Yes, Charley, to have been aboard ships circa 1840-1860 with a tape recorder, through the magic of time travel! Hugill lamented the probably hundreds of West Indian shanties lost forever.

There are magical moments, though, when old songs are "found," - like the rowing songs and whaling shanties Roger Abrahams collected in the 1960s, or when the Barroullie Whalers at Mystic sang the rarely heard "Bulldog," which is not found in Abrahams or Hugill/Colcord/Doerflinger, etc. A friend who is a scholar of Pacific Island sea music hears an old woman sing a song that has been passed on to her by her parents, from their parents. So, there are some rare glimmers of hope for finding old songs.

Finding all these, though, sounds pretty daunting. Greg, have you contacted any of the current scholars of sea music? Bob Walser and Stuart Frank come to mind. Who knows if they know something others missed. Worth a try, I'd think.

I vehemently disagree with Radriano and Brian over Rise Up Singing!!! It is indeed the last word on folksongs, containing every song worth singing, with the absolute correct number of verses.

(Just kidding, guys).

chanteyranger