Sea Shanties

The Lyrics and History of Sailor Songs

Karen Dolby

• Publisher: Michael O'Mara
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781789293760
• eBook ISBN:
  9781789293777
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Pull up anchor, set sail and hit the open water with this wonderful collection of sea shanties and their fascinating history. People have been singing at sea since they first set sail and sea shanties still fascinate and entertain. Composed and performed by sailors to ensure the rhythmic operation of hauling and heaving tasks aboard huge merchant vessels, the songs also boosted camaraderie, positivity and motivation. Life at sea was harsh and relentless, and these songs brought some much-needed energy and humour.This bountiful book brings together over 50 of the best-loved ballads and their fascinating history, alongside stunning black and white illustrations. This is the perfect gift for anyone wanting to delve into the magical maritime world of 'Wellerman' and beyond.

HEAVING SONGS

Heaving shanties were sung to accompany work that demanded a steady heaving or pushing effort. It was usually hard labour and the songs reflect this. They were designed to help the crew maintain a regular tempo, to keep attention and amuse the men. They tend to have longer verses and many are adapted from traditional folk ballads, often bawdy with a lot of innuendo. The shanties were improvised, shortened or lengthened to match the task in hand.

WE’RE ALL BOUND TO GO

CAPSTAN, WINDLASS AND PUMPING SHANTIES

Both capstan and windlass were types of winches that performed much the same function, using ropes, chains and cables to weigh an anchor, move weighty objects, or hoist heavy sails. A capstan was a broad revolving cylinder with a vertical axis. Bars were inserted around the top for the crew to push as they trudged slowly round to wind the rope. It was repetitive, arduous work over a long period of time. Winding a heavy anchor chain, for instance, could take a whole day or more and the rhythm of capstan shanties echoes the continuous effort required. Windlasses began to take their place around the middle of the nineteenth century. A windlass had a horizontal axis with levers that had to be dragged down from the up position to move it round. They were generally more efficient and, as a result, slightly different shanties developed. Pumping bilge water from the depths of the leaky, wooden ship was a constant necessity and one of the most monotonous and detested jobs on board.

The capstan in use to weigh anchor on board The Great Eastern, 1865.

A-Roving

In Amsterdam there lived a maid

Mark well what I do say

In Amsterdam there lived a maid

And she was mistress of her trade

Chorus:

I’ll go no more a-rovin’ with you, fair maid

A-rovin’, a-rovin’, since rovin’s been my ru-i-in

I’ll go no more a-rovin’ with you fair maid

I met this fair maid after dark (×2)

An’ took her to her favourite park

Chorus

I put my arm around her waist (×2)

Says she, ‘Young man, you’re in great haste!’

Chorus

I put my hand upon her knee (×2)

Says she, ‘Young man, you’re rather free!’

Chorus

I put my hand upon her thigh (×2)

Says she, ‘Young man, you’re rather high!’

Chorus

We had a drink – of grub a snatch (×2)

We sent two bottles down the hatch

Chorus

Her dainty arms was white as milk (×2)

Her lovely hair was soft as silk

Chorus

She swore that she’d be true to me (×2)

But spent me payday fast and free

Chorus

In three weeks’ time I was badly bent (×2)

So off to sea I sadly went

Chorus

In a bloodboat Yank bound round Cape Horn (×2)

My boots an’ clothes was all in pawn

Chorus

Bound round Cape Stiff through ice an’ snow (×2)

An’ up the coast to Callyo

Chorus

An’ then back to the Liverpool Docks (×2)

Saltpetre stowed in our boots an’ socks

Chorus

Now when I got back home from sea (×2)

A soldier had her on his knee

Chorus

A-Roving’ is also known as ‘The Maid of Amsterdam’ and is one of the oldest capstan shanties. It is likely adapted from an early story ballad and may date back to the Elizabethan age. It was certainly widely known and there are French, Danish, Dutch and Flemish versions.

There are many variations but the lyrics all tell a similar cautionary tale. The last four verses are probably a later addition. Saltpetre along with guano and other nitrates was traded from the west coast of South America from the middle of the nineteenth century.

The Banks of Newfoundland

You bully boys of Liverpool, I’ll have you all beware

When you sail on them packet ships, no dungaree jumpers wear

But have a big monkey jacket all ready to your hand

For there blows some cold nor’westers on the Banks of Newfoundland

Chorus:

We’ll scrape her and we’ll scrub her

With holystone and sand

For there blows some cold nor’westers

On the Banks of Newfoundland

We had Jack Lynch from Ballynahinch, Mike Murphy and some more

I tell you well, they suffered like hell on the way to Baltimore

They pawned their gear in Liverpool and sailed as they did stand

For there blows some cold nor’westers on the Banks of Newfoundland

Chorus

Now the mate he stood on the fo’c’sle head and loudly he did roar

‘Come rattle her in me lucky lads, you’re bound for America’s shore

Come wipe the blood off that dead man’s face and heave or you’ll be damned

For there blows some cold nor’westers on the Banks of Newfoundland’

Chorus

So now we’re off the hook me boys and the land is white with snow

And soon we’ll see the pay table and we’ll spend all night below

And on the docks, come down in flocks, those pretty girls will stand

Saying, ‘It’s snugger with me than on the sea, on the Banks of Newfoundland’

Chorus

The shallow, icy waters of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland were notoriously treacherous for ships to navigate, especially in the winter, when strong winds made sailing there even more hazardous. It was a difficult journey for the sailors, the packet rats who sailed back and forth across the northern Atlantic from Liverpool to New York, but also for the migrant passengers. They were confined below decks in the worst weather, often seasick, and, not uncommonly, with the dead bodies of fellow migrants who hadn’t survived the crossing. Des...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Hauling Songs
• Heaving Songs
• Forebitter Songs
• Shanties Today
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Picture Credits