ROLLER BOWLER
Alternate title: Good Morning, Ladies All

As I rolled out one mornin'
Ch:Hurrah, you roller bowler!
As I rolled out one mornin'
I met a dou-dou fair
Ch:Timme, hey-rig-a-jig an' a ha-ha
Good morning ladies all

Full Chorus:
And hurrah, you roller bowler
Timme, hey-rig-a-jig an' a ha-ha!
Good mornin', ladies all

Oh, I met her once in Liverpool
Oh, I met her once in Liverpool
That saucy gal of mine

Oh, the first time that I saw her
Oh, the first time that I saw her
'Twas down in Parkee Lane

She winked and tipped her flipper
She winked and tipped her flipper
She thought I was a Mate

But when she found that I was skint
But when she found that I was skint
She left me standing there

I squared me yards an' sailed away
I squared me yards an' sailed away
An' to the ship I went

The last time that I saw her
The last time that I saw her
Was down the waterside

Oh, you ladies short and ladies tall
Oh, you ladies short and ladies tall
I love you one and all


My version of this shanty is a combination of some of the verses from Barry Finn and the setting that Shay Black sings. I first heard of this song from Barry Finn (minus the full chorus) who got it from Polish shanty singer Marek Siurawski. I had heard that Shay Black sang it too but with a full chorus. I heard Shay's version when he, chanteyranger, myself, Skip Henderson, and Jim Nelson sang some shanties for the dedication of the new MUNI (local light rail) F-Line which ends up a block away from Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco. Shay Black told me that he used to sing Roller Bowler when he lived in Liverpool and was singing with the band Stormalong John. I believe Shay learned the song from Stan Hugill who used Stormalong John as his shanty chorus for one of his concert tours. You can hear Shay singing the song on Stormalong John's cd Liverpool, a re-release of songs from earlier cassette tapes they had made. There is no indication on the Liverpool cd of who is in the band but there's no mistaking Shay's distinctive voice and he confirmed that it was indeed he on that recording. There is also a recording of Roller Bowler sung by Shay Black on a cd of a French sea music festival, Les Musiques De La Fete: Brest '92. It's too bad Barry Finn never has recorded it because he does a wonderful job on it.

I had fun with the "timme!" yells in the chorus. I sing the yells as solo lines simply because I like the way it sounds - it's not traditional to do it that way. It was Skip Henderson who told me that he had read that Stan Hugill thought very highly of this shanty. Hugill certainly doesn't say so in Shanties from the Seven Seas:

"Another shanty which uses the expression 'high-rig-a-jig' is the capstan song Roller Bowler which appears to me to be another of the Negro-Irish type of sailor work-song. I picked up my version out in Trinidad. Sharp's version, the only one in print until now, seems to be a Liverpool shanty although he collected it in Bristol, I think. Anyhow it is definitely a shanty that was sung aboard of the West Indian Sugar and Rum Traders, since it was well known by most of my West Indian shipmates. Sharp gives an introductory chorus."

radriano