The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61207 Message #983455
Posted By: Nancy King
14-Jul-03 - 09:43 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Sea Shanties from 'The Complaynt' (1549)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Sea Shanties from 'The Complaynt' (1549)
One of those songs has been enjoying something of a revival in (relatively) recent years. In the 13th novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series, "The Thirteen-Gun Salute," (published in 1989), Patrick O'Brian includes some Orkneymen in the crew of the Surprise (while she was sailing as a Letter of Marque, not a Naval ship). These hands sing chant-like songs as they raise sail, one of which is clearly the one above that begins, "Heisau, heisau." I don't have a copy of the book here, so I can't check whether the other chants in the book are also from the "Complaynt." I'll check it at work tomorrow if I get a chance and the Library's copy is in.
I recognized "Heisau" because, in 1987 or 88, The Boarding Party recorded a version of it on their album, "Fair Winds and a Following Sea," (Folk-Legacy C-109). They called it "Heise, all." Jonathan Eberhart worked on it a little bit, consulting with any number of authorities in his compulsive way, and came out with something reasonably singable, giving it a simple modal tune. He explained the whole process in the extensive album notes.