The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #94332 Message #1824562
Posted By: sciencegeek
01-Sep-06 - 10:22 AM
Thread Name: What exactly is a 'hitch' in a shanty?
Subject: RE: What exactly is a 'hitch' in a shanty?
well, having heard Stan do them on more than one occcasion at Mystic seaport, I'll give it a try. Though Charley Noble will probably chime in later & do a better job of it. lol
It's really just extra notes thrown in to embelish the line being sung... often when starting out a verse. The yelp was usually heard at the end of the song to finish it up when the job was completed.
I figured it was a way of making sure that everyone's attention was turned to the shantyman and ready to start off the job in unison. Which goes to the point of shanties being work songs.
Stan's hitches tended to sound a bit like loud warbles - and Bert Lloyd's singing of shanties often included additional "grace" notes thrown in.
There are recordings done by Stan and I really recommend that you get your hands on one to listen. The printed word doesn't do justice. One picture -or in this case "listening" - is definitely worth a thousand words.