sang New York Gals in 2005 on his CD Of Many Hands. Jon Boden sang New York Girls as the October 4, 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day to commemorate the release of Bellowhead's CD Hedonism which has this song on it too. Bellowhead's live recording from the Cambridge Folk Festival in July 2011 can be found on the DVD Cambridge Folk Festival 2011. |
New York Girls
As I rolled down on South Street A woman I did meet She asked me just to see her home She lived on 14th street And away you sally My dear Annie Oh! You New York Girls Can you dance the polka? And when I got to 14th street We stopped at No 4 Her mother and her sister came To greet us at the door And when we got inside the house The drink was handed round The liquor came so strong and quick My head went round and round When I woke up next morning I had an aching head I found myself stark naked And all alone in bed My gold watch and my money And my lady-friend were gone There was I without a stitch Or cent to call my own So look out all young sailors Watch your step on shore You'll have to be up early to be Smarter than a whore Your hard-earned cash will disappear Your hat and boots as well For New York Girls are tougher than The other side of hell! |
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Sea Shanty
-Shane Patrick Lysaght Macgowan-
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| Red Roses For Me (1984) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 486 ; Ballad Index Doe058 ; trad.] |
Sea Shanty
Dear dirty London in the pouring rain I wish to God I was back on the sea again Though that belongs to the world of never will be There was never a wilder bastard than me on the sea I could fuck all the whores in damnation me boys Though they wriggled and hollered and made a great noise Then I'd drink till I stank and then drink plenty more And I won't go down to the sea any more But if I had ten pounds then I'd raise a loud cheer And I'd toast all me neighbours both distant and dear And I'd shoot back great belly-crippling buckets of beer And a pox and a curse on the people round here Wouldn't give you me the price of a half pint of beer Wouldn't give you me the price of a cup of good cheer A pox and a curse on the people round here A man's ambition must indeed be small To write his name upon a shithouse wall But before I die I'll add my regal scrawl To show the world I'm left with sweet fuck all And when all of us bold shithouse poets do die A monument grand they will raise to the sky A monument made just to mark our great wit A monument of solid shit now me boys I met with Bill James we fought over crusts I called him a whore and he booted me crotch Then we shared out the jack and we thought it a treat The compliments pass when the quality meet The compliments pass when the quality meet The compliments pass when the quality meet The compliments pass when the quality meet |
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& mibrinco
Drunken Sailor
-Traditional-
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| Drunken Sailor (2012) |
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Shanty
[ Roud 322 ; G/D 1:4 ; Ballad Index Doe048 ; trad.] The Cadgwith Fishermen's Chorus from Cornwall sang What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor? in a recording made by Peter Kennedy on 18 November 1956 (BBC 23654). It was included in 1994 on the Saydisc anthology Sea Songs and Shanties. Tim Hart and the Livingston Hooray Ensemble sang What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? in 1983 on Tim Hart and Friends' album Drunken Sailor and Other Kids Songs. This track was later included on their compilation CD Favourite Nursery Rhymes and Other Children's Songs. Stan Hugill and Stormalong John sang The Drunken Sailor at “Fêtes du chant de marin” in Paimpol in 1991. This was released in 1992 on his CD of live festival recordings, Chants des Marins Anglais. The Demon Barbers learned The Drunken Sailor from Dick Miles and recorded in in 2002 for their CD Uncut. David Thomas sang What Do We Do With a Drunken Sailor? on the 2006 anthology of pirate ballads, sea songs and chanteys, Rogue's Gallery. Fisherman's Friends sang Drunken Sailor on the 2014 Cambridge Folk Festival anthology Celebrating 50 Years. The Salts sang Drunken Sailor in 2018 on their CD Brave. The Spinners sang The Drunken Sailor live in Liverpool's Music Room on 19-20 May 2018. A recording of this concert was released in the same year on their CD Legends. Drunken Sailor was revived as a popular song among non-sailors in the 20th century, and grew to become one of the best-known songs of the shanty repertoire among mainstream audiences. It has been performed and recorded by many musical artists and appeared in many popular media. Although the song's lyrics vary, they usually contain some variant of the question, "What shall we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?" In some styles of performance, each successive verse suggests a method of sobering or punishing the drunken sailor. In other styles, further questions are asked and answered about different people. |
Drunken Sailor
What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor? Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! Shave his belly with a rusty razor Shave his belly with a rusty razor Shave his belly with a rusty razor Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! Put him in a long boat till his sober Put him in a long boat till his sober Put him in a long boat till his sober Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe bottom Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe bottom Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe bottom Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! Put him in the bed with the captains daughter Put him in the bed with the captains daughter Put him in the bed with the captains daughter Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! That's what we do with a drunken sailor That's what we do with a drunken sailor That's what we do with a drunken sailor Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Early in the morning! |
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& mibrinco
Mingulay Boat Song
-Tradicional-
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| Rougue's Gallery (2006) |
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Shanty
[Hugh S. Roberton] Sir Hugh Roberton (1874-1952) was conductor of the famous Orpheus Choir of Glasgow for which he made many choral arrangements of Scots songs. He also published Songs of the Isles (1950), a collection of traditional tunes for which he invented English words. Mairi's Wedding (the Lewis Bridal Song), Westering Home and the Mingulay Boat Song were all popularised by Roberton and they remain perennial favourites. The remote, barren island of Mingulay lies to the south of Barra in the Western Isles. Sometimes referred to as ‘the nearer St Kilda’, it was a crofting and fishing community of about 160 people until 1912. Isolation, infertile land, lack of a proper landing place and the absentee landlord problems familiar to the Western Isles and Highlands, resulted in a gradual disintegration of Mingulay's culture. The process of voluntary evacuation began in 1907 with land raids by the impoverished crofters to the neighbouring island of Vatersay, and Mingulay is now completely deserted. But summer visitors to Barra regularly brave the two-hour journey in exposed seas from Castlebay to Mingulay, inspired by Roberton's evocative but sentimental song, which has no connection with either the island or its people. Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor with The Galliards sang Mingulay Boat Song in 1961 on their Decca album Scottish Choice. Paddy Hernon of Vancouver sang Mingulay Boat Song at the Seattle Chantey Festival during the American Sail Training Association's 1978 Tall Ships Pacific. This was published a year later on the Folkways album Sea Songs Seattle. Welsh comedian and singer Max Boyce MBE sang Mingulay Boat Song in 1981 on his album It's Good to See You. The Australian Band Lyrical Folkus sang Mingulay Boat Song in 1999 on their album The Persimmon Tree. Danny Spooner sang The Mingulay Boat Song on his 2002 CD Launch Out on the Deep. He noted: A popular song for the singing session, this was originally a traditional Gaelic rowing song. When I first came to Melbourne in the 1960s a dear friend, Gordon McIntyre, made me a present of a wonderful little book 101 Scottish Songs selected by Norman Buchan and published in 1962 by Collins. This is one of the gems from that collection. Richard Thompson sang Mingulay Boat Song in 2006 on the theme album Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys. Grace Notes sang Northern Ride / Mingulay Boat Song in 2007 as the title track of their Fellside CD Northern Tide. This track was also included in 2012 on their anniversary CD 20. Lynda Hardcastle commented in their liner notes: I've been singing this beautiful song in the bath for year. It's yet another sea song! When we were rehearsing Linda Kelly's Northern Tide it naturally flowed into Mingulay. It's a song with a fantastic chorus that seems to resonate with folkies everywhere. David Gibb and Elly Lucas were nominees for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2011. Their Mingulay Boat Song was included on the anthology BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2011. |
Mingulay Boat Song
Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Heave her head round to the weather Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay What care we though white the Minch is What care we boys the wind and weather When we know that, every inch is Closer homeward to Mingulay Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Heave her head round to the weather Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay Wives are waiting by the pierhead Gazing seaward from the heather Heave ahead round and we'll anchor Ere the sun sets on Mingulay Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Heave her head round to the weather Heel ya ho, boys, let her go, boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay Sailing homeward to Mingulay |
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