PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 09:13 AM

Ross-

You've certainly been very busy since I last checked this thread! What a collection!

Another note on "The Red Duster" would be that C. Fox Smith composed a poem of that title as well during World War 1:

The Red Duster (R. N. R. Demobilised)

Oh, some will save their Navy pay and take their ease ashore
And some will sit at an office desk and go to sea no more,
And some will follow the blooming plough and hear the skylark's song,
But oh! it's me for the old Red Duster, for that where I belong.

I'll sign and sail in the Lord knows what — I'll go to Lord knows where —
From Hudson's Bay I'll beat my way to the Straits of old Le Mair;
From Pernambuck to Palembang, and I know I'll not go wrong
So long's I'm under the old Red Duster, for that's where I belong.

I'll take a turn in the Black Sea trade, a trick on the Gulf Ports run,
I'll feel the bite of the Cape Horn cold, and the burn o' the Perim sun;
I'll make the round of the blessed lot from the Gunfleet to Hong-Kong,
When I get back to the old Red Duster — the place where I belong.

I'll ship aboard of the first that comes, and any old thing'll do,
And I don't much care if she's sail or steam, or whether she's old or new,
There'll be never a tramp too foul for me, nor a spounter smell too strong,
So long's I'm under the old Red Duster — for that's where I belong!

For Navy chaps are Navy chaps — good luck to all and one!
And Navy ways are Navy ways — and now the fighting's done,
I'm sick at heart for a shellback's yarn my old-time pals among,
And oh! It's me for the old Red Duster, for that's where I belong!

Notes:

From Ships and Folks, edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Elkin Mathews, London, UK, © 1920, p. 58-59. First published in Punch magazine, Volume 157, August 6, 1919, p. 130.

The "Red Duster" is the sailor's slang for the British Merchant Ship Flag.

In this poem, composed shortly after the end of World War 1, the poet is focused on the naval seaman recently demobilized who is determined to return to his former life as a merchant seaman.

First adapted for singing by Bob Zentz (US), as recorded on his Closehauled on the Wind of a Dream, © 2007.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 08:30 AM

This is just too good. Ron's sang me a couple of these but I had no idea the extent. Might it be worth giving them a website of their own, I wonder? Complete with pictures & mp3s... Worth a thought?

Hope all is well anyway, Ron - here's the link to the Fleetwood Folk Club myspace site I was telling you about:

Fleetwood Folk Club

Ideas welcome!

Subject: Lyr Add: JIG-A-JIG SONG
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 07:06 PM

JIG-A-JIG SONG        
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- I Had a Little Nut Tree

Down there in Port Louis,
Little boys they say;
"To get you a jig-a-jig,
I wait here all day."

Chorus:-        Jig-a-jig-a Johnnie,
                Not too much to pay;
                To get you a jig-a-jig
                I wait here all day.

You will like my sister;
She is very clean.
After every jig-a-jig,
By Doctor Sahib is seen.

Chorus

You no like my sister?
Smallie boy is nice.
You can have my brother
at half my sister's price.

Chorus


Notes (RB):-        Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius. This was a very popular port for Clan Line vessels as Mauritius was the most beautiful place they went to - but you did get pestered by young lads pimping. I only heard this on one ship, but the man I got it from told me he'd heard it on at least two other vessels.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S QUITE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 07:02 PM

IT'S QUITE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- Eton Boating Song

Oh, the old A.B. lay dying,
And as on his bunk there he lay;
With his ship-mates all around him,
His last dying words he did say;
"Will you go and call the Ship's Master?
And the Chief Steward also?
And ask them to stand beside me,
And wait with me till I go."

So they went and got the Old Man,
And the Chief Steward likewise;
He stood to the left of him,
The Old Man on the other side.
But the old A.B. got better,
And it was obvious he would not die -
So the Steward and Master departed,
And his shipmates asked him "Why?"

Why had he called the Master,
And the Chief Steward there to stand
Beside him as he lay dying -
Those two who stole out of hand?
Then the A.B. picked up his Bible;
Said, "This Book is all that you need.
I'll tell you why I called them;
In St Matthew's Gospel you'll read -"

"That when our Blessed Saviour
For our sake was hung on that tree,
He had two robbers beside him
That day upon Calvary.
So, if you think aboout it,
The answer is there, plain to see;
If it was good enough for Jesus,
Then it's quite good enough for me!"

Note (RB):- I heard this on the King Malcolm in 1974. I may have filled in some of the lines myself, but I know the first verse and the last four lines are as I heard them. There is a R.A.F. Song "The Bold Aviator lay Dying", to the same tune.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M A TRAMP SHIP
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 06:55 PM

I'M A TRAMP SHIP
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- Manchester Rambler

I'm a tramp ship, I'm a tramp ship, on no regular run;
I go wherever the cargoes may come.
It may be to Lagos on Sunday;
But they'll change it to London come Monday!

Note (RB):- I heard this on the M.V. Nina Bowater, circa 1971. The man I got it from had never heard of Ewan MacColl.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: HARRISON'S SONG
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 06:51 PM

HARRISON'S SONG                                
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- Early in the Morning

Two of fat and one of lean
On our funnel can be seen.
But how happy we would be
To have the reverse for us tea.

Chorus:-
That's what we get from Harrison's ,
That's what we get from Harrison's ,
That's what we get from Harrison's ,
Got from Tosh and Josh.


Note (RB) Heard in Atlantic House (Catholic Seaman's Mission), Liverpool, circa 1970. T. & J. Harrison's funnels were black with white/red/white bands.

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 06:45 PM

Bits and pieces:-

"T" on the funnel, no tea on my plate,                Tune:- Fire Down Below
The Old Man makes a fortune out of our "rate".


You've heard of "Hungry Hogarth's"                Tune:- don't know
The worst feeders on the sea;
Their salt beef sailed with Nelson,
On board the Victory.


There's a hundred thousand bastards in the old Transvaal,
And most sail with SAFMARINE..                Tune:- Sally Mahray



Another well-known Clan Line ditty:-

Oh, I love a lassie, a bonnie black Madrasi,
She's as black as the hob-stones out of Hell;
She's as black as charcoal and she shafferells her arsehole
With a chota tora pani from the well.

Chota tora pani - a little bit of water.

Note (RJC):- Mudcatter Jake contributed a further Clan line fragment to the "Baron Line" thread - Jake's song

Just an old Clan Line steamer,
That has seen better days
And her engines were a wonder to behold.
But when the angels above,
Give her a shove.
She'll get us to the UK on time.

I've PM'd Jake to see if this thread brings out any further memories.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: GOODBYE, SCOTTISH TANKERS
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 05:45 PM

GOODBYE, SCOTTISH TANKERS
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- A Wee Deoch an Dorus

Goodbye, Scottish Tankers, goodbye, Clan Line too;
Ever since I joined up I've been mucked around by you;
Your gennies are a failure; you're engines are a farce;
And as for the Union-Castle, you can stick it up your arse.


The last word was frequently substituted by the following;

                Cayzer-ah, zer-ah,                Tune:- Qué sera, sera
                If you must go to sea,
                Don't sail with B. & C.
                Cayzer-ah, zer-ah.


Notes (RB):- gennies = generators; Cayzer - the holding company that owned B.& C. - British & Commonwealth Shipping, the group that owned Clan Line, Hector's Whaling, Union Castle, King Line, Scottish Shire Line, Scottish Tankers, Houston Lines, and managed Bowaters' ships.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: AN OLD RED DUSTER
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 03:59 PM

AN OLD RED DUSTER
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- These foolish Things

The tattered remnants of an old Red Duster
The chaos when we tried to muster
Our legless drunken crew
These foolish things remind me of you.

Those rummage squads that gave us shakedowns
Those days drifting with engine breakdowns
Those engineers who'd not a clue
These foolish things remind me of you.

Those leaks we plugged with cement boxes
Those rats that ran around the hatches
Did the cook use them in his stew?
These foolish things remind me of you.

Those two stewards Big Al and Boris
Though they answered to Sue and Alice
There was something queer about those two
These foolish things remind me of you.

To the breakers we should have brought her
But 'Johnnie the Greek' he went and bought her!
O how we laughed then bid adieu
These foolish things remind me of you.

Note (RJC) Another song recently dredged up from Ron's memory banks. There is a similarly-titled song in the Mudcat forums (but completely different) THE OLD RED DUSTER (John Archbold) in an old "Sea Shanties" thread or here, contributed by JA's son Ted. (Also listed in this thread above by Charley Noble).

Subject: Lyr Add: UNION-CASTLE SONG
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 03:19 PM

UNION-CASTLE SONG
(Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- Red Sails in the Sunset

Pink hulls on the ocean;
Pink hulls on the sea;
A Castle boat steward
He fancies me.

Note (RB) Collected circa 1968, on a Clan boat. Union-Castle boats had lilac (pink) hulls, and, like most passenger ships, were full of gay stewards.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: THE OLD MAN IS A BUGGER
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 02:55 PM

THE OLD MAN IS A BUGGER
(Coll. Ron Baxter)        
Tune:- "Deutschland über Alles"

Oh, the Old Man is a bugger!
And the Mate is one as well.
The Purser is a robbing bastard -
How we wish he'd go to Hell!
Bo'sun Jack, he is an "alcy" -
He sees snakes crawling up the wall.
Our two stewards are both Nancies -
Sue and Doris they are called.

We've got cockies in the sugar;
We've got rat-shit in our tea;
Last night's stew had some meat in it -
The cat is missing, surprisingly.
In the bilge lives something nasty,
The thought of it just makes us wince.
The 'prentice went down there last Friday;
No-one here has seen him since!

Note (RB) Collected on M.V. King James, 1972

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: MOONING SONG
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 02:49 PM

MOONING SONG (Coll. Ron Baxter)
Tune:- A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

I may be right, I may be wrong,
But I'm perfectly willing to swear;
A Cunard steward "mooned" at me!
Trousers down and bottom bare!
(I know 'cos I was there -
Trousers down, arse in the air).

NOTE (RB) Collected circa 1968 on a Clan boat. The first time I heard it, "A Castle Boat steward" was mentioned, but subsequent renditions referred to Cunard, and I think that was probably the original version. Rumour has it that when the Queen Mary made her last trip from New York, over one hundred stewards "mooned" to the quay as the ship pulled away.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: M.V. STATESMAN
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 12:15 AM

M.V. STATESMAN                                Tune:- Thrashing Machine

The bloke in the "Pool" got it fucking wrong!
He got me to sign up with Harrison's;
I saw her funnel, black, white and red,
And her name, the "Statesman" on her counter I read.
Chorus:-        
                Pound away, pound away,
                From lighthouse to shitehouse is a hell of a way.

There's fuck-all for dinner, fuck-all for tea,
But the fucking cook he's winking at me;
He and the steward are a fucking disgrace;
Just see the look on the galley-boy's face.
Chorus

The Mate is a bastard, the Second's a drunk,
The Third he's wanking himself in his bunk;
The Old Man he's smiling, the fucking old sod;
Three day's out and we're all in the Log.
Chorus

The Bo'sun said "Smoko!", the lads said "Righto!"
It's down the gangway and fuck off ashore.
He stood there, screaming we'd all get the sack,
So we just turned and shouted "Fuck off!"
Chorus

She's fucking rusty, she's fucking slow;
Fucking ten knots is the best she can go'
But the trip it is over, my pay-off has come,
So it's off to the pub and "Fuck off, Harrison's".
Chorus

Notes(RB):-

This is a Liverpool version of the "Harrison's " song (M.V. Hardship). Unlike most of the other songs I collected, this is a "lower-deck" song - I got virtually all the others from officers. I got most of this version from a lad in "Celtic Cross" - though I had heard it when I was at sea.

Note (RJC):- Ron submitted songs and notes to Roy Palmer when he was revising the Oxford Book of Sea Songs (republished as Boxing the Compass). Receiving a complimentary copy from Roy with thanks for his contributions, Ron was looking forward to showing off the book with his collected songs in print at last. He was a bit dismayed to find Roy had included the above song unexpurgated, thus severely limiting the range of sisters, cousins and aunts to whom the book could be shown!

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 12:04 AM

After Ron posted the first "M.V. Hardship" version above, he emailed me some more notes:-

M.V. HARDSHIP email

Ross, I've posted M.V. Hardship on your perm. thread on Mud Cat.
As mentioned in your introduction I had versions from Union Castle & Harrison's. I've never bothered with them because I've always preferred the 'Hardship' version, but, just for the record, here they are.

Union Castle version

As I was a' walking by Southampton quay
The 'Rustbucket' Castle I happened to see.
She was bound out to Cape Town & then to Durban
Where she'd load up with fruit and come back again.

Ch. Pound away, pound away
From England to Yarpie is a hell of a way.

2nd, 3rd, 4th verses as in 'Hardship'

When we got to Durban we all went ashore
Piled in to 'Mat lot's' for a drink & a whore
But when we got there the pickings were poor
'Cause the Bullard & King lads had got there before.

Now our voyage from Yarpie has come to an end
But of Castle fruit boats be warned my friend
'Cause for six weeks we've been anchored here
As a floating warehouse stuck off Southend pier.


'Rustbucket Castle'…..Rustenburg Castle [or any of the old 'R' class fruit boats.]
Yarpie….Jarpie [in Afrikaans] farmer, seaman's name for South Africa.
Bullard & King….. at one time a First class passenger line to the Cape, but post war went down in the world, having a rag bag of cargo ships, bought by Cayzer Irvine and then transferred to the S. African Flag as 'Springbok Line'.
'…off Southend Pier'…fruit boats occasionally did not unload straight away, but were kept 'hanging around' until their cargo was sold.


These give a few more variations, and a bit more background to the fruit transports.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: M.V. HARDSHIP (2)
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 11:54 PM

M.V. Hardship [Yarpie]                Tune:- Thrashing Machine

As I was a'walking down by K.G.V.,
A rusty old bucket there I espied
The Rustenburg Castle, that was her name,
She was bound out to "Yarpie" and back home again.
Chorus:-
        Pound away! Pound away!
        From Hull down to Yarpie is a hell of a way.

Sailed down the channel on a cold frosty day.
We rounded old Ushant, then south 'cross the bay.
We know she's a "fruit" boat, and to prove that it's true
The Chief Steward's one and the cook he is too;
Chorus

The Mate is a bastard, the Second's a drunk
The Third he plays with himself in his bunk;
And as for the Old Man, well, no-one can say;
For no bugger's seen him since we sailed away.
Chorus

There's little for breakfast, and half that for tea,
And that Chief Steward keeps winking at me.
He and the cook are a bloody disgrace;
Just see the look on the galley-boy's face!
Chorus

When we got to Durban we all went ashore,
Down into "Matelot's" to get us a whore;
But when we got there, the picking's were poor,
'Cause the Safmarine cowboys had got there before.
Chorus

Now the holds are all loaded, the hatch boards are down,
And we're sailing away, out from Durban town.
Next trip we'll sign on with Bank Line or Ben,
But the old "Rusty Bucket" won't see me again.
Chorus

Now the voyage is over in East India Dock;
To "Charlie Brown's" with our pay-off we flock.
Soon we'll sail out, with Ropners or Glen,
But the M.V. Hardship won't see me again.
Chorus


Notes (RJC) - "Yarpie" is South Africa. Some variations, but not a lot different from the "Kiwi" version.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: M.V. HARDSHIP
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 11:50 PM

M.V. HARDSHIP        [Kiwi]        Tune:- Thrashing Machine

Heard from an A.B. on board the M.V. King James, 1972.

As I was a'walking down by K.G.V.,
I saw an old tramp ship tied up alongside.
The M.V. Hardship, that was her name,
She was bound out to"Kiwi" and back home again.

Chorus:-
        Pound away! Pound away!
        From London to Kiwi is a hell of a way.

Sailed down the channel on a cold frosty day.
We rounded old Ushant, then south 'cross the bay.
The 2nd Steward's "fruit" and the cook he is too;
They sit on their arses with damn all to do.

Chorus

There's nothing for dinner, there's nothing for tea,
And that 2nd Steward keeps winking at me.
He and the cook are a bloody disgrace;
Just see the look on the galley-boy's face!

Chorus

The Mate is a bastard, the Second's a drunk
The Third reads dirty books in his bunk;
As for the Old Man, no-one can say;
No bugger's seen him since we sailed away.]

Chorus

When we got to "Kiwi" we all went ashore,
Off to "Ma Gleeson's" to get us a whore;
But when we got there, the picking's were poor,
'Cause the P.S.N.C. lads had got there before.

Chorus

The Bo'sun cried "Smoko!", the lads cried "Righto!"
And straight down the gangway, shoreside we did go..
The Bo'sun he swore that we'd all get the sack -
But we didn't give a damn, 'cause we're not going back.

Chorus

We landed in London at the end of the trip;
We got our pay-off and ashore we all slipped;
Vowed in "Charlie Brown's", with a pint to our lips,
That we'd seen the last of the M.V. Hardship.
        
Chorus


Notes (RJC) This is the version of "M.V. Hardship" that I usually sing, "Kiwi" is of course New Zealand, K.G.V (Kay Gee Five) is the King George the Fifth Dock (now the site of London City Airport).

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 11:28 PM

To continue - sorry, I've been away for a couple of weeks. Spent the first week visiting my brother in Islay. Managed to catch a couple of the regular music and song sessions there - Sunday nights in the Port Charlotte Hotel and Tuesday nights in the Lochside, Bowmore.

At the latter, Paul Hathaway (brewer at Islay Ales) gave an excellent rendition of a song I hadn't come across before - the late Rod Shearman's "Sail Away" - in the DT here . A great song, it's on Rod's album "Here's to Friends" - I'll have to ask the Chantey Cabin if they've got any. That was quick - they do! Also "Off to Sea Again".

Rod Shearman sailed with P&O in the fifties, and "Sail Away" gives a good impression of the seaman's travels and experiences. I've heard a few people singing his songs, never got to hear the man himself.

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Sailor Ron
Date: 11 Apr 08 - 11:37 AM

As I was a'walking down by K.G.5.
I saw an old trampship tied up along side
The M.V. hardship that were her name
She were bound out to Kiwi and back home again.
CHORUS
Pound away, pound away, from London to Kiwi is a hell of a way.

Saild down the channel on a cold frosty day
Then rounded Ushant & it's South cross the Bay.
The 2nd stewards 'fruit' and the cook he is too
The bugger each other and the rest of the crew.

There's nothing for dinner, there's nothing for tea
But that fat cook he keeps winking at me
Him and that steward are a bloody disgrace
Just see the look on the galley boys face!

The Mate is a bastard the Seconds the same
The Bosun has Work as his middle name
As for the Old Man well no one can say
'Cause no bugger's seen him since sailing day.

When we got to Kiwi we all went ashore
Of to Ma Gleeson's to get us a whore
But when we got there the pickings were poor
'cause the P.S.N.C. lads had been there before.

Now the voyage has ended in West India Dock
To Charlie Brown's with our pay-off we'll flock
Soon we may sign with Ropner's or Glen
But the M.V. hardship we won't see again.

There are numerous varients of this one.

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Barry Finn
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 12:32 PM

Hi Ross
No, George wouldn't have claimed ownership, he was always just passing songs on. The tune is close to "When This Bloody War Is Over". Seeing as George has been 6 ft under for some yrs now I don't think anymore will be surfacing from his end.

Hi Burl
I'll couple my hello's to you too, nice to see you surfacing here, all my best.

Barry

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 11:46 AM

Barry - I've been looking for something to sing to the "When this Bloody War is Over/What a Friend We Have in Jesus" tune. When My Spell is Over might be it. Would George Herbert have claimed/admitted authorship? If any more lines come to the surface let us know.

Burl - good to hear from you, and glad to note you're still singing occasionally. Any chance of you getting up Fleetwood way? As well as Fleetwood Folk Club and Fylde Folk Festival, I remember you at one of the very early Lancaster Maritime Festivals, singing shanties round the boat in the basement. (See the Glasson thread for some details of the trials and tribulations the organisers have faced to keep that going).

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 09:00 AM

Ross-

I used "The Range of the Buffalo" tune for adapting the John Masefield poem "The Ballad of John Silver" for singing, not "Sea Traders." It took me some time to figure that one out but fortunately I have a website with such references!

Barry-

Really lovely!

Reminds me of a little U.S. Coastguard ditty I once composed:

I remember well how our old chief said,
As he gently stirred me from my bed,
"Rise up, me lad, and clean the head!"
Now, those swabbing days are gone.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Barry Finn
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 02:09 AM

Another with just a brief mention of the bilge.

When My Spell Is over

When my spell on board the Carthaginian is over, no more sailoring for me
And when I've left this goddam hooker oh how happy I will be

No more scrubbing deck on ship's side no more shinning dirty brass
You can go aft & tell Van Hope the skipper he can shove this ship……….

No more curry & rice on Monday, no more salty asphalt tea
No more ham & eggs on Thursday no more sailoring for me

No more cleaning out the bilges, no more shinning dirty brass
You can go aft & tell the skipper he can shove this ship ………..

I got this from an old Cape Horner from West Geelong, George Herbert back in the late 70's. He was English & started out in the Baltic trades as a cabinboy.
He just called it an old ditty, so I don't know for sure what it's really called. Van Hope happened to be the fella in charge of the restoration of the brig Carthiaginian, a museum ship tied up quayside at Lahinia, Maui, Hawaii, & that's where I met George & he was singing this on board at a party. Weither George refrained from singing the end of the line because it was vulgar or weither it really had the Tra La La La that he actually sang at the end of those lines with I'll never know, he wouldn't sing nor speak vulgarity in the presence of women, that wouldn't stop him from singing the song though.

Barry

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 10:26 PM

The model for both Cyril Tawney's parody and the one dredged up (how appropriate!) from Ron's memory is DOWN BELOW (Sydney Carter). It was used fairly recently in a TV documentary on the guys who clear accumulated grease illegally dumped from fast-food shops into the drains of London.

Working in the bilges obviously brings out the same love/hate relationship at sea! Derek Gifford introduces the pump shanty "Leaky Ship" with the story of the old salt checking the bilges before signing on a ship. Foul-smelling bilges would indicate tight seams, while sweet-smelling bilges would indicate a "Leaky Ship", with correspondingly much more work on the pumps, the pumped-out foul water being continuously replaced by fresh sea-water through the cracks in the walls of the ship.

Any more down in the memory-bilges, Ron? Good to see you in the Steamer this evening.

Charley, I hadn't checked back here for a couple of days, but the "Range of the Buffalo" is the tune that's been running round my head this week. How did that happen? I just replayed your "Sea Traders" mp3 which is quite different.

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 02:07 PM

Ron-

Wonderful! I've never heard a bilge song before. Another need fulfilled.

The original song which the parodies are evidently based on is one credited to London sewage workers, with wonderful observations about the "product" being supplied from various neighborhoods.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: GUEST,Sailor Ron
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 11:55 AM

Ref:parody of 'Down below' it reminded me of a similar song [sorry Ross, but until I read the RN version I'd clean forgot this].

At the bottom of the hull             Ch. Down below
That's where you'll find the bilge   Ch. Down below
Full of rubbish, full of grime
Full of sludge, and full of grime
Full of shit, O never mind!          Ch. Down below

There's cockroached galore
There dead rats by the score
There's things that have been seen
Far worse than your worse dreams
The thought 'ud make you scream.

When the bilges overflow
It's down there you must go
The apprentice was sent down
Then we heard a dreadful sound
And not a trace was found.

But sometimes you will hear
A tale to make you cheer
How on the 'Clan MsGill
They found a gold bar down the bilge
So there's hope for us still .

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 08:43 AM

Ron-

With regard to them shifting rhymes in "Bolivar," I would be sorely tempted to resort the lines so they all run AABB. I probably would end up dropping a few lines or verses as well, so that one ends up with a more manageable song. This kind of crude surgery, of course, is not to everyone's taste (Meddle with Kipling! How dare you?).

My favorite tune for now would be "On the Range of the Buffalo" but others would work as well.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Sailor Ron
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 04:01 AM

Charlie, ref: the 'Bolivar', I have over the years tried several tunes[traditional] to it. Many tunes will fit, the problem I've come up with is that the rhyming patten is different in every other verse, and I'm not clever enough to find a tune that suits both.

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Joe_F
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 07:51 PM

Kendall: "Gee how I wanna go home" is an adaptation of a U.S. Army song going back at least to W.W. I, with the chorus "I don't want no more of army life...". Another stanza:

The coffee that they serve us
They say is mighty fine --
It's good for cuts and bruises
And tastes like iodine.

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 03:29 PM

Ross, Not seen you in many years, since the days when I sang at Fleetwood Folk Club and Fylde Festival. This is a really interesting collection, thanks for putting it on here. I look forward to seeing more. Keep up the good work. Burl.

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 11:03 AM

This song was collected from a navy sailor but would seem to have some general application:

A parody of "Down Below" by Sydney Carter, ©, 1958
From GREY FUNNEL LINE, edited by Cyril Tawney, p. 35-36.

Corrosion Has Set In

Corrosion has set in,
Down below,
The plates are getting thin,
Down below;
There's a leak in the forepeak,
And how those bulkheads creak,
I hope we last a week,
Down below!

Boiler room's a-leaking…
Crack is nicely seeping…
Fire and bilge will do their best
While the diver's getting dressed,
Splinter-box will do the rest…

Chippy wears a frown…
It's coming in again…
They've taking up a shore
To the for'ard naval store
And they're sawing up some more…

Chippy's got an ulcer…
It plays him up a treat…
His feet are getting wet
As he watches concrete set,
But he's short of "aggreget"…

The ship is like a sieve…
I hope they're PST…
For the lifeboats they inflate
Premature. Can this be fate?
Oh, we're in a ghastly state…

Making a "splinter-box" is a way of dealing with a small hole in the ship's side; a steel T-piece is passed outside the hole and a steel box bolted to it from the inside. "Taking up a shore" is a reference to further reinforcing the splinter-box with wood or concrete. "Chippy" is of course the ship's carpenter. "PST" indicates that a sailor has passed his mandatory swimming test.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 08:23 AM

Sailoron-

"The Ballad of the Bolivar," does share some similarities with "Sea Traders." I wonder what tune would pull it together?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: GUEST,SAILORON
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 04:22 AM

Charlie, 'Sea Trader' reminds me of Kiplings 'The Bolivar', similar sentiments. Sailoron

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 11:40 AM

Ross-

Here's a poem from a medical officer who served in World War 1 in the U.S. Navythat focused on the West Indies tramps:

Poem by Burt Franklin Jenness
From OCEAN HAUNTS, edited by Burt Franklin Jenness,
Empire Publishing Co., New York, US, © 1934, p. 45.

Sea Traders


Droppin' down to Rio on a buckin' wooden tramp;
Takin' water for'r'd till her rotten planks were damp;
Pitchin' like a bronco from the time we left the Keys;
Listin' like a kettle when she took the quarter seas;
Loaded to the gunnels, making four knots an hour;
Steadied with her stays'l, but swaying like a flower;
Half a crew o' Cubans, an' a pair o' Swedish mates;
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States.

Callin' at Jamaica for a scuttle-butt o' rum;
Lazin' at fiestas till we spent our shippin' sum;
Stricken with the fever, from the islands where it grew;
Fightin' for our rations in a lazy, drunken crew;
Reelin' round the Indies, makin' port or makin' sail;
Beatin' up to windward in a Carribean gale;
Dippin' down to Rio, Buenos Aires or the Straits –
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States.

I've adapted it for singing with quite a few changes: Click here for lyrics and MP3 Sample!

I'm not sure if it's a good fit for this thread. So feel free to hit the delete key.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Apr 08 - 06:47 PM

Charlie, I'm glad you mentioned those old chanty sings in Boston. My Mother's uncle was a commander in the Navy & she mentioned he used to get togther with a bunch of other Navy officers & sing shanties back in the 40's or so. I'll have to see if he knew anything about the older days.

Barry

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Apr 08 - 06:44 PM

Here's the one you mentioned Charley. It's from Roger's days as a merchant seaman. He was crew aboard the Motor Ship Tanker Borjholt. She carried crude from Venezuela to the refineries on Trinidad. Roger is a regular at the Tuesdays night shanty sings in Gloucester (USA) & has also written some other dandies. One about the Flying Blue Line thats got a great ring to it too.

    Venezuela To Trinidad (words & music by Roger Hussey)

On the Venezuela to Trinidad run (Trinidad run)(this tag repeats)
Our ship goes to hell, we're all having way to much fun (way to much fun)

Chorus:
Venezuela to Trinidad, Trinidad to Venezuela

Venezuela is flamenco an' hot guitar strums (hot guitar strums)
Trinidad is calypso an' loud steel drum (loud steel drum)

Carry crude oil to Trinidad refineries (refineries)
To Venezuela for more crude we run back empty (run back empty)

For most tankers it's long at sea short time in port (short time in port)
But we've tied up long an' our sea time is short (sea time is short)

When we tie up the bar girls an' taxi cabs come
Here comes a weekend of riot an' rum

Lars is locked in his cabin, the rich owner's son
He's a drunken exile at 31

If we're rowdy ashore we end up in jail
Rum an' pesos from Lars an' we're soon out on bail

Miss our sailing, hung over, roll over an' then
Wait a week, stay drunk, an' our ship's back again

Beg the purser, please just one more advance
What with girls an' booze, your wallet does not stand a chance

After 8 trips the chief's at the end of his wits
After 10 trips they send us back home to refit

So it's pack up an' back to the hiring hall
An' it's farewell to flamenco an' steel drums all


Great thread Ross. Richard should be piping in with his take on "Firing the Mauretania". I got the version I sing from Richard's CD "Time Ashore Is Over", I'm singing on the chorus. Stephen Canright takes the lead on it. When steve was in the Army he was a reporter & was assigned to do an article on Elvis, so he became the King's Chauffeur. Sorry for the drift. Anyway, you can read more on the
Mauretania here + the words, in a thread of Richard's CD, scroll way down. Turns out that I could've picked up the song in my own backyard from Jeff Warner if I knew he sang it instead of crossing the country for it.

I just spoke to my singing partner Neil & asked him to drop in ont his thread, he'd be very interested too. He just put the words of a song to music written back in the 70's by his friend Buzz Smith. Instead of it being a "merchant Navy" song it's more of a "Royal Navy" song. It's about the ill-fated convoy "CW9" & the coal shipping disaster during WWII in the English Channel. I've gotten to really like the song, may end up stealing the lead on it, so I can sing it when Neil's not about. Neil started a thread on CW9 but I can't find it.

Another "Navy" song which I love is Neil's Heavy Cruiser which we recorded on our "Fathom This CD.

Heavy Cruiser (copyright by Neil Downey)

Oh, when I was young & in my prime>
I wanted to sail on a ship of the line, (2X)
So I signed on a heavy cruiser

CH. So gunners spin your turrets round
And let me hear that battle sound
We'll meet the enemy & we'll take him down
With the guns of a heavy cruiser

When I was a lad just like you
I proudly wore the navy blue (2X)
When I served on a heavy cruiser

Though we were only 17
We were a four-0 war machine (2X)
And the crew of a navy cruiser

For many yrs we sailed the seas
Preserving peace & liberty
A mighty force for all to see
The mighty heavy cruiser

And now I'm old & turning grey
Long ago I stowed my blues away
But I still stand tall & proudly say
I served on this heavy cruiser


Barry

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Apr 08 - 09:35 AM

Here's an interesting attempt back in 1918 to revive "chantie" singing aboard the Merchant Navy:

How Young Americans Are Taught To Man Our New Merchant Marine, 1918

Emergency Fleet News, published by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, Philadelphia. May 20, 1918
[Newsletter written for shipyard employees]

Another interesting detail of this service is the chantie singing. On the principle that music improves team work, the United States Shipping Board has appointed an official chantie instructor, Stanton H. King, of Boston, whose duty is to revive chantie singing among our merchant sailors on both steam and sail vessels. Mr. King is considered the best known chantie singer in this country, and has been singing these old sea work songs at a Boston mission for years. He not only knows the old chanties, but how to get the "punch" out of them, and teach them to others.

He is an old salt himself, got his experience in deepwater Yankee ships nearly 40 years ago, and has also served in the United States Navy. For years the chantie singing at his meetings in Boston has been famous, and now he is teaching our new merchant sailors such old sea songs as "Shenandoah," "Bound for the Rio Grande," "Blow the Man Down," "Paddy Doyle," and "Reuben Ranzo."

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 11:16 PM

Ron Baxter points out that the "Clan Alpine" on Les Sullivan's CD is a 19th century vessel, and not the one that ended up in a paddy field in Chittagong.

Ron also claims that his voice has improved not just "slightly", but "greatly". Looking back through my notes above, the "slightly" was inteded to refer to the time when he first started to lose his evil "Worst Singer" powers, and indeed "greatly" would reflect the current position. For an independent assessment, there was an approving comment on Ron's contribution to the Monday afternoon singaround at the Stork in the Glasson Maritime Festival - Easter '08 thread, with which I whole-heartedly agree - a great parody, well presented.

Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 09:59 PM

I'll sort it out eventually, Charley. I'm currently wrestling with my email server which has just lost a huge letter before I got to the "send" key.
Ross

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 08:17 PM

Bugger!

I still did not correct the 2nd verse of the "Old Red Duster" which should be:

On many's the ship,
I've made many's the trip,
On oceans and seas, calm and wild–
Many ports, near and far,
Been thrown from the bar,
And many's the young girl beguiled.

Good thing you have editing powers on this thread!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 06:18 PM

the "old red duster" thread has more info on John Archbold's song. Did you ever figure out a tune for this? Or what tune Bob Walser uses? I've got one of his CDs somewhere but I don't think this is on it.

"A Fine Hunting Day" or "Manchester Rambler" setting would probably work.

I've got a feeling I've come across a shorter version somewhere, but I haven't found any trace of it on my computer.

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: THE OLD RED DUNSTER
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 03:22 PM

Here's one I harvested from a Guest here named Ted back in 2005 which appears to be of World War 2 vintage, from the North Atlantic convoys:

Words by John Archbold, of Toronto
Tune: after "Pop-Eye the Sailor Man"

The Old Red Duster

I remember the day
That I climbed the gangway,
My new coat and jacket so clean;
No bacon and eggs,
Till I got my sea legs,
My first trip, my god, I was green.

Chorus:

It's the old red duster for me,
I've no use for the brass-hat navy;
You can keep your salutes
And your spit polished boots,
It's the old red duster for me.

On many's the ship,
I've made many's the trip,
On oceans and seas, far and wide;
Many ports, near and far,
Been thrown from the bar,
And many's the young girl beguiled.

I sailed in the war,
Like my uncle before ,
From Britain, right down to Bombay;
I shouldered my bag,
I sailed for the flag ,
The glory, the medals ... and the PAY!

I was pulled from the pool,
I was nobody's fool,
There was a jaunt up to Murmansk for me;
But the Union said, "No!
There's a fault, you can't go!"
It's the Union forever for me.

This sturdy old tramp's
Got a foc'sl that stamps,
Her plates are half sprung and they leak;
The food's always bad,
And the Master's gone mad,
And the owner's a bastard, and cheap.

I've sweated and slaved,
At this engine I've raged,
Nursing this cripple along;
For her joints, they're a-creaking,
And her glands they're a-leaking
At six knots, she's racing along.

I've been in the hold,
In the heat and the cold,
All day and all night as well;
And when my time draws near,
I've nothing to fear,
For I've been where it's hotter than hell.

So now you all know,
Why the good sailors go,
Merchant seamen to be;
If you want any more,
Like what come before,
You can bloody well sing it to me.

"old red duster" refers to the British commercial shipping flag

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 11:50 AM

Radriano-

You should post your definitive version of "Firing the Mauretania" with your notes.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: radriano
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 11:34 AM

You're wrong, Ross.

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 08:36 AM

Ross-

Well, I suspect that Jon has had more than one "close shave" in his life.

Barry Finn and Neil Downey should be checking out this thread. They've been singing a great container ship song from the Caribbean called "Venzuela to Trinidad."

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: PermaThread: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 10:18 PM

Lovely song, Charley

And I've seen your photograph, Charley: I'd guess that neither you nor me nor Ron will know the touch of Mary!

Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MARY (Jon Campbell)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 09:50 PM

Here's one from Rhode Island's Jon Campbell who spent part of his mis-spent youth working on ships like this:
^^
Words by Jon Campbell
As recorded on CD KEEP ON FISHING, © 2000
Tune: reminds me of Stan Rogers' "Lock-keeper"

The Mary

She was built back in the forties, to help win in the War;
She was just a coastal tanker, never ventured far from shore;
And if you saw her on the Hudson, you'd ask what she was for,
Because she looked a lot like what she was, a floating dinosaur.
And she took a load of benzene from Bayonne to Hackensack,
And the bunker down to Brooklyn and the high-test coming back;
See the Captain up there ringing bells, like a trolley on the track,
With the scale built up like calluses, and the fire in the stack.

She could scatter schools of Whitefish when the screws began to turn,
And she'd always blow a smoke ring when the stack began to burn,
And you'd have to shut the engine down before she'd back astern;
I guess now all the tricks to handle her, no one else will learn;
Now up in the wheelhouse is the silence of the bell;
No more passage to Poughkeepsie from the Congo to the Kills;
Though the master knows the vessel from the radar to the keel,
And a man's a man for all of that, a ship is merely steel.

And the Coast Guard says her days are through, to the smelter she must go,
To become guardrails out in Iowa, or to plow New Hampshire snow,
And she'll go where they are wanting steel, her last trip has been made;
They'll be cutting up the Mary; she's just a million razor blades;
And at dawn some sunny morning her next trip shall begin,
As she rides the crest above your lip, the trough below your chin,
And she's at last a shiny cutter riding in a foam so sleek,
And may the Mary still go lightly as she sails across your cheek.

Weird last verse but that's Jon!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: THE END OF THE CLAN ALPINE
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 09:01 PM

THE END OF THE CLAN ALPINE
(Ron Baxter)
^^
The Clan Alpine, in Chittagong, it was her final run
She was heading for the 'breakers' out there in Taiwan
But the monsoon it came early, force 9, with a rolling swell---
From the Bengal Bay, it raced her way, now her story I will tell

Chorus:- For She'd a palm tree on the bow, a palm tree on the bow
             And through a paddy field ploughed her keel, with a palm tree on the bow.

Her Master rang for half ahead, and both anchors he had laid
But still she started dragging, and the Chief said "I'm afraid---
We've lost water suction, though I cannot tell you how."
"I'll tell you why!" the Captain cried "we've a palm tree on the bow!"

Chorus

One mile from the river, when the water it went down
Hard and fast in that paddy field the Clan Alpine was found.
Then a 'Jobs worth' he arrested them, on the mast he nailed a writ
(Though it sounds surreal) for importing steel without the right permit!

Chorus

And of course the farmer from the owners did demand
Rent for the grounded ship that they'd parked on his land!
There they sold her to the breakers so her fate was signed and sealed
So there's no trace of Clan Alpine now in that paddy field!

Chorus

Note (RB) Another true tale of the Clan line

Note (RJC) Ron has passed various song lyrics to many singers over the years, usually with the instruction "Put your own tune to it." As a result of this policy, one of his songs by now has at least five different settings in existence, by different singers.

To explain why Ron is unable to pass on tunes with the words, some background info – Ron was a choirboy in his younger days, with a clear, strong voice – but when his voice broke, it really broke – somehow he lost the ability to self-correct, and his pitch-control went all over the place (a serious defect for a potential singer/songwriter!) At some of the early Fylde Folk Festivals, he won the Trumpeting Elephant Award at the annual "Worst Singer in the World" competitions. Sadly, even that did not prove a long-term achievement. Popular (sceptical?) demand led to him giving more and more demonstrations at local folk clubs – gradually his voice improved slightly, leading to his ignominious rejection from the next competition, when the audience's perception was that he was faking it – practically a hanging offence. He lost his crown to the infamous and late-lamented Mary Smith of Weeton, Lancashire. A succession of truly tone-deaf squawkers has ensured that Ron never regained his former eminence. His voice has settled down to the point that he can give a quite tolerable rendition of "Amsterdam" or "M.V. Hardship" (due in soon from New Zealand), but you still might not want to sit in front of him at a singaround!

As Herga Kitty pointed out, a version of the Clan Alpine song can be found on Les Sullivan's CD. I missed Les's visit to Fleetwood Folk Club, so I don't know what tune he set this to. "Coming through the Rye" would just about work. And Kitty, my version hasn't got the "screw, screw, screw" lines – any other variations you can hear?

Somewhere I have a box full of hand-written scraps from Ron, some of which became fully-worked songs, some were reworked by him after I reached a "set" version – so it is quite possible that some of the songs I post in this thread will have alternate words/verses that I'm not aware of – or have lost/forgotten. Any remedial contributions gratefully accepted.

RJC

Subject: RE: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 04:34 PM

Clan Alpine has been recorded by Les Sullivan on Echoes of Lowlands

I know because I've been recorded singing "Screw, screw, screw" in harmony!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 04:26 PM

Ross-

This is really a fine collection and I'll certainly look forward to more postings.

Are you primarily interested in 20th century Merchant Navy songs?

I should review your initial presentation.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Merchant Navy Songs
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 02:48 PM

Great, maldenny, thanks for that. Any more comes to mind, send it in.

Ross