Thanks to all for help with these lyrics.

I would heartily recommend Jimmy Crowley's cd to all sea music fans. I ordered my copy from CAMSCO. The full title is "The Coast of Malabar, Romantic songs of ships and the sea from Ireland, England, Scotland and America." The arrangements for these songs are wonderful. Here is Jimmy's introduction notes from the cd followed by the track list.

"My love affair with the sea began with a stint as a trainee on board the Irish sail-trailing brigantine, Asgard 2. This album is a collection of the sea songs I love best and represents an ongoing body of work drawn from newly composed ballads to fresh arrangements of traditional ones. Feeling that sea shanties are well represented in the recorded work of other folk singers, a choice was made to feature the romantic nature of the sea as a living force which has both separated and united the people of these islands and America for many years.

It was a joy to work with bouzouki maestro, Niall Ó Callándin, whose skill as a producer and consummate musician was a source of comfort and delight. I thank him for going along with my crazy notion of working exclusively with musical arrangements on the mandolin family - instruments such as bouzouki, mandola, mandocello: many of them of great antiquity, as well as a new instrument designed especially by Dublin luthier Joe Foley, called a dordán or bass bouzouki.

So, this album fulfills a twofold role, celebrating the romance of ships, boats and the power of the ocean over all our lives on the one hand and paying tribute to the great luthiers like Stefan Sobell, Joe Foley, Andy Manson, Dave Farmiloe, Oakwood bouzoukis who make Niall's instruments, Ibanez and Washburn and the great craftsmen and innovators like Lloyd Loar who worked for the Gibson guitar and mandolin company in the States.

Finally, I am gratefull to Tommy Munnelly who kindly provided additional information on some of the older ballads."

Jimmy Crowley, April 2000

Track List:
The Coast of Malabar (traditional)
The Girls of Ballytrapeen (traditional)
The Lowlands Low (Sailing in the Lowlands Low) (P.J. McCall)
The Hills of Isle au Haut (Gordon Bok)
St. Brendan's Fair Isle (Jimmy Driftwood)
East Ferry (Jimmy Crowley)
Fiddlers Green (John Conolly)
The Lady Leroy (traditional)
Titanic Queenstown (Jimmy Crowley)
My True Love She is Beautiful (traditional)
My Love is a Tall Ship (Jimmy Crowley)
The Wild Caribee (Jerry O'Neill)
The Balena (traditional)
Sailortown (Bill Meek)


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