Assistance dealing with Shanties

Subject: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Mindy
Date: 13 May 99 - 02:34 PM

I am doing my grade 12 vocal music independant study on Shanties. I have found some background information on them but it is very sketchy. I was hoping someone had some good web sites to visit or even some information. If you do please email me at [e-mail].

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: MMario
Date: 13 May 99 - 03:24 PM

you could try these sites - which, BTW you could have found quite easily by entering "shanties" into a search engine....

http://simsim.rug.ac.be/schole/shanties.html

http://www.reach.net/netsites/stormy/marine/shanties.html

http://www.acronet.net/~robokopp/shanty.html

http://saturn.sron.ruu.nl/~erikp/shanties.html

MMario

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: SeanM
Date: 13 May 99 - 03:44 PM

Here's a place that sells 'em, and also has some great RealAudio clips of them... Other than that, do you have an angle that you are looking at this from? Shanties cover a lot of ground...

Wooden Ships Music

Hope this works...

M

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Barry Finn
Date: 13 May 99 - 06:38 PM

Also many books you could try:

Shanties Of The 7 Sea, Hugill
Songs The Whalemen, Huntington
Shantymen & Shantyboys, Doerflinger
Songs Of American Sailormen, Colcord
Deep The Water, Shallow The Shore, Abrahams
Capstan Bars, Bone
Songs Of Sea Labor, Bullen
The Making Of A Sailor, Harlow
The Shanty Book, Terry
Sea Songs & Shanties, Whall

Barry

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Margo
Date: 13 May 99 - 06:51 PM

Dear Mindy, I tried to email you but I just get a message saying there is no match for the address you gave. Here is my message:

An excellent resource for shantys ought to be the library. There is William Main Doerflinger who wrote "Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman". Also look for Joanna Colcord's books about shanties. These books actually contain music notation and lyrics of different shantys, and they also contain delightful short histories about each song.

If you are actually interested in buying a couple of CDs, I would recommend "A Seaman's Garland" by Louis Killen, and "Sea Songs and Shanties" on the Saydisc label. If you have any other questions about shanties, I'd love to help. I dearly love shanties (heaven knows why, they're wrong for my voice) and I have quite a few recordings as well as books on the subject. Are you aware of the debate about where the word shanty came from?

I hope this helps. Again, please email with any questions, I'd love to help.

Margaret White [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 13 May 99 - 10:45 PM

I would second Margarita's suggestion of going to the Library.

Recently I was in Seattle for a business trip and stayed across the street from their downtown library. I had some time to kill so I checked their collection out. WOW! The have one of the best collections of Shanty and folk song books I have ever seen. I venture to say they have more shanty books than the Library of Congress Folk Life Center! So if you live in Seattle go visit their library.

If you live in Washington D.C. go visit the Folk Life Center at the Library of Congress. You can even get an Official Library of Congress I.D. with your picture on it.

What cities also have good collections of Shanty and other Folk Song books available to the public?

Jim in Silver Spring

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 14 May 99 - 02:07 AM

Mindy, reading about shanties in books is OK, listening to them on a record is better, but you really ought to try to find some folks to sing them with. I don't know where you're located, though if you've picked this topic I would guess you're somewhere near a coast. San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Victoria all have shanty singers who can be located through the local folk music clubs. At least, they did a number of years ago when I lived in Seattle. I'm sure there are similar groups in Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. In San Francisco the shanty singers used to meet in the hold of the C.W. Thayer once a month. If you're going to be in Seattle at the end of this month, check out the Northwest Folklife Festival, in Seattle Center over Memorial Day weekend. You are certain to hear at least one performance of shanties, and you can probably wangle an invitation to a singer's party in town. Haul away!

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 14 May 99 - 06:43 AM

Hi Mindy!

If you live anywhere near New York City, please come to The Seamen's Church, 241 Water Street in Manhattan(near South Street Seaport) TOMORROW - Saturday, 15MAY for an open sing around of shanties.

Starting at 6PM on 1JUN and running every Tuesday until 28SEP, my friends and I will be doing concerts of sea songs on board the historic tall ship, Peking... also at South Street Seaport in NYC. As was said above, there are events like these in many places around the world. If you or any other Mudcatters are in New York this Summer, please come over and say hello.

All the best,
Dan Milner

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Mindy
Date: 18 May 99 - 01:40 PM

Thanks for all your help. I'm located about an hour outside of Detroit in a little (40 000) town, Chatham Ontario. It makes it hard to get really good books and any sort of singing groups aren't really into Shanties. I'm trying though and that's the important thing! I didn't get too choose the topic or I probably would have picked something I know more about. Thanks agian for all your help.

Mindy

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Bert
Date: 18 May 99 - 04:08 PM

I assume you've tried here with a digitrad search.

Try @sailor, @ship & @sea.

That should get you plenty of shanteys, also asking specific questions here will get you plenty of answers and opinions.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Frank of Toledo
Date: 18 May 99 - 04:28 PM

Thank you Dan, but you forgot to mention your own CD on Folk Legacy, "IRISH BALLADS 7 SONGS OF THE SEA", Dan Milner, Louis Killen, Mick Moloney, Andy O'Brien and others. To me, this CD is a must for the shanty seekers........

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: Bulldog
Date: 23 May 99 - 06:12 PM

The Oxford Book of Songs would be a good place to start looking. I don't remember if they did one just on shanties but they do have some. "Donkey Riding" was one the Old Lancashire sailors sang. The first verse is: were you ever in Quebec stowing timber on the deck. Where theres a king with a golden crown, riding on a Donkey! Good Luck. Regards Dave.

Subject: RE: Assistance dealing with Shanties
From: SeanM
Date: 23 May 99 - 11:44 PM

Always heard that one 'Where you break your bloody neck, riding on a Donkey'... Historic note... 'donkey' refers to an engine on a boom used for hauling cargo from shore to ship...

M