The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #102165   Message #2650620
Posted By: Marc Bernier
07-Jun-09 - 01:07 PM
Thread Name: Origin: John Cherokee
Subject: RE: John Cherokee
The rhythm of the chorus in Hugill's book is not what he sang. What Stan used to sing is allot more similar to the version Geoff Kauffman sings. While we were working on the recording/book Songs of the Sailor, I made a very conscious effort to transcribe the songs as each individual sang it on the recording. As a result there are more than a few chanty's in that collection that are notated in print for the 1st time the way people actually sing them. John Cherokee is one of those. Although a very popular chanty today, with more than one popular interpretation, what is sang today does not appear to have been in print previously. I don't recall off hand who did the transcriptions for Stan's book, but more often than not what is notated in Shanties of the Seven Seas is not a functional melody.