"Shallow Brown" Part 3

In the light of Gibb's posts, I want to qualify my statement about "bracketing" the Ellison version (Hugill d). What I want to bracket for now in my own head is the "West Indian" assumption about this version and "Shallow Brown" in general and the "West Indian" interpretation of the chanty in contemporary renditions of it. Whatever "West Indian" may mean here, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm talking more about the really soulful, slow presentations like June Tabor, which I really like. Anyway, Gibb has convinced me that the Ellison version may not have anything to do with the West Indies at all.

I like working on these songs from both ends, going back from the end results in history and at the same time trying to find the originating points and coming forward. I think this back-and-forthness has served us well.

I'll begin with what *might* be the oldest version we have, which would be John Short's song collected by Cecil Sharp in 1914. I say it might be the earliest because Short went to sea in 1857. This version is interesting for a number of reasons.

The tune and the feel of this version is, on the surface, very different from the other versions. It sounds more like "Blow Boys, Blow" than "Shenandoah". I associate the slow presentations of "Shallow Brown" with similar presentations of "Shenandoah". Frankly, I'm not so sure either of them started out that way. Is it possible that "Shallow Brown" started out more like "Blow Boys, Blow", with a very strong emphasis on the pull? When I listen to most contemporary versions of SB, I wonder how any work ever got done!

Of course, Short's version picks up the verses from "Blow Boys, Blow", which gives us a connection between SB and this other chanty. One of the things I want to note are these connections. I don't know that we can make any firm conclusions about them but I think they are important to note. And I would suggest that rather than seeing Short's version as an anomaly, we hold it as a possible primary source.

I've already mentioned the Hugill comment that the solo line in Short's version uses the tune from "Hilo, Boys, Hilo". This ties SB into a whole nother set of songs, which Gibb has already introduced above. Hugill got his "Hilo" from Old Smith of Tobago, but the lyrics feel more like Gulf Port with some minstrel influence. This verse stands out:

        "Said the blackbird to the crow,
        Come down below with yer blackfaced crew."

The "blackbird/crow" phrase shows up in other places. Mobile Town and Sally Brown get in here along with some "bullgine pie". The "Hilo, Come Down Below" that Hugill presents from Harding is a nice followup with more "hilos" and blackbird stuff. Other than the fact that these two "Hilo" chanties come from West Indian sailors, there is nothing to tie them specifically to the West Indies. I am making the assumption that West Indian sailors learned songs from other places just like other sailors did.

I think that it is interesting to speculate about the possible relations among "Hilo", "hollow", "holler" (as in a place), "holler" (as in a yell), "aye oh", and perhaps "Shilo/Shallow". These variations might suggest a much stronger pull emphasis than we normally hear in this song, which again puts it more in the "Blow, Boys" category. The "B" and the "H" sounds are harder (?) than the "S" or French "C" sound. The "i" sound in "Hilo" and "Shilo" is more forceful to me than the "a" sound in "al-low" It's entirely possible that the song modulated over time.

I'm doing a lot of free associating here but perhaps that can open this up a bit. Both of these "Hilo" songs from Hugill are halyard songs. Hugill says that SB was "usually sung at halyards" in "the latter days of sail". (p. 257).

Here is a version of "Hilo, Boys, Hilo" from A CUBAN EXPEDITION, by J.H. Bloomfield, 1896. I think this can be dated to 1858. Check the Advent & Development thread for details on the dating. Here is the song:

http://books.google.com/books?id=WlhUsSH4QeUC&pg=PA282&dq=%22Hilo,+Boys,+Hilo%22&cd=6#v=onepage&q=%22Hilo%2C%20Boys%2C%20Hilo%22