Recently having a deeper look at the chanties in Horace Beck's FOLKLORE AND THE SEA, mentioned now and again in this thread. "Deeper" in the sense that in trying to learn some, I've had to try harder to figure out what was going on.

One thing I wonder is if anybody knows if Beck recorded this stuff, and if those recordings have been made available somewhere.

The problem is that Beck's transcriptions (i.e. in lieu of recordings) are really unclear. It is hard to study them and, incidentally, even harder if one wishes to perform them. The latter was not their purpose, but it is perhaps notable that no one (to my knowledge?) has tried "reviving" songs from this book. (Taking a few lyrics doesn't count!)

Lomax's Cultural Equity site, which now permits streaming of full songs, does have examples of at least two of the chanties that Beck encountered. They are a good guide to style, even though Beck's forms seem to differ significantly.

I recently tried my hand singing "Rosabella" as in Beck, but I am sort of shooting in the dark (or at least at dusk). HERE

One of Beck's Caribbean chanties that I haven't seen discussed is "Ring Down Below."

Here's my attempt to make sense of the transcription.

Alan Lomax recorded a variation of this in Carriacou, Grenada in 1962.
http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=2

I obviously don't have the correct "feel" (perhaps too hard to achieve overdubbing oneself), but FWIW I was trying to follow Beck's melody and rhythm which, as you can hear, were quite different...assuming they are not notational errors.

As far as connections to other songs, "Ring Down Below" reminds me of "Sun Down Below" -- especially if one keeps the chorus rhythm regular, as I've done here.

It also reminds me of "Come Down You Bunch of Roses" in the one recording we have of that from the Bahamas.

I wonder if the "ring" in the title has any connection to the "ring games" -- the game song context to which it seems "bunch of roses" and others may have been connected.