The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61207   Message #996030
Posted By: Nancy King
03-Aug-03 - 03:49 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Sea Shanties from 'The Complaynt' (1549)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Sea Shanties from 'The Complaynt' (1549)
I plan to get "Roast Beef of Old England" very soon -- thanks for all the leads.

I would never presume to "translate" the text of the Complaynt, but I can provide a brief synopsis, quoted from Jonathan's notes for "Heise, All":


        "…The Complaynt of Scotland…was printed in 1549 and hardly mentions ships or sailing at all, being instead a turgid political tract about tensions between Scotland and England at the time. Partway in, however, the author (whose identity is disputed) declares himself fatigued by such heavy stuff and decides to go for a walk – about which he reports to the reader in fascinating detail, ranging from a tally of the birds of the field to a shepherd's discourse on meteorology and pre-Copernican cosmology.

        "During his sojourn, (much of which was included only as a fortunate afterthought, by cutting out some of the book's original, already printed pages and replacing them with others), the author wanders down by the seaside, where he 'sat doune to see the flouying of the fame.' There he catches sight of a ship called a galliasse, probably a cross between an oared galley and a sail-equipped galleon, lying at anchor and fitted out for battle. Suddenly, a sailor sent aloft on watch cries, 'I see a grit schip!', whereupon the master of the galliasse promptly begins issuing orders in preparation for giving chase.

        "What follows is action-packed, jargon-filled and historically priceless – particularly including the four shanties that the author hears and writes down (ostensibly verbatim) as he looks on. Surrounded by detailed descriptions of the handling of the rigging, the first is used for weighing anchor, followed by a shorter one for 'catting' or 'fishing' it. The next accompanies the hauling of the main bowline (though Captain W. B. Whall, in his Ships, Seasons and Shanties, unaccountably assigns its latter lines to a separate shanty for hoisting the lower yard).

        "The last, and the one we've recorded here, appears to be for raising the main yard (though Whall seems to have made two shanties out of this one as well). Among the unanswerable questions about it is the basic one of whether it is even a shanty at all, in the conventional sense of having a tune (no music appears in the Complaynt), or merely a 'sing-out,' which is more of a call-and-response shouting. …"


Jonathan went on to describe how he came up with the tune the BP used, and then observed:

        "The words, however, are the toughest part of all, and not just because the original Complaynt is written in 400-year-old Scottish nautical terminology. Some terms have changed, and the author admits that 'I heard many words among the mariners, but I knew not what they meant.' …"


We probably just have to guess at some of it, but actually I've been surprised at how much of it I can figure out if I take the time.

The indentation, italics, and underlining included in the Word document I copied this from failed to appear here. You'll just have to do without, I guess. Sorry. Anyhow, hope this is helpful.

Cheers, Nancy