The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #174108   Message #4223281
Posted By: cnd
27-May-25 - 10:48 AM
Thread Name: ADD: If You Want to be a Shantyman (Jerry Kaplan)
Subject: RE: ADD: If You Want to be a Shantyman (Jerry Kaplan)
Thanks for sharing, Rick. Fun to point out a lot of the idiosyncrasies in the genre. You think the initial contact in the song (the gentlemen with the rotund stomach) was based on anyone in particular, or just an archetype?

I did notice a slight variance in the singing and lyrics you've presented: on the line "Harlow, Shay and Colcord. Huntington and Whall", the performer seems to sing "Harlow, Shay and Colcord. Abrahams, Stone(??) and Whall. The latter name sounds like Phone to me, and while I did find a Christopher Stone (and, as a second option, a David William Bone) in a list of well-known shanty source books (click) the match isn't my favorite. Perhaps someone with a better familiarity to the music could further correct my correction? ;)