Hi Dani

I picked up this song from Mareck Shakowsky (that's how it sounds, I sure it's not how it's spelled) in the summer of 92 during the tall ships (sail-op) visit to Boston. Mareck was acting as laison between the cadets & the captain (basically the 1st mate) aboard the wishbone schooner the Zawisza Czarny (translated; the Black Knight). I got invited (because I was singing on board with a fiddler who had just signed on) to go for an afternoon sail & as soon as we cleared the pier Mareck picked up a concertina & started playing (maybe as a call to work?) while playing he started shouting out orders & the crew/cadets started in with setting the sails with Mareck then starting to sing shanties, Londion Julie being the 1st & following it with Roller Bowler accompanied by 2 long time sea musicians, John Townley & Simion Spaulding & a few of the musicians in the crew with the others handling the sails & singing the responses. It was heaven. I was asked later that eve. to join their dockside concert. Those in the crew that couldn't play or sing, danced. I watched 2 of the crew perform/dance the Sailor's Hornpipe, best I'd ever seen. After the concert some of the crew from other ships all partied together & we all ended up singing aboard the schooner Shenandoah. I really had no idea of the company I was singing with. I was asked at the end of the weekend if I'd like to join as crew on the sail to England, I was told they were the slowest ship in the fleet but the one that had the most fun, I couldn't do it. A couple of yrs later I met Mareck again at Mystic & along with Shanty Jack we started trading drinks & shanties with Jack teaching me the harmonies. It turns out that the Polish are very proud of their strong maritime culture/history keeping it very much alive & that Mareck was concidered to be the father of the Polish sea music revival.
That's about all I can tell you Dani.

Barry