The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #128220 Message #3096985
Posted By: Gibb Sahib
17-Feb-11 - 05:19 AM
Thread Name: The Advent and Development of Chanties
Subject: RE: The Advent and Development of Chanties
1906[Oct.] Masefield, John, ed. _A Sailor's Garland._ London: Macmillan.
This is a general anthology of sea-related songs and poetry that includes a section on "Chanties." They have been, on one level, hijacked to serve this project of enshrining the sea as English "heritage" of a particular character. They were part of Masefield's experience, as he sailed 1891-1895.
This text seems to have very influential on the lyrics of later revival performers, so, though it is lengthy, it is important to have it logged for later reference.
The CHANTIES section begins pg. 300 with an introduction.
His famous pronunciation spiel. I've not seen early evidence of using "chanty" as a verb in the way he says.
//
A Chanty is a song sung by sailors when engaged in the severest of their many labours. The word chanty is generally mispronounced by landsmen. It is not pronounced as spelt, like the word chant with an added y final. It is pronounced shanty, to rhyme with scanty, the ch soft and the a narrow. The verb to chanty is frequently used, as in the order "Chanty it up, now," or the injunction "Heave and chanty."
//
Some indication here that chanties were still being used, but not for pumping.
//
There are three varieties of chanty, each kind adapted to its special labour. There is the capstan chanty, sung at the capstan when warping, or weighing anchor, or hoisting topsails with the watch. There is the halliard chanty, sung at the topsail and top-gallant halliards, when the topsails and top-gallant sails are being mast-headed. And there is the sheet, tack, and bowline chanty, used when the fore, main, and crossjack sheets are hauled aft, and when the tacks are boarded and the bowlines tautened. Formerly, in the days when ships were built of wood, and leaked from an inch or two to two or three feet a day, there used to be pumping chanties, sung by the pumpers as they hove the brakes round. Now that ships are built of steel or iron, which either leak not at all or go to the bottom, there is no pumping to be done aboard, save the pumping of fresh water from the tanks in the hold for the use of the crew, and the daily pumping of salt water for the washing down of the decks. I have passed many miserable hours pumping out the leaks from a wooden ship, but I was never so fortunate as to hear a pumping chanty.
//
Walk-away chanties are "bastard chanties." DRUNKEN SAILOR had indeed been rarely cited. I wonder what "wave" came to popularize it in the 20th century? Masefield's mention here may have been influential.
//
Strictly speaking, there is a fourth variety of chanty, but it is a bastard variety, very seldom used. The true chanty, of the kinds I have mentioned, is a song with a solo part and one or two choruses. The solo part consists of a line of rhyme which is repeated by the solo man after the first chorus has been shouted. The bastard variety which I have j ust mentioned has no solo part. It is a runaway chorus, sung by all hands as they race along the deck with the rope. You hear it in tacking ship. It is a good song to sing when the main and mizzen yards are being swung simultaneously. All hands are at the braces straining taut, and at the order they burst into song and "run away with it," bringing the great yards round with a crash. It is a most cheery kind of chanty, and the excitement of the moment, and the sight of the great yards spinning round, and the noise of the stamping feet impress it on the mind. The favourite runaway chorus is:
"What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Early in the moming.
"Chuck him in the long-boat till he
gets sober,
Chuck him in the long-boat till he
gets sober,
Chuck him in the long-boat till he gets sober,
Early in the morning.
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Early in the morning.
It is sung to a vigorous tune in quick time. It is the custom among sailors to stamp with their feet at each "Way, hay." The effect is very spirited.
//
Describing over-lapping style of singing:
//
Of the chanties proper, the capstan chanties are the most beautiful, the halliard chanties the most commonly heard, and the sheet, tack, and bowline chanties the most ancient. In a capstan chanty the solo man begins with his single line of verse. Before he has spoken the last word of it the other men heaving at the bars break out with the first chorus. Immediately before the chorus has come to an end the solo man repeats his line of verse, to be interrupted at the last word by the second chorus, which is generally considerably longer than the first. It is a glorious thing to be on a forecastle-head, heaving at a capstan bar, hearing the chain coming clanking in below you to the music of a noisy chanty sung by a score of sailors.
The Solo, or Chanty-man. In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid.
The Sailors. Mark well what I do say!
The Solo, or Chanty-man. In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid,
In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid.
The Sailors. And I'll go no more a-ro-o-ving
With you, fair maid.
A-roving, a-roving.
Since roving's been my ru-in,
I'll go no more a-ro-o-ving with you, fair maid.
That is the most beautiful of all the chanties. It is sung to an old Elizabethan tune which stirs one's blood like a drum-tap. The song, or solo of it, is strangely like the song in one of Thomas Heywood's plays. Several of the couplets are identical. The curious will find the song in Lucrece, in the fifth act. I cannot quote it here.
//
No comment!
Very intriguing the next comment about halliard chanties getting old and discarded in favor of new ones:
//
A halliard chanty is begun by the solo-man in the manner described above. It has generally two choruses, but they are of the same length—not short and long, as in the case of the anchor chanty. The solo man is always a person of some authority among the crowd. He begins his song after the first two or three pulls upon the halliards. There are countless halliard chanties, and new ones come into use each year. Those which one hears occasionally ashore are nearly always old ones, little used at sea. The sailors have grown tired of them. I do not know what chanties are most used now at sea. In my time we used to get the yards up to—
The Chanty-man. A long, long time and a long time ago,
The Sailors. To me way hay, o-hi-o;
The Chanty-man. A long, long time and a long time ago,
The Sailors. A long time ago.
The Chanty-man. A smart Yankee packet lay out in the bay,
The Sailors. To me way bay, o-hi-a;
The Chanty-man. A smart Yankee packet lay out in the bay,
The Sailors. A long time ago (etc.).
The pulls upon the rope are delivered during the choruses upon the words I have italicised. Another very popular chanty was:
The Chanty-man. Come all you little nigger-boys,
The Sailors. And roll the cotton down;
The Chanty-man. O come all you little nigger-boys,
The Sailors. And roll the cotton down (etc.).
The tune to this is bright and merry. It puts you in a good temper to be singing it.
//
Both the above chanties, LONG TIME AGO and ROLL THE COTTON DOWN, had not been noted until relatively recently (see Lubbock 1902). So, perhaps they really were popular in the 1890s specifically.
//
Another strangely beautiful chanty is that known as Hanging Johnny. It has a melancholy tune that is one of the saddest things I have evei heard. I heard it for the first time off the Horn, in a snowstorm, when we were hoisting topsails after heavy weather. There was a heavy, grey sea running and the decks were awash. The skies were sodden and oily, shutting in the sea about a quarter of a mile away. Some birds were flying about us, screaming.
The Chanty-man began. They call me Hanging Johnny,
The Sailors. Away-i-oh;
The Chanty-man. They call me Hanging Johnny,
The Sailors. So hang, boys, hang.
I thought at the time that it was the whole scene set to music. I cannot repeat those words to their melancholy wavering music without seeing the line of yellow oilskins, the wet deck, the frozen ropes, and the great grey seas running up into the sky.
//
The start of another popular narrative:
//
Of the sheet, tack, and bowline chanties the oldest is Haul the Bowline, which was certainly in use in the reign of Henry VIII. It is still very popular, though the bowline is no longer the rope it was. It is a slow, stately melody, ending with a jerk as the men fall back with the rope.
The Chanty-man. Haul on the bowline, the fore and maintop bowline. Haul on the bowline.
The Sailors. The bowline haul.
Another excellent chanty in this kind is the following:
The Chanty-man. Louis was the King of France afore the Revolution.
The Sailors. Away, haul away, boys ; haul away toge-e-ther;
The Chanty-man. But Louis got his head cut off, which spoiled his consti-tu-ti-on.
The Sailors. Away, haul away, boys; haul away O.
//
Was this the source for later singers' "King Louis" lyric?
These phrases for sing-outs are later harvested by Hugill.
//
The chanty is the invention of the merchant service. In the navy they have what is called the silent routine, and the men fall back upon their ropes in silence, "like a lot of soldiers," when the boatswain pipes. It must be very horrible to witness. In the merchant service, where the ships are invariably undermanned, one sings whenever a rope is cast off the pin. You haul a brace to the cry of "O, bunt him a bo," "O rouse him, boys," "Oho, Jew," "O ho ro, my boys," and similar phrases. You clew up a sail to the quick "Lee-ay," "Lee-ay," "Ho ro," "Ho," "Aha," uttered in a tone of disquiet or alarm. You furl a course to the chant of "Paddy Doyle and his Boots." Without these cries and without the chanties you would never get the work done. "A song is ten men on the rope." In foul weather off the Horn it is as comforting as a pot of hot drink. A wash and a song are the sailor's two luxuries.
//
Refers to the two big collections of the time – which no doubt had some influence, as will be seen from the individual items. The other items are unfamiliar, save for the Folk-Song Society articles, which started coming out at this time.
//
Those who wish to obtain the music of the commoner chanties will find Miss Laura Smith's Music of the Waters and the anthology of Dr. Ferris Tozer of use to them. Several may be found in the songbook of the Guild of Handicraft. I have also seen a collection of them published (I believe) by Messrs. Metzler. The files of the Boy's Own Paper, The Cadet, and the publications of the Folk-Song Society may also be consulted with advantage.
In the following pages I have included only a few of the chanties in general use. Many familiar chanties have been excluded owing to lack of space.
//
Apparently in his time/place, "stringing-out" was the thing to do—because every though this is a "literary" collection, he makes few rhyming couplets!
LOWLANDS AWAY. Though Masefield heard chanties, the chorus of this is a giveaway that he is copying it from Smith/Alden. We can can infer that he has made up the solo verses – possibly even adding the very Northern English/Scots flavour they have, and influencing later presenters.
//
LOWLANDS
(halliard Chanty)
I Dreamt a dream the other night,
Lowlands, Lowlands, hurrah, my John;
I dreamt a dream the other night,
My Lowlands a-ray.
I dreamt I saw my own true love,
[ETC – all the of the verses strung out]
He was green and wet with weeds so cold,
"I am drowned in the Lowland seas," he said,
"I shall never kiss you again," he said,
I will cut my breasts until they bleed,
I will cut away my bonny hair,
No other man shall think me fair,
O my love lies drowned in the windy Lowlands,
//
STORMY ALONG JOHN:
//
STORM ALONG
(halliards)
Old Stormy he was a good old man,
To me way hay; storm along, John;
Old Stormy he was a good old man,
Come along, get along. Storm along, John.
Old Stormy he is dead and gone,
Old Stormy died, and we dug his grave,
In sailor town up Mobile Bay,
//
WHISKEY JOHNNY:
//
WHISKEY! JOHNNY!
(halliards)
O Whiskey is the life of man,
Whiskey! Johnny!
O whiskey is the life of man,
Whiskey for my Johnny.
1 drink it out of an old tin can,
I drink whiskey when I can,
I drink it hot, I drink it cold,
I drink it new, I drink it old,
Whiskey killed my poor old dad,
Whiskey makes me pawn my clothes,
Whiskey makes me scratch my toes (gout ?),
O fisherman, have you just come from sea?
O yes, sir, I have just come from sea,
Then have you any crab-fish that you can sell to me?
O yes, sir, I have crab-fish one, two, three,
[At this point the ballad becomes a little gross. The curious will find the remainder of the tale in a discreet little book published by the Percy Society, from the relics of Bishop Percy's collection. The ballad dates from the sixteenth century. It is still very popular at sea.]
//
Where did he get this from? Why publish the gout lyric if he doesn't get it? And why refer us to a 16th century version of the crab-fish ballad?
BONEY:
//
JOHN FRANCOIS
(halliards)
Boney was a warrior,
Away-i-oh;
Boney was a warrior,
John Francois.
Boney fought the Proosh-i-ans,
Boney fought the Roosh-i-ans,
Drive her, captain, drive her,
Give her the top-gallant sails,
It's a weary way to Baltimore,
//
BLOW THE MAN DOWN:
//
BLOW THE MAN DOWN
(halliards)
Blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down,
Away-hay—blow the man down;
Blow the man down, bullies, blow him right down,
Give us a chance to blow the man down.
Blow him right down from the top of his crown,
As I was a-walking down Paradise Street,
A pretty young girl I chanced for to meet,
This pretty young girl she said unto me,
"There's a fine full-rigged clipper just ready for sea,
The fine full-rigged clipper to Sydney was bound,
She was very well manned and very well found,
As soon as the clipper was clear of the bar,
The mate knocked me down with the end of a spar,
As soon as the clipper had got out to sea,
I'd cruel hard treatment of every degree,
I'll give you a warning afore we belay,
Don't ever take heed of what pretty girls say,
//
The preceding has the weird "end of a spar" lyric.
ROLL THE COTTON DOWN
//
ROLL THE COTTON DOWN
(halliards)
Come roll the cotton down, my boys,
Roll the cotton down;
Come roll the cotton down, my boys,
O roll the cotton down.
A dollar a day is a white man's pay,
Ten dollars a day is a black man's pay,
The white man's pay is rather high,
The black man's pay is rather low,
Around Cape Horn we're bound to go,
So stretch it aft and start a song,
//
//
REUBEN RANZO
(Halliards)
O do you know old Reuben Ranzo?
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo;
O do you know old Reuben Ranzo?
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo.
Old Ranzo was a tailor,
Old Ranzo was no sailor,
So he shipped aboard of a whaler,
But he could not do his duty,
//
TOMMY'S ON THE TOPSAIL YARD – first time for this one:
//
ROLL AND GO
(halliards)
There was a ship—she sailed to Spain,
O. Roll and go;
There was a ship—she sailed to Spain,
O Tommy's on the topsail yard.
There was a ship came home again,
What d'ye think was in her hold?
There was diamonds, there was gold,
And what was in her lazareet?
Good split peas and bad bull meat,
Many sailormen gets drowned,
//
Even though Hugill says he learned the foregoing in the Caribbean, he uses mostly these Masefield verses.
COME ROLL ME OVER
//
COME ROLL HIM OVER
(halliards)
Oho, why don't you blow?
Aha. Come roll him over;
Oho, why don't you blow?
Aha. Come roll him over
One man. To strike the bell,
Two men. To take the wheel,
Three men. Top-gallant braces,
//
//
HANGING JOHNNY
(halliards)
They call me Hanging Johnny,
Away-i-oh;
They call me Hanging Johnny,
So hang, boys, hang.
First I hung my mother,
Then I hung my brother,
A rope, a beam, and a ladder,
I'll hang you all together,
//
Evidently Masefield's Sally was not a "bright mullater"
//
SALLY BROWN
(halliards)
O Sally Brown of New York City,
Ay ay, roll and go;
O Sally Brown of New York City,
I'll spend my money on Sally Brown. O
Sally Brown, you are very pretty,
Your cheeks are red, your hair is golden,
//
DEAD HORSE
//
POOR OLD JOE
(halliards)
Old Joe is dead, and gone to hell,
O we say so, and we hope so;
Old Joe is dead, and gone to hell,
O poor old Joe.
The ship did sail, the winds did roar,
He's as dead as a nail in the lamp-room door,
He won't come hazing us no more,
//
TOMMY'S GONE
//
TOMMY'S GONE TO HILO
(halliards)
Tommy's gone, what shall I do?
Tommy's gone to Hilo;
Tommy's gone, what shall I do?
Tommy's gone to Hilo.
Hilo town is in Peru,
He never kissed his girl good-bye,
He signed for three pound ten a month,
//
//
A LONG TIME AGO
(halliards)
A Long, long time, and a long time ago,
To me way hay, ohio;
A long, long time, and a long time ago,
A long time ago
A smart Yankee packet lay out in the bay,
To me way hay, ohio;
A waiting for a fair wind to get under way,
A long time ago.
With all her poor sailors all sick and all sore,
To me way hay, ohio;
For they'd drunk all their lime-juice, and could get no more,
A long time ago.
With all her poor sailors all sick and all sad,
To me way hay, ohio;
For they'd drunk all their lime-juice, and no more could be had,
A long time ago.
She was waiting for a fair wind to get under way,
To me way hay, ohio;
She was waiting for a fair wind to get under way,
A long time ago.
If she hasn't had a fair wind she's lying there still,
To me way hay, ohio;
If she hasn't had a fair wind she's lying there still,
A long time ago.
//
BLOW BOYS BLOW:
//
BLOW, BULLIES, BLOW
(halliards)
There's a Black Ball barque coming down the river,
Blow, bullies, blow;
There's a Black Ball barque coming down the river,
Blow, my bully boys, blow.
And who d'ye think is Captain of her?
Why, bully Hains is the Captain of her,
He'll make you wish you was dead and buried,
You'll brighten brass, and you'll scrape the cable,
And who d'ye think is mate aboard her?
Santander James is the mate aboard her,
He'll ride you down like you ride the spanker,
And who d'ye think is the second mate of her?
Some ugly case what hates poor sailors,
//
//
THE RIO GRANDE
(capstan)
Where are you going to, my pretty maid?
O away Rio;
Where are you going to, my pretty maid?
We are bound to the Rio Grande.
O away Rio,
O away Rio,
O fare you well, my bonny young girl,
We are bound to the Rio Grande.
Have you a sweetheart, my pretty maid?
May I go with you, my pretty maid?
I'm afraid you're a bad one, kind sir, she replied,
//
First, interesting sighting of SEBASTOPOL"
//
SEBASTOPOL
(capstan)
The Crimean war is over now,
Sebastopol is taken;
The Crimean war is over now,
Sebastopol is taken.
So sing cheer, boys, cheer,
Sebastopol is taken;
And sing cheer, boys, cheer,
Old England gained the day.
The Russians they was put to flight,
//
SACRAMENTO
//
THE BANKS OF THE SACRAMENTO
(capstan)
In the Black Ball Line I served my time,
To me hoodah. To me hoodah;
In the Black Ball Line I served my time,
So hurrah for the Black Ball Line.
Blow, my bullies, blow,
For California O.
There's plenty of gold,
So I've been told,
On the banks of the Sacramento.
From Limehouse Docks to Sydney Heads,
We were never more than seventy days,
We cracked it on, on a big skiute,
//
A-ROVING:
//
THE MAID OF AMSTERDAM
(capstan)
In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid,
Mark well what I do say;
In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid,
And she was mistress of her trade.
And I'll go no more a-roving
With you, fair maid.
A-roving, a-roving,
Since roving s been my ru-i-n,
I'll go no more a-roving
With you, fair maid.
Her cheeks was red, her eyes was brown,
[For the rest of the solo, see the song in The Rape of Lucrece, by Thomas Heywood, Act iv, Scene vi.]
//
HANDY MY BOYS:
//
HAND OVER HAND
(Hand Over Hand)
A Handy ship, and a handy crew,
Handy, my boys, so handy;
A handy ship, and a handy crew,
Handy, my boys, away oh.
A handy skipper and second mate, too,
A handy Bose and a handy Sails,
//
HAUL AWAY JOE
//
HAUL AWAY O
(Sheet, Tack, And Bowline)
Away, haul away, boys, haul away together,
Away, haul away, boys, haul away O;
Away, haul away, boys, haul away together,
Away, haul away, boys, haul away O.
Louis was the King of France afore the Revolu-ti-on,
Away, haul away, boys, haul away O;
But Louis got his head cut off, which spoiled his constitu-ti-on,
//
BOWLINE:
//
HAUL THE BOWLINE
(Sheet, Tack, And Bowline)
Haul upon the bowline, the fore and main top bowline,
Haul the bowline, the bowline haul;
Haul upon the bowline, the fore and main top bowline,
Haul the bowline, the bowline haul.
Haul upon the bowline, so early in the morning,
Haul upon the bowline, the bonny ship's a-sailing,
Haul upon the bowline, Kitty is my darling,
Haul upon the bowline, Kitty lives at Liverpool,
Haul upon the bowline, Liverpool's a fine town,
Haul upon the bowline, it's a far cry to pay-day,
//
DRUNKEN SAILOR:
//
A RUNAWAY CHORUS
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning.
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Way, hay, there she rises,
Early in the morning.
Chuck him in the long-boat till he gets sober,
What shall we do with a drunken soldier?
Lock him in the guardroom till he gets sober,
//
//
PADDY DOYLE
(furling)
To my,
Ay,
And we'll furl,
Ay,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.
We'll sing,
Ay,
And we'll heave,
Ay,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.
We'll heave,
Ay,
With a swing,
Ay,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.
//
//
L'ENVOI— LEAVE HER JOHNNY
(For Pumping And Halliards)
I Thought I heard the captain say,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
You may go ashore and touch your pay,
It's time for us to leave her.
You may make her fast, and pack your gear,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
And leave her moored to the West Street Pier,
It's time for us to leave her.
The winds were foul, the work was hard,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
From Liverpool Docks to Brooklyn Yard,
It's time for us to leave her.
She would neither steer, nor stay, nor wear,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
She shipped it green and she made us swear,
It's time for us to leave her.
She would neither wear, nor steer, nor stay,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
Her running rigging carried away,
It's time for us to leave her.
The winds were foul, the trip was long,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
Before we go we'll sing a song,
It's time for us to leave her.
We'll sing, Oh, may we never be,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her;
On a hungry ship the like of she,
It's time for us to leave her.
//