Barry,

I do plan to be in Mystic, with note pad in hand (well, probably a grimey piece of paper in pocket), and ready to sit at the feet of the masters (or stand in the dark corner behind them)!


Tom,
Thanks for those notes. They will be helpful to anyone wanting to perform "Bully in the Alley." So you say there is indeed a recording of John Short singing this one that will be released soon? In a way, that would help re-fuse the oral link. Very exciting.
If other "endangered" shanties here are also among the forthcoming CD, please do let us know.

****
A non sequitur: I've heard it claimed that English "bully" as something good derives from the British India contact (as many English slang words did). The commonly used Punjabi word /balle/, meaning basically "Bravo!" is cited as the source. (The /a/ in that word is pronounced as a schwa vowel). I doubt it, but it's an interesting anecdote.