Professional Documents
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PS: Usually, (?) means that I'm dubious about my transcription of the
preceeding word or phrase.
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Last time changes were made: 2/4/82 3AM by JKESS@MC
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Let's start with an easy one:
Verses: Chorus:
Now that we're warmed up, let's try to get our ship under way:
First thing to do is weigh anchor. The anchor would be dropped some
distance from the ship, so when you started working the capstan, you
would really be pulling the boat into position over the anchor. This
was easy, compared to actually raising the blasted thing, so this song
is moderately up-tempo.
Oh, I woke up in the morning sick and sore, boys (and sore, boys)
And I knew that I was outward bound again (bound again!)
And I heard a poor voice bawling at the door, boys (the door, boys)
Lay aft, men, and answer to your names (names, names)
Oh, 'twas on the quarter deck where first I saw 'em (I saw 'em)
Such an ugly bunch I never seen before (seen before!)
Oh, there was a bum and a stiff from every quarter (quarter)
And it made me poor old heart feel sick and sore (sick and sore)
Oh, I asked the mate which-a watch was mine, oh (was mine, oh)
And the mate, he told me which-a watch was which (which was which!)
Well, he threw me down, and kicked me out astern, oh (astern, oh)
Calling me a dirty, lousy son of a ...! [laughter, usually]
Well, it's then I made me mind up I should jump her (should jump her)
Should leave the begger, and swim me way ashore (swim ashore!)
And that's just what I did, I went and left her (and left her)
And in an English bar, I found a very friendly lady! [Laughter, again]
Oh, I wish that I was in the Jolly Sailor (the Sailor)
Along with Irish Kate, and drinking beer (drinking beer!)
Oh, 'twas then I thought what jolly chaps were sailors (were sailors)
And with me flipper, I wiped away a tear (wiped a tear)
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Well, we haven't quite gotten to the the anchor yet, so we
move right into the next song:
(Now we was) Sick of the beach when our money was gone,
So we shipped on this packet to drive her along.
By the way: The single worst job on the ship HAD to be the
Second Mate. He got shouted at by the Captain when the crew got out of
line, and knocked our or tossed overboard by the crew when the Captain
was too tough. Anyone out there want the job....?
Johnny Boker
Typical verses:
Verses:
The Mate was drunk, and he went below, To take a swig of his bottle, oh.
A bottle of rum, and a bottle of gin, And a bottle of Irish whiskey, oh.
His bottle, oh, his bottle, oh, The sailor likes his bottle, oh,
A cut of the plug, and a cut of the swiss, And a cut of hard tobaccio,
His bottle, oh, his bottle, oh, The sailor likes his bottle, oh,
The maidens, oh, the lassies, oh, the sailor loves the Judys, oh,
A gal from the poo (?) and a gal from the tine (?) and a chalice (?) so fine
and dandy, oh,
His bottle, oh, his bottle, oh, The sailor likes his bottle, oh,
A bloody rough house, a bloody rough house, The sailor loves a roughhouse, oh,
A kick in the poo (?) and an all-hands-in, A bloody good rough-and-tumble, oh,
His bottle, oh, his bottle, oh, The sailor likes his bottle, oh,
A sing song, oh, a sing song, oh, The sailor loves a sing song, oh.
His bottle, oh, his bottle, oh, The sailor likes his bottle, oh,
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By now (or earlier), the yard would be fairly close to the
top, and the shanteyman would switch over into a one-pull shantey to
give him better control over when to stop. Since he had control of the
tempo of the work, and because he could fairly easily find a good spot
to observe from, the shanteyman took many such responsibilities.
Boney
[I ran out of tape at this point -- ask Leslie K. for the rest]
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Our ship is sailing! Now we get to relax with a foc'stle
ballad or two. Foc'stle shanteys were sung purely for fun. There was
usually a specific time of day (early evening?) when the crew would
gather for foc'stle shanteys and, on military ships, the required
dancing of the Hornpipe, which was supposed to "get the blood flowing".
Imagine being forced to dance at the same time every day...
Expurgated version:
Chorus:
Oh, <G>blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down!
To my way, <Em>aye, <C>blow the man <D7>down.
Oh, <C>blow the man <D7>down, bullies, <C>blow him right <D7>down,
Give me some time to <G>blow the man down.
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
--------------------
Says he, "You're a Black Baller from the cut of your hair;
I can tell by those high red-topped sea boots you wear.
"You've come from some ship that flies the Black Ball,
And you've robbed some poor Dutchman of his clothes, boots and all!"
Oh, blow the man, down, bullies, blow the man down;
And a crew of hard cases from Liverpool town.
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Sailors would pick up any melody or song they heard. Music
hall songs could become shanteys, and shanteys became music hall
songs. In fact, Stan Hugill (a well-known collector of shanteys and
other songs of the sea) suggests that a boat carrying German
immigrants may have been responsible for "Blow the Man Down". I don't
know the German, but hum the following lines to yourself:
And when I'm far upon the sea you'll know not where I am.
Kind letters I will write to you from every foreign land.
The secrets of your heart, dear girl,
Are the best of my good will,
So let my body be where it might, my heart will be with you still.
Chorus: Away, haul away; we'll haul away for Rosie, oh.
Alternate version: ... ; we'll haul away, Joe.
But when he got his head cut off it spoiled his constitution.
That if I did not kiss the girls, my lips would grow all mouldy.
My first love was a yankee lass, but she was fat and lazy.
The second was an Irish miss who damn near drove me crazy.
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Another bit of history: Sailors would get into harbor, and
spend all their wages before the ship left. This was somewhat
depressing, since somehow most of the "attractions" of the port would
NOT take credit... and so the custom of "Drawing on a dead horse", or
drawing a month's wages in advance, came into being. I'm told that
this still exists in the US Navy.
Unfortunately, this leads to the equally depressing payday a
month later where your buddies are getting paid, and you aren't. A
kind of ritual developed around the belated "death" of the horse. The
ship's sailmaker would use the materials at hand to build an effigy of
a horse, and a dusk a solemn candlelight procession would form on
deck. The horse would be paraded around the ship three times, and then
hoisted on a rope to the topmost yardarm. There, the youngest member
of the crew would cut the rope on cue, dropping the horse into the
sea. The traditional three-cheer salute was given, and the captain
would issue a ration of grog (watered rum) to each man.
Hip-hip-hooray!
Hip-Hip-Hooray!
HIP-HIP-HOORAY!
A-Roving
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Hog-Eyed Man
Chorus
(Take your pick -- but it helps if everyone sings the same chorus. Let
the shanteyman decide. I usually sing "She's the Sailboat...", out of
reflex, but my favorite is "She's the Good Ship Malarky", since that's
the most sardonic of the lot.)
Verses:
Boston Harbor
Saint Peter's
Saint Peter's, Saint Peter's, down in Corland Bay;
Chorus: Saint Peter's, Saint Peter's, down in Corland Bay. [Yes, the same]
And the water is very fresh, and feel fresh and gay.
[Repeat from top until exhaustion seeps through song or you reach destination]
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Fine Time 'a Day: another rowing shantey
Chorus: Bawdy Tananwe is somebody, oh. [Don't blame me, that's how I
learned it!]
Congo River
Verses:
Liverpool Judys
Stormy
Chorus
CHORUS: Singin' --
Blow ye winds in the morning
And blow ye winds high-o!
Clear away your running gear
And blow ye winds high-o!
CHORUS
CHORUS
CHORUS
CHORUS
CHORUS
CHORUS
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The Eddystone Light
Chorus:
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
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High Barbary
by Stan Hugill: The Shanteys from the Seven Seas [One of the foremost
Shanteys and Sailor Songs authorities!]
Songs of the Sea
by William F. Durflinger:
Shantey Men and Shantey Boys
by Roger Abrams:
Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore [West Indian songs]
Suggested records: