Maritime work song in general

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 27 Jun 23 - 10:35 PM

“...fiddler and fifer all ready to strike up any favorite tune amongst the ship's company. The moment the end of each hawser enters the hawse-hole, away with it, strike up fiddler or fifer, and make a clear run fore and aft the deck until you get in the slack...” [p.65]

“By having the fiddler to play to the men while stoning the decks, I have invariably found that they have rubbed harder, and kept time to the music; this method will prevent that chit chat which you so often hear between the men while stoning the decks, their attention being quite taken up with their work and the music. It always struck me that the decks were better and sooner done in this manner, and the men in much better spirits.” [pp.74-75]

“Ships are frequently deficient of the music which Jack likes best—his favorite fiddle. We have often heard the sailors say, that it was no dance without a little cat-gut. If the seamen have such a liking for this instrument, would it not be desirable to have a rating for a fiddler on board of each of Her Majesty's ships having any stated number of men, with an allowance for a fiddle, and strings. This expense, a few years ago (I believe still) falls upon the senior lieutenant, or by subscription amongst the crew, therefore fiddle or no fiddle, according to fancy. The want of a good fiddler to a ship is a very great loss. A good fifer may do well, but the fife is not the favorite instrument with sailors ; neither can the fifer play so long ; and has many more excuses for not being able to play, such as sore lips, cold, weak chest, with many other et ceteras, which all those who have had these things to contend with, will know too well about. Look at the heavy work of catting and fishing anchors, hoisting topsails, &c. You could far better spare ten men in a full-manned large vessel, while doing this work, than the fiddler or fifer. Every one who has attended to the catting and fishing of an anchor, with or without music, must have remarked the spirited way in which an anchor is walked up with music, the men's feet keeping time beautifully to the tune. You have only to see the same anchor catted without music, to know the effect of the combination of force when applied, by keeping time to music.” [p.302-303]
[Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Liarden, 1849]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 27 Jun 23 - 10:37 PM

“CALÓMA, s.f. (Naút.) Singing out of sailors when they haul a rope.
SALÓMA, s.f. 1. (Naút.) Singing out of sailors. 2. (Ict.) Goldline, gilt-head.
SALOMÁR, vn. (Naút.) To sing out.
ZALÓMA, s.f. (Naút.) Singing out of seamen when they haul with a rope.
ZALOMÁR, vn. (Naút.) To sing out.”
[Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, Neuman-Baretti, 1849]


“SALOMA. f. Accion de salomar.
SALOMAR. n. Náut. Gritar el contramaestre ó guardian diciendo varias retahilas para que al responder á ellas tiren todos á un tiempo del cabo que tienen en la mano.”
[Panlexico, Diccionario Universal de la Lengua Castellana, Peñalver, 1849]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 27 Jun 23 - 10:42 PM

c.1850
“...whose intercourse with the Muses is confined to such painting as emanates from the non-æsthetical brain of a first-lieutenant, and to the music of the fiddle and pipe, which stimulates Jack to exert himself in heaving round the capstan.”
[Macgillivray, Science at Sea, The Living Age, Vol.41, 1854] (typical several places)
John MacGillivray (1821–1867) –– Scottish naturalist, active in Australia between 1842 and 1867.
HMS Rattlesnake (1822)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:37 PM

“...Various vessels of a larger description were at anchor, all bright in the peaceful flush of golden fire-all steeped in the spirit of deep repose. Among them, and not far from the shore, was a magnificent ship of war, getting ready to weigh anchor, from whose decks came, faintly and musically, the voices of the seamen, as they cheered their labour with a sailor's song.”
[Double Duel or Hoboken, Vol.2, Fay, 1843
Theodore Sedgwick Fay (1807–1898)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:41 PM

“Now crossing the stream are numerous ferryboats, with passengers fresh from the rest of sleep, buoyant and braced for the day's trials and duties. Now comes ringing upon the ear the merry sound of the sailor's song as the anchor is weighed, the sail spread to the breeze and the vessel's head pointed to the outward passage.”
[The Sailor's Magazine, and Naval Journal, September 1849]


“ –– Du monde au cabestan! s'écria Wilder; il faut profiter de la brise et gagner le large pendant qu'il fait jour.
        Le retentissement des anspects précéda le chant des matelots, et l'ancre pesante fut remontée. Bientôt le vent fraîchit au large, et arriva chargé d'humidité saline.”
[Le Corsaire Rouge, Oeuvres Complètes de Fenimore Cooper, 1850]
Note: Red Rover in French.



“Celeuma, für celeusma, der Freudengefang der Schiffer, Act. SS. Bened. Saec. 4. P. I. p.684.”
[Glossarium Diplomaticum, Brinckmeier, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:42 PM

“Denn so wie es von jeher bei den Galeeren der Alten einen eigenen Zurufer, der den Ruderern den Tact zum Rudern gab, und bei den Treckschuyten oder Schleppkähnen auf dem Wasser für die Zugknechte stromaufwärts ein eigenes, den tactmässigen Fortschritt regierendes Taktwort gab **), so wird hier vom Colofs aus commandirt ***)….

** In dem einzigen Vers Martials IV., 64.: nauticum celeusma –– clamor helciariorum, ist Alles zusammengefasst. Der Aegyptier auf dem Kniee des Colossus ist der celeustes, pausarius, hortator (s. Gronov zu Seneca's Agam. 428.). Die ziehenden Aegyptier sind die helciarii. Denn helcion heifst das Zugseil.”
[Kleine Schriften Archäologischen und Antiquarischen Inhalts, Vol.2, Böttiger, Sillig, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:43 PM

“YE FISHERMEN OF BRITAIN.

…Let 'Harbours deep, and Beacons clear!'
        Be the burden of your song;+...

+ While straining at the oar, the Greek mariners had their celeusma to give them heart (as the word imports), and enable them to keep time with their stroke. So it is with our modern crews. One of the rude rhyming couplets, used by the 'Buckiemen,' which we have heard in our boyish days, we still remember:
        'It's you the day, and me the morn;
        Johnnie Hunter, blow your horn.'”
[Hogg's Weekly Instructor, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:44 PM

“ « Ils se rendaient (nous dit Gildas) aux contrées d'outre-mer,
» poussant un long gémissement, et sous leurs voiles gonflées,
» en place de la chanson des rameurs, psalmodiant ces paroles
» de David: Vous nous avez livrés, Seigneur, comme des agneaux
» à la boucherie; vous nous avez dispersés parmi les nations! (1) »

(1) « Alii transmarinas petebant regiones cum ululatu magno, ceu celeusmatis vice hoc modo sub velorum sinibus cantantes: Dedisti nos tanquam oves escarum, et in gentibus dispersisti nos. » Gild., De Excid., C. Il faut renoncer à rendre l'harmonie lamentable de l'ululatu magno.”
[Bulletin Archéologique de l'Association Bretonne, Vol.2, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:15 PM

“Just after sundown that evening, while we were lying to, and the try-works were blazing, there was seen going slowly by the ship, a rod or two off, a large sun-fish. The captain cautiously lowered his boat, and, paddling lightly, was up with him, and had effectually darted his cruel iron before danger was suspected. Finding it impossible to hoist him into the boat or warp him along, they made fast another iron, and came to the ship with the tow-line, which the men at once reeved round a block, and soon merrily hauled him in, singing the while a sailor's song."
[The Whale and His Captors, Cheever, 1850]


“Ships are here from all ports. In view are vessels just arrived, others just departing. Hark! you can hear the sailor's song and the rattling of the cordage. Up, up go the sails, one toss of the sailor's hat, one adieu to the landsmen and they are off….”
[The Life, Letters and Speeches of Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh, Copway, 1850*]
*First published in 1847.
George Copway (1818–1869)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:16 PM

“SOUNDS ON SHIPBOARD.–'Tis pleasant to sit down on one of the little hillocks near the harbor, watch the flock of immense birds, those eagles of commerce, the ships, as they sit like gorged birds of prey mill expand their white wings to the morning sun and drying breeze, and listen to the songs of the seamen as they hoist the rich wares and goods from the teeming hatches, or let down into their enormous depositories loads for other markets, or heave away at the handspike, while the pall beats its echoing tattoo to their "heave ho," and the crooked anchor comes grudgingly up from the holding ground, with its flukes full of mud, to tell them that it has been faithful and two to its trust.

Those are sounds akin to them which the old tars of the Mediterranean sang at Tyre before the days of Alexander; which the crews of the felluccas used to give in chorus while gliding over the bay of Syracuse, ere Dyonisius suspended the sword by the horse hair over the head of his guest, or Archimides lost his sense of danger and his life in his abstraction in the pursuit of science. Millions on the shores and decks of the Levant have listened to such sounds, and cities once great and wealthy, now almost or quite sunk into nothingness, have listened to those rude yet pleasant cadences and heard in them the proclamation of their greatness, wealth, and glory, or in their gradual decrease, the decay of their prosperity.

Like the light, the centre of such tokens of grandeur—and they are such, although they come from the lungs of simple tars, these unhonored heralds of the prince merchants of the world—they have passed westward from Tyre to Rome; from Alexandria to Venice; thence to Lisbon and London, Boston and New York, and now in this young city of the west, the youth of commerce and trade, once in its flush in those now old places has found voice and utterance, and the vigor which has passed away from the limbs of some of them, begins to show signs of manhood in this the Tyre of the nineteenth century. The Pacific is our Mediterranean, and it will be the fault of our own people if San Francisco is not to this great ocean what the island city was to that intercontinental sea.”
[Daily Alta California, Vol.2, 25 Dec 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:19 PM

“Auffingen.
E. To sing out. –– F. Donner la voix. –– Sp. Zalomar. –– P. Zalomar. –– I. Salomare –– Sch. Sjunga up. –– D. Opsynge. –– H. Opzingen.
Wenn der Bootsmann oder auch einer der Matrosen durch einen gesangartigen Ausruf das Zeichen giebt, wonach, alle an einem Tau ziehenden Leute zugleich anzichen, oder beim Winden namentlich am Bratspill zugleich an den Spaafen ziehen müssen.”
[Allgemeines Nautisches Wörterbuch mit Sacherklärungen, Bobrik, 1850]


“Pendant la belle saison, des centaines de navires s'y rassemblent; le chant des matelots retentit tout le jour au fond de cet hémicycle creusé, comme un entonnoir, dans le roc vif, et monte vers la haute ville en joyeuse clameur.”
[L'Amérique Anglaise, Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol.8, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:20 PM

“The capstans are turned, by means of long bars, inserted horizontally into the holes of its upper part; several men push against these, and so turn the capstan round; and a cable being thus wound round it, the length of the capstan bars, on the principle of the lever, enables the men to raise the enormous anchors of nearly ninety hundred weight. It is a pretty sight to see sixty or eighty men “manning the capstan,” as it is called, and, while they work, the drummer and fifer stand by and play a merry tune, to which the men keep time; and up goes the anchor, quite joyfully.”
[Something About Ships, Peter Parley's Magazine, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:23 PM

“The rope fastened to the anchor happened to be far from sound, and as the three or four sailors went on pulling lustily, to the music of Jack's melodious “Yo-heave-ho-heave-ho-o-yo-ho,” it broke with a tremendous splash. There were running to and fro, and hurried exclamations and commands from two or three men who were directing our movements from the pier; and then the rope was spliced, and the operation of weighing went on more cautiously. Meanwhile further help had been obtained in the shape of the fiddler belonging to the vessel, one of the most comic-looking fellows ever seen, and who threw my friend R––– into roars of laughter. But this man deserves a paragraph to himself.”
[Eliza Cook's Journal, Vols.3-4, 1850]
Eliza Cook (1818–1889)


“Particularly, I remembered standing with my father on the wharf when a large ship was getting under way, and rounding the head of the pier. I remembered the yoe heave ho! of the sailors, as they just showed their woolen caps above the high bulwarks….”
[Redburn, Melville, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 05:26 PM

““Up anchor,” exclaimed Herbert; and the Boatswain's call resounded shrilly through the decks.

“Up anchor, a-hoy,” growled a peculiarly rough voice, echoed by the Boatswain's mates, and in an instant the capstan was running round cheerily.

“We must run it right up to the bows without a stop, lads,” said Herbert.

A slight hurrah replied.

“Boys and idlers to the stern warp,” said Herbert; “boats a-head.”

“Heave and aweigh,” shouted the Boatswain from forward, piping the appropriate call, the drummer and fifer struck up a lively air, there was, as Herbert had required, no stop, no stay.

“Heave and awash,” was heard in that same cast-iron voice.

“Paul, ho!” followed; the capstan was pauled, the capstan bars were unshipped,...”
[The Petrel, Vol.3, Fisher, 1850]
William Fisher (1780–1852)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:36 PM

“Ships' Capstans.––There were exhibited two specimens of Ships' Capstans, worked like fire-engines, with a pump handle motion, instead of the old capstan worked by handspikes, which the men pushed against while they ran round to a lively tune of the ship's fifer, with great exertion, tremendous stamping noise, and occasionally serious accidents, from the weight of the cable overpowering the men, and flinging the handspikes in all directions. This old-fashioned capstan has been superseded in the Navy by some one or other of several patent machines. The full-sized one exhibited by a London house seemed very good; the turning power, obtained by simple friction-bands, making no noise on the return stroke, worked by two arms that require no shipping and unshipping, which is always so dangerous on a dark night: it has the great advantage of simplicity––there is nothing to clog.”
[The Great Exhibition, Year-Book of Facts in Science and the Arts, 1851]
Great Exhibition (1851)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:38 PM

“*CËLEUMA, atis, n. Asc. Ped. et
CËLEUSMA, atis, n. (…, exhorter). Cri par lequel les rameurs s'encouragent. || Signal qui indique aux matelots les différentes manœuvres.
CËLEUSTES, æ, m. Bud. Celui qui veille sur des matelots ou des ouvriers, comite, inspecteur de travaux.
[Dictionarium Latino-Gallicum, Noël, 1851]


“SALOMARE. Sa-lo-mà-re. N. ass. V. Spagn. Marin. Dare la voce. [Salomar presso gli Spagnuoli è cantare, come fanno i marinai, nell'atto della manovra. In ebr. tsahal alzar la voce, mandar fuori la voce lieta, e jam mare.]”
[Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, Vol.3, Cardinali, 1851]


“Consonar, consono, as, concino, is || tener conformidad ó relacion, congruo, is, convenio, is || ser consonantes las dicciones, voces similiter desinere, cadere || v. salomar.
“Saloma, nautica opera canendo acta.
Salomar operani canendo facere.
Zaloma etc., v. saloma.”
[Diccionario Español-Latino, Francisco de Paula Mas y Artigas, 1851]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:41 PM

“There was a pause: the mate having done his duty by finding the parochial dignitary's protégées, had slipped away to more important business; a chorus of sailors "yo heave ho-ing" at a chain cable had ceased, and for a few moments, by common consent, silence seemed to have taken possession of the long dark gallery of the hold.”
[Two Scenes in the Life of John Bodger, Household Words, Vol.6, Dickens, 1851]


“A countryman was standing on the wharf in the city, the other day, watching the process of hoisting the anchor of a ship which was getting under weigh, and as he saw the huge iron rise from the water to the “yo heave ho!” of the sailors, he exclaimed: “You may heave high and heave low, but you'll never get that great crooked thing through that little hole––I know better.””
[Carpet-bag: A Literary Journal, Vol.1, 1851]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:43 PM

“The noise, the bustle, the agitation, increases every moment. Soon the shrill cheering of the boys is joined by the deep voices of the "seiners." There they stand, six or eight stalwart, sunburnt fellows, ranged in a row in the "seine" boat, hauling with all their might at the "tuck" net, and roaring the regular nautical "Yo-heave-ho!" in chorus! Higher and higher rises the net, louder and louder shout the boys and the idlers. The merchant forgets his dignity, and joins them; the "huer," so calm and collected hitherto, loses his self-possession and waves his cap triumphantly-even you and I, reader, uninitiated spectators though we are, catch the infection, and cheer away with the rest, as if our bread depended on the event of the next few minutes. Hooray! hooray! Yo-hoy, hoy, hoy! Pull away, boys! Up she comes! Here they are! Here they are!" The water boils and eddies; the "tuck" net rises to the surface, and one teeming, convulsed mass of shining, glancing, silvery scales; one compact crowd of thousands of fish, each one of which is madly endeavouring to escape, appears in an instant!
[The Pilchard Fishery, Rambles Beyond Railways Or, Notes in Cornwall Taken A-foot, Collins, 1851]
William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:45 PM

“CELÊUMA, s.f.. (do Lat, celeusma ou seleuma, do Gr. keleusma, de keleu?, bradar; grítar, exhortar, chamar.) gritos, vozeria que levantam os marinheiros quando trabalham, para se animarem mutuamente.

                A celeuma medonha se lévanta,
                No rudo marinheiro que trabalhas:
                                        CAMÕES, Lus., 11, 25:

Tambem se diz dos vindimadores e de outros trabalhadores, que se espertam a trabalhar com vozerias mais ou menos desentoadas.

CELEUMEÁR, v.n. (celeuma, ar des. inf.) (p. us.) levantar celeuma.”
[Novo Diccionario de Lingua Portugueza, Vol.2, Faria, 1851]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 08:46 PM

“AOYT. Salomar, ó cantar.
GANDANG. Tocar campana bisaya alternando con otro instrumento, para dar y hacer compás á los remadores, á los que bailan, &c. * Tambor.
HIA. Expresion que dicen regularmente los remadores cuando van remando, para animarse mútuamente al trabajo. * Unas veces la dicen alternando, pricipiando uno y repitiéndola los demás; otras veces la cantan todos á un tiempo.
HILO HINLI. Salomar, cantar los grumetes, marineros y remadores.
HOLÓ. Modo de cantar, y cancion de que usan los que arrastran maderas y otras cosas pesadas, para animarse mútuamente al trabajo * Cantar para entretener y hacer dormir á los niños. * Cantar los grumetes y remadores. * Cuando cantan principia uno repiten los demas, en el mismo tono, lo que aquel dijo.
“LOÁG LOÁG. Expresion con que se anima á lps remadores para que boguen bien y canten....”
[Diccionario Bisaya-Espanol (y Espanol-Bisaya,) Juan Felis de la Encarnación, 1851]
Visayans

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:34 PM

“«Heave round, sir,» was the calm reply.
«Heave round!» repeated Griffith, aloud.
«Heave round!» echoed a dozen eager voices at once, and the lively strains of a fife struck up a brisk air, to enliven the gloomy scene. The capstan was instantly set in motion, and the measured tread of the seamen was heard, as they stamped the deck in the circle of their march. For a few minutes no other sounds were heard, if we except the voice of an officer, occasionally cheering the sailors, when it was announced that they were «short,» or, in other words, that the ship was nearly over her anchor.

«Heave and pall!» cried Griffith; when the quavering notes of the whistle were again succeeded by a general stillness in the vessel.”
[The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea, Cooper, 1824]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:38 PM

“Harry conducted Rose to the poop of the Poughkeepsie, where she might enjoy the best view of the operation of getting so large a craft under way, man-of-war fashion. The details were mysteries, of course, and Rose knew no more of the process by which the chain was brought to the capstan, by the intervention of what is called a messenger, than if she had not been present. She saw two hundred men distributed about the vessel, some at the capstan, some on the forecastle, some in the tops, and others in the waist, and she heard the order to “heave round.” Then the shrill fife commenced the lively air of “the girl I left behind me,” rather more from a habit in the fifer, than from any great regrets for the girls left at the Dry Tortugas, as was betrayed to Mulford by the smiles of the officers, and the glances they cast at Rose.” [p.143]

The process of making sail succeeded. There was no “letting fall” a fore-topsail here, as on board a merchantman, but all the canvas dropped from the yards, into festoons, at the same instant. Then the three topsails were sheeted home and hoisted, all at once, and all in a single minute of time; the yards were counter-braced, and the capstan-bars were again manned. In two more minutes it was “heave and she's up and down.” Then “heave and in sight,” and “heave and pull again.” The cat-fall was ready, and it was “hook on,” when the fife seemed to turn its attention to another subject as the men catted the anchor. Literally, all this was done in less time than we have taken to write it down in, and in very little more time than the reader has wasted in perusing what we have here written.” [p.144]
[Jack Tier or The Florida Reef, Cooper, 1852]
aka Rose Budd &c &c.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:40 PM

1804
“...The oxen were transported from our schooner to the Blenheim with great rapidity; a strap was fastened round the horns of the animal, which was then thrown overboard, and with a line attached, hauled alongside, and hoisted on board by the head with the capstan, with the cheering music of the shrill fife, to keep time, and give life and animation to the novelty of the scene….”
[Second Series of Voyages to Various Parts of the World, Made Between the Years 1802 and 1841, Coggeshall, 1852]

HMS Blenheim (1761)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:42 PM

“A black line of demarcation points out accurately the extent to which, in this tideless sea, the nuisance of the city sewerage proceeds; that, however, passed, all nuisances are at an end; and by the time the boat has advanced through a host of brownbacked divers, rising thick round its course, and snorting like a company of seals, the complexion of the water has cleared; the babel of city sounds, and the nearer nauticum keleusma of the shipping, have blended their jarring elements, reconciled by distance into a monotonous and not unpleasing hum, scarcely heard amidst the flapping of the breeze-tossed canvas, and the water tapping the tarry sides of the boat; while a-head the sea is traversed in all directions by zebecs and feluccas.”
[Panorama of Naples and its Vicinity, Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol.44, 1851]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:44 PM

“Arigot, m. kind of fife, employed in martial music.
Un, Deux, Trois! interj. exclamation, or song, used by French seamen when hauling the bowlines; in like manner English sailors call out, haul-in! haul-to! haul-belay!
Voix, f. voice; vote; song used by sailors when heaving, hoisting or hauling; donner la —, to sing out; porte —, speaking trumpet; à la portée de —, within hail, call; vive —, parole; à la — !mind the song!
Shanty, s. hutte, cabane, baraque, f.
Song, s. (used when heaving, hoisting, &c.), voix, f.; mind the — ! à la voix!”
[A Naval and Military Technical Dictionary of the French, 2nd, ed., Burn, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 11:45 PM

“The Zinc Mines in the State of of New Jersey are also yielding largely and profitably. An English paper, speaking of the unloading of the Frigate St. Lawrence at Southampten, says: The greatest curiosity was a monster block of Zinc ore, weighing about eight tons; about seventy men were employed half an hour in raising it from the hold of the vessel and landing it on the quay. It was lifted by means of the capstan, which was manned by fifty-two men, who were working it in measured step to the music of a fife. The zinc ore came from New Jersey, and is cubical in its form, and measured about four feet in height.”
[Mining in North America, The Western Literary Messenger, Vol.16, No.1, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 11:54 PM

“In Quebec where so many proud English ships lie––proud, because their sailors mix with the "yo-heave-o," the song "Britannia rules the main," –– our ship has arrested the attention of British subjects;...” [pp.94-95]

“Others remain upon the decks to ply the braces, and as they hasten over the sounding decks, or loudly sing their nautical songs, with the merry chorus of "Yo, heave O!" it is impossible to sleep or converse in the cabins below….” [p.115]

“And now you hear the boatswain's whistle again, and the "Yo! heave O!" of the young sailors, as they spring at the capstain and weigh anchor….” [p.384]
[Glimpses and Gatherings During a Voyage and Visit to London and the Great Exhibition in the Summer of 1851, Drew, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 11:55 PM

“...The seamen, partly 'proletarians, or citizens of the poorest class, partly Etruscans or Greeks from the maritime states of Italy, were all unaccustomed to row in the quinqueremes, and the Romans, perhaps, had never handled an oar of any sort. While the ships were building, therefore, to lose no time, the future crew of each quinquereme, were ranged upon benches ashore, in the same order, that to us undiscoverable problem, in which they were hereafter to sit on board; the keleustes, whose voice or call regulated the stroke in the ancient galleys, stood in the midst of them, and at his signal they went through their movements, and learned to keep time together, as if they had been actually afloat.” [p.134]

“...Fourscore light galleys and brigantines, of fifty and thirty oars, were disembarked on the Bosphorus shore; arranged successively on rollers; and drawn forwards by the power of men and pulleys. Two guides or pilots were stationed at the helm, and the prow of each vessel: the sails were unfurled to the winds; and the labor was cheered by song and acclamation...” [p.203]

“...The cries of fear and of pain were drowned in the martial music of drums, trumpets, and attaballs; and experience has proved, that the mechanical operation of sounds, by quickening the circulation of the blood and spirits, will act on the human machine more forcibly than the eloquence of reason and honor.” [p.205]
[Universal Naval History, Frost, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 11:57 PM

“No sooner were the vessels in sight of each other, than a beating of drums from on board the frigate, startled the ears of our Yankee prize crew, and summoned to quarters the crews of the enemy. Soon the cries of "Yo, heave oh!" and the rapid fall of the palls of the windlass, announced to those on board the ship that one or both of the vessels was getting underweigh, and that they might expect another chase….”
[Yankee Jack, Or, The Perils of a Privateersman, Hazel, 1852]


“Keleusma (Gr.), a command, encouragement; proceleusmatic.”
[A Dictionary of the English Language, Reid, 1852]


“Sailors when they pull at a rope accompany their work with a not unmusical “Yo-heave-ho!” which, they say, helps them considerably; but the coalwhipper works in silence. His labour is severe, and he goes at it as if he meant it.”
[The Coalwhipper, The Working Man's Friend, and Family Instructor, Vol.I, No.25, 20 March 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 11:58 PM

“Suppose, most courteous reader, that you have courage to accompany us on shore at this "Botany Bay" town, what do we encounter? Stepping into a skiff alongside the vessel, about ten in the morning, we thread our way amongst a busy mass of shipping, from the small coasting cutter to the square-rigged vessel, of a thousand tons, all employed lading and unlading, with ever and anon the cheerful "yeo heave, Oh!" of the sailors.” [p.18]

“The cheerful sound of the sailors with their “yeo, heave oh!” awakens us from our reverie, bringing to recollection the months we spent at sea on the passage out, and we become once more interested in the working of a ship.” [p.78]
[The Gold Regions of Australia, Mossman, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:27 PM

“Somewhere about a mile out of Naples, on the Baian side of the bay, half-way up that broiling and dusty, but beautiful and quite descriptionless road, the Strada Nuova; above where the last faint fremitus of sound rises from the guggling rocks; where the nauticum keleusma of the port, and the deafening discords of the Chiaja, harmonized by distance, and blended by gentle zephyrs, fall in soft symphony on the lulled listening ear, peacefully and unjarringly as the wave-borne whisper, or the buzz from a reposing hive––...”
[The Gurnard Group, Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, October, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:28 PM

““Cheerly, cheerly, men !” was the animating cry of the officer in command, as the massive links of the chain-cable came slowly, as if with obstinate reluctance, through the hawse-hole.

“Up with the anchor, lads; toss him up to the bow!” vociferated the officer.

Merrily revolved the capstan-wheel, while muscles and sinews were energetically strained to keep time to a lively tune from the fife. A hundred men concentrated their powers to weigh the anchor. Gay was their measured tramp, and irresistible appeared their strength as they rapidly circumambulated the great mechanical purchase….” [p.204]

“After disemboweling our prey, we attached a strong line to his horns, and, with a sailor-song from thirty hoarse throats, dragged him down to water's edge, towed him off, and hoisted him in with a runner and tackle, not liking to trust his great weight to the yard.” [p.275]
[Atlantic and Transatlantic: Sketches Afloat and Ashore, Mackinnon, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:30 PM

“*CÉLEUSME, subst. mas. (céleucsme), t. de mar., cri des rameurs pour s'encourager mutuellement. –– Signal qu'on donne aux matelots pour passer d'une manœuvre à une autre.
*CÉLEUSTE, subst. mas. (celleucste), t. de mar., celui qui donne des ordres aux matelots, aux rameurs et aux autres employés d'un bâtiment.”
[Dictionnaire Général et Grammatical des Dictionnaires Français, Landais, 1852]


“Fifty of May.––“Rolling down to St. Helena,”* as the sailors' song has it….”
[Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas, Macaulay, 1852]

*c.1836 Homeward Bound (S.C.C.?)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:32 PM

“Si à ce mouvement perpétuel on ajoute les cris des bateliers turcs qui s'avertissent réciproquement pour éviter les chocs dangereux, le chant des matelots européens, enfin toutes les scènes de la vie qui se succèdent dans ces lieux où une population venue de tous les points du globe se donne rendez-vous, on aura une idée à peu près de l'activité qui règne dans le port de Constantinople.”
[Voyaga à Constantinople et en Égypte,Vimercati, 1852]


“When he stepped on board, the hearty “yo, heave yo!” of the sailors at the windlass greeted his ears, and, ere many minutes, the good ship was dashing swiftly through the waves, under a cloud of canvass….”
[Darby, E.A., The Union Story, Waverley Magazine, Vol.4, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:33 PM

“Vingt-huit personnes étaient à bord du bâtiment; tout semblait leur promettre une traversée heureuse : l'air était balsamique et pur; le chant des matelots se mariait doucement au bruit des vagues; et le capitaine Hodoul, tranquillement assis auprès de madame Malfit, une des passagères du bâtiment, devisait du pays natal.”
[5 Avril, Trait de Devouement (de la part de deux negres,) Une Lecture pour Chaque Jour de l'année,1852]


“The brig, Nicoll saw, was afloat; and he thought he heard the yo––heave––yo––of the sailors hoisting the anchors or sails….”
[Time and Tide; Or, Strive and Win, Roe, 1852]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 11:03 PM

“Sur les bâtiments à rames de l'antiquité, un officier, du nom de proreta, se tenait à la proue, chargé de veiller devant, d'avertir quand il apercevait quelque chose à éviter, quelque écueil à tourner, de suivre le vent dans ses variations, de diriger la route lorsqu'il y avait quelque danger que le timonier ne pouvait pas voir: ce qui le fait nommer élégamment par Övide prore tutela, la sauve-garde de la proue, Si l'homme du gouvernail (le pilote, patron ou capitaine) devait quitter le timon (clavus), le proreta le remplaçait, On voit que le brigadier dans nos chaloupes ou nos canots, et l'officier en second de tout bâtiment, ont aujourd'hui les devoirs du prorète, qui était charge aussi de placer les rameurs à leurs avirons, de soigner tous les ustensiles, instruments, agrès nécessaires au navire, et de veiller au maintien de l'ordre. Après le proreta était le hortator ou portisculus. Cet officier, armé d'une baguette (portisculus) qui avait nommé sa fonction, était charge d'exciter, par ses exhortations (hortationes), le mouvement des rameurs, à qui il battait la mesure avec son portiscule comme un chef d'orchestre avec son bâton. Sa place était à la proue; mais il se promenait souvent entre les bancs, marquant quelquefois sans doute, sur les épaules des rameurs inattentifs ou paresseux, le mouvement qu'ils avaient manqué. Le comito des galères du moyen âge, les comite, come et souscome des galères des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, ont continué l'hortator. On étonnerait bien sans doute un argousin, un de ces soldats des bagnes qui veillent sur les forçats dans les embarcations et sur les chantiers, si on leur disait que leur office date de quelque deux mille années, et que leur bâton n'est autre chose que le portiscule dont parlent Ennius et Plaute.

Il est vrai qu'on ne surprendrait pas moins le maitre d'équipage armé du sifflet, si on lui disait: Maître, vous avez à la main un petit tube d'argent qui fut le signe de commandement d'Annebaut, l'amiral de François Ier. Ce signe, il le tenait des successeurs d'un esclave, d'un histrion qui, au temps des Grecs, chantait sur la flute des airs cadencés pour occuper les rameurs, les faire nager ensemble, et pour donner l'élan aux matelots quand ils avaient quelques manœuvres de force à faire. Chaque vaisseau avait son jussor, avertisseur, qu'on appelait aussi le musicien (symphoniacus); il excitait les marins par le rhythme musical, comme le portiscule par sa voix, qui marquait le temps fort de la mesure jouée par la flute. Le cri du portiscule, c'est le celeusme religieusement conservé par Rabelais; c'est le: « une, deux, trois, hourra! », des matelots du commerce et des forçats, quand ils hissent quelque lourd fardeau; c'est le cri mesuré, le chant (à quatre temps en général) qu'un matelot, l'hortator moderne, proférait encore, il y a quinze ans, dans tous les hissements de huniers, de barriques, de canons, et dans tous les bordements de voiles un peu pénibles. Personne ne crie plus, ne chante plus aujourd'hui sur les vaisseaux de guerre français; le sifflet et le fifre renouvellent ou, pour mieux dire, perpétuent la tradition du symphoniaque.”
[La France Maritime, Vol.3, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 11:05 PM

“Business of the Day was done; my Father was goffiping with Hugh Braidfoot next Door; there was a pleafing Confufion of distant Sounds from the City and along the Water; Boatmen calling "Yo, heave ho," and finging Snatches of Boatfongs;...”
[Cherry & Violet, Manning, 1853]
Anne Manning (1807–1879)


“From the beach at Küssnacht darting, sped our boat along the tide,
Clear the rowers' song of parting echoed from the steep lake-side;
Fitfully the light breeze creeping, scarcely stirred the sleeping bay;
O'er its crystal bosom sweeping, joyously we held our way!”
[Morland, William Wallace, Rigi-Culm, The Knickerbocker, Vol.41, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 11:07 PM

“The sun had scarce appeared, when, as if to greet him, a swarm of seamen sprang aloft, the sails dropped from the yards, and soon the ship was clothed in a cloud of canvass, a shrill pipe then woke the stillness of the deep and a voice, that for harshness might have aroused all the fair sleepers on the island, dismally proclaimed in the hoarse “Up anchor” that our holiday at Honolulu was at an end. The capstan was manned and we began to weigh our ponderous anchor, but how dismally it came up, clank, clank, clank went the cable slowly and cheerlessly, in vain, the fiddler played and scraped until he was nearly black in the face, vain were his merriest tunes, at last he began to get savage and struck up “the girls we left behind us,” catgut and fiddle string! it was all to no purpose, nothing could rouse us. “Our hearts were sad, our thoughts were far away,” even the impetuous little fiddle began to look plaintiff….”
[Life on Board a Man-of-War, No.1, The Friend, November, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 11:08 PM

“Calomar: véase zalomar.
Comitre de galera, arraunarizaya. Lat. Remigum hortator.”
Zaloma, lo que cantan y repiten los marineros al hacer alguna faena, es voz bascongada, zaloma, zaleuma que significa lo mismo, de donde la tomó el griego, y despues el latin celeusma, tis vox hortatoria.
Zalemar, zalomatu, zaleumatu. Lat. Celeusma canere.
Zaomero, zalomaria, zaleumaria. Lat. Celeustes, æ, hortator.”
[Diccionario Trilingue del Castellano, Bascuence y Latin, Tom.I-II, Larramendi, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 11:10 PM

“CHANTER, v.a. ? To sing, To sing out.
DONNER la voix. ? To sing out.
[Dictionnaire de la Terminologie et des Locutions de la Marine à Voile et à Vapeur, Fr., Eng., and Russ, Shul'ts, 1853]
Note: With translations in Cyrillic script.


“To Sing out, v.a. (in hoisting heavy weights, to give by the voice the sign for drawing the rope by the workmen)(Mar.) *Aufsingen * Donner la voix.”
[Dictionnaire Technologique, Franke, 1853]


“So farewell, California! The rough singing of the sailors sounded in my ears like the chimes of home!”
[Narrative of a Journey Round the World, Gerstäcker, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 08:39 PM

“...As a proof of the sustaining power of a tune, we might point out many instances. Look at those young ladies-pale, delicate-looking creatures, with weak, nervous constitutions! How would they endure the toil of dancing through a whole night did not the cadence of the music come to their aid. A regiment of soldiers, tired with a long march, can start afresh and feel no more fatigue, when they hear the drum and fife. A sailor sings as he works at the capstan, or hauls in a rope. Scores of other instances might be given of this effect of music, or, rather, of rhythm in sustaining the regular action of the muscles.”
[Physical Education, No.II, The Popular Educator, Vol.3, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 08:42 PM

“...“Man the topsail halyards,” “Hoist away the topsails,” “Stamp, and go.” The first lieutenant carrying on the duty, not a whisper being even audible in any other part of the ship. Up flew the topsail yards all nearly together in about one-quarter of the time that in the old Albion transport, with the “Yo, yo, yo, oh yo,” one could have been got up;…

...“Belay, and belay again,” as the marks were in; “Ship the capstan bars,” were the next orders they having been temporarily unshipped to make room for setting the topsails. “Stand by your nippers below; heave round,” which to the tune of a well-played fife, away walked the men at the capstan. “Short-stay a pique,” piped and said the boatswain. “Go on,” ordered the first, but it was no go; from quadrically less and less speed, still beautifully less, the fife easing off to no note at all, the capstan came to a stand still….”
[Earnest Atherley; or, Scenes at Home and Abroad, The Sporting Review, Vol.29, Craven ed., 1853]
Lord William Pitt Lennox (1799–1881)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 08:45 PM

“According to their custom when engaged in hard and heavy work, they kept singing a sort of rude song or chorus, in their own language, to encourage one another, just as our sailors sing out 'Heave ho!' when pulling together at a rope.”
[The Mangaia Bibles, Christian missions, The Child's Companion, 1853]
Mangaia



“Post-Revolution:
The East India, West India, and Russia trade, were prosecuted with vigor, and the docks and wharves indicated a degree of commercial prosperity highly gratifying to the inhabitants. Now was again heard the music of the “ye-heave-ho,” from the active tars who were loading and unloading the numerous vessels at the wharves.”
[History of Rhode Island, Peterson, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 08:46 PM

“The Swedish brig, “Nordstjernan,” displayed, on the morning of the opening day, her yellow and blue flag, as the signal of her approaching departure. The crew was busied in that “regular confusion” which always characterizes the deck of a merchant ship, when about to sail. Here and there sounded the “yo heave ho,” of some of the sailors, who, with one accord, hung the whole weight of their bodies upon a rope, to bring the tackle into the right position and order, the deficiencies of which would only strike the practised eye of a seaman.”
[Dolores, A Historical Novel, Harring, 1853]
Harro Paul Harring (1798–1870)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 08:47 PM

“Let any one fancy an excursion amidst 900 ships, great and small, which lined both shores of the Elbe in tiers of three deep or more; the passing to and fro of countless boats busily employed in loading or unloading these vessels; these things, together with the shouting and singing of the sailors, the rattling of anchors which are being weighed, and the rush and swell of passing steamers, combine to constitute a picture not to be surpassed in any city except in that metropolis of the world, London.”
[Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North, Pfeiffer, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d.Conch
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 01:13 PM

“Now commenced the tedious and laborious operation of warping* through the slough, rendered necessary by the strength of a current like a mill-race. This process of course devolved on the crew; but for the sake of our own progress, as well as to aid them, we took turns in lending a hand to the ropes. Two of the sailors taking a canoe and coil of strong rope, paddle near the shore, a distance along which they judge their line will extend to the vessel. Making securely fast to an old stump, or the trunk or limb of a tree, close to the water's edge, they return rapidly down the stream, unreeving the rope, taking care that it does not get foul either of trees or half-sunken snags. Reaching the vessel, the line is there seized by all hands, and with a yo heave O, she is slowly and steadily warped up stream, accidents from snags, shoals, and overhanging trees, frequently occurring, a gentle spice to the patience of the crowd.”
[California and Oregon, Or, Sights in the Gold Region, and Scenes by the Way, Johnson, Thurston, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 01:14 PM

“CALO'MA, cal-ó-mah, s.f. (Nau.) Singing out of sailors when they haul a rope.
SALO'MA, sah-ló-mah. s.f. 1. (Nau.) Singing out of sailors. 2. (Ichth.) Goldline, gilthead.
SALOMA'R, sah-lo-mar', vn. (Nau.) To sing out.
ZALO'MA, thal-ó-mah, s.f. (Nau.) Singing out of seamen when they haul with a rope.
ZALOMA'R, thal-o-mar', vn. (Nau.) To sing out.”
[Pronouncing Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, Velázquez, 1853]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 01:15 PM

“The hummals in the timber yards, and on the stone wharfs, use slings and a stout pole by means of which a gang of no more than eight or ten will carry off sticks of timber, or masses of stone, of very considerable bulk. I observed that these men timed their movements by uttering a sort of song in cadence, as men ever learn to do when the object is to unite their strength in moving some one heavy substance: hence the heave-ho of the sailor, the grunting, and the cadential chaunt of the India palankeen bearers, the wild song of the Arabs, or their shouting which Layard so well describes as they worked at his winged bull. And here I find these grave, hard-featured, bearded men, after their grave fashion, stretching their lungs and limbs together to some pious cry of allah or the like: what is this consentaneous action of the respiratory organs as aiding in the union of muscular power, and exhibition of strength? It is an actual thing which labouring man practically discovers all the world over, and which I have often seen laughed over in the well-known drawing-room pastime as absurd and ridiculous, when we failed, breathing together, to raise our recumbent friend breathing with us, on our finger points, and that for very merriment over our own proper nonsense in trying the experiment.”
[Idle Days in Egypt, A Selection from the Writings, Prose and Poetical, of the Late Henry W. Torrens, Vol.2, 1854]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 01:18 PM

“From the decks of these vessels came the peculiar and picturesque sounds which, when mellowed by distance, have a thrilling effect upon the ear-the animating cries of the sailors, who on board the smaller class of merchantships still weigh the anchor and hoist the sails to the wild chant of Yoe, heave-ho!'”
[Sergeant Maxwell, A Tale of the Late War, Chambers's Pocket Miscellany, Vol.3, 1854]


“...The Younghall had the American and French flags flying, and was favored by the bugle and “yo heave ho” of the Cordellers*, as they plied the barge away from the current to trade with the inhabitants, and discover an opening….”
[Selma, Younghall, The Opal, Vol.IV, No.10, 1854]
*See also: Warping above.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 01:18 PM

“On their embarkation and departure, and whilst they were making for the shore in a fine cutter yacht, always at the disposal of the dockyard chief,–– the Slasher had commenced heaving in on her small bower anchor, or in other words was in the act of “unmooring:” the men at the capstan went round merrily to the drum and fife, playing “the girl I left behind me,” while the officers were frequently heard to cheer them on with such sentences as, “Well behaved my lads.” “Heave round cheerly boys.” “Stamp and go men.” “What say ye' for a rally lads.” “Heave and a wash,” and so on until the order was given “Paul the capstan.” Implying that the ponderous anchor was now at the hawse hole, which in due time was “catted,” and “fished,” the “messenger” brought to the best bower cable, and once more the capstan revolved to a change of tune, as the cable was shortened into a “long stay peak;” the breeze being rather too strong for loosing sails, with a short scope out.”
[Tregonhorke's First Trip in a Man-of-War, Hunt's Yachting Magazine, Vol.3, 1854]