ADD: The Wild Caribee (Jerry O'Neill)

Subject: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: radriano
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 02:14 PM

"The Wild Caribee", composed by Jerry O'Neill, is one of the songs on Jimmy Crowley's album "The Coast of Malabar" - it's a lovely album but Crowley's Cork accent defeats my attempts to transcribe lyrics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Sorcha
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 10:39 PM

Sorry, rad, I couldn't find it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: MMario
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 11:08 PM

Neither could I - There's a home page - but it doesn't appear to have the lyrics posted - just the titles.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 10:22 AM

Richard
I've only heard it a few times - and never seen it in print. I'll have a look. If you want to have a go at transcribing Jimmy's acceent, we can probably clean it up between us!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: radriano
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 01:00 PM

Thanks for all the responses to my request.

On his cd Jimmy Crowley shows a link to a website that all the lyrics are posted to but the link doesn't work (Irishtrad.com/crowley).

I'll post what I've been able to transcribe (thanks for the offer, Martin!)

Richard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:16 PM

Jimmy's new website is http://www.jimmycrowley.com/ - but I didn't find any lyrics.
There is an e-mail link....
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WILD CARIBEE (Jerry O'Neill)
From: radriano
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:22 PM

Right, Joe, that is Crowley's website. The other link was supposed to have all the lyrics.

Well, I gave the song another close listen and filled in some of my blanks. Here's what I have:

THE WILD CARIBEE
Written by Jerry O'Neill
Jimmy Crowley, The Coast of Malabar

I will tell ye a tale of the Tropical Sea
Where the dolphins dance tangos and the mermaids striptease
Of notorious night spots and far ports of call
Where we blew all our wages and drank till we fall

There's a club in [ ] called the Barbary Shore
[And the old Cellar Bar] in downtown Singapore
But the mightiest spot everyone must agree
Was the Port of [St. Anne?] in the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

Where we danced on the barstools and slept on the floor
Drank rum by the gallon, told lies by the score
Where we'd gambled and lied and sometimes we would fight
[ ] halfway through the night

[ ] at the head of a pin
And fell in love as quickly as we'd fall out again
We all graduated in philosophy but attended night classes
In the Wild Caribee

Hey ho, hey hee, hey ho, hey hee
Attended night classes in the Wild Caribee

There are beautiful girls in [ ]
And some men [ ] in the town of Paree
But there's none to compare from [Banteer] to Bali
[ ] of the Wild Caribee

You'll find the best of good porter down at the [ ] quay
For the best of poteen you must go to [Coolay]
But for best of good rum you must sail o'er the sea
To the port of [Santan] and the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

There were black men and white men and all shades in between
There were rascals in dreadlocks died orange and green
There were stetsons and turbins and [ ]
For the real fashion consious 'twas the place to be seen

There you'll hear [taki-taki] and poetic [patoi]
Some cleric in Latin, some southern [choctaw]
'Twas a chorus of Babel in sweet harmony
That united nations the, Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
That united nations the, Wild Caribee

I remember the last time we sailed from that place
[……………………………]
We hoist up the gangway and hung up the chain
But never would set eyes on [Santan] again

For the hurricane like a cancer was born
From a harmless red squall comes a tropical storm
It gathers its fury from the heat of the sun
And hurtles to landward like a shot from a gun

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

The hurricane struck the town of [St. Anne?]
And rained down destruction on the proud works of man
It washed half the town away into the sea
And left not a trace of the Wild Caribee

We'll go sailing no more in those Tropical Seas
[ ] where the mermaids striptease
But we'll always remember with a sad reverie
All the wild times we had in the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
No trace of that landmark, the Wild Caribee

Notes from the album: This song reminded me of what the uncensored version of Treasure Island might be like when I first heard it sung in Cork city by its author, former ship's wireless operator, Jerry O'Neill. I was immediately captivated by the far-away, romantic elements and in no small way by Jerry's delivery of the song.

Richard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Sorcha
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:27 PM

Don't BillD and Big Mick both have huge collections of SingOut!?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 03:08 PM

Its a great song! If all else fails, I'll have a listen to it in ITMA next time I'm in Dublin.
Regards

p.s. Richard: you've just reminded me of something....

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WILD CARIBEE (Jerry O'Neill)
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 04:23 PM

THE WILD CARIBEE
Words & music by Jerry O'Neill


I will tell you a tale of the tropical seas,
Where (the) dolphins dance tangos and (the) mermaids striptease;
Of notorious night-spots in far ports of call
Where we'd spend all our wages and we'd drink till we'd fall.
There's a club in Oran called the Barbary Shore
And the old Cellar Bar in downtown Singapore,
But the mightiest spot, everyone must agree,
Was the port of Santan and the Wild Caribee.

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
The port of Santan and the Wild Caribee.

Where we danced on the barstools and we slept on the floor,
Drank rum by the gallon and told lies by the score,
Where we gambled and limed and sometimes we would fight
Or talk meaningless ráiméis halfway through the night.
There we counted the angels on the head of a pin

And fell in love as quickly as we fell out again.
Oh, we all graduated in philosophy,
Who attended night-classes in the Wild Caribee.

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
We attended night-classes in the Wild Caribee.

There were black men and white men, and all shades in between,
There were rastas in dreadlocks, died emerald green,
There were Stetsons and turbans and the odd oul cáibín;
For the real fashion conscious 'twas the place to be seen.
There you'd hear taki-taki and poetic patois,
Some clerical Latin or southern Choctaw;
'Twas a chorus of Babel in sweet harmony,
That United Nations, the Wild Caribee.

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
That United Nations, the Wild Caribee.

There are beautiful girls by the Owenbue

And elegant ladies in the town of Paree,
But they're none can compare from Banteer to Bali
Con las chicas hermosas of the Wild Caribee.
You'll find the best of good porter in Sullivan's Quay
And for the best of good poitín you must go to Coolea,
But for the best of good rum you must sail o'er the sea
To the port of Santan and the Wild Caribee

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
The port of Santan and the Wild Caribee.

I remember the last time that we sailed from that place,
Con el ultimo beso y hasta la vez.
Then we hoisted the gangplank and pulled in the chain,
But we never would set eyes on Santan again.
For the hurricane like a cancer is born,
From a harmless rainsquall comes a tropical storm.
It gathers its fury from the heat of the sun
And hurtles straight landward like a shot from a gun.
A hurricane struck the port of Santan,
Where it rained down destruction on the proud works of man.
It washed half the town way out into the sea,
And left not a trace of the Wild Caribee.

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
No trace of that landmark, the Wild Caribee.

We'll go sailing no more on that tropical sea,
Nor go liming no more where the mermaids striptease,
But we'll always remember with a sad reverie
All the wild times we had in the Wild Caribee.

Hey Ho, Hey Hee, Hey Ho, Hey Hee,
All the wild times we had in the Wild Caribee.

Notes:
Limed = Trinidad slang, relaxing and socializing.
Ráiméis = Irish -pronounced "raw-maysh" = nonsence
Cáibín = pronounced "caw-been" Irish for cloth cap.
Taki-taki = Language spoken in Suriname, S. Am.
beautiful girls - Jimmy uses "Janes" I think.
Owenbue = pronounced "owen-a-bwee". River in Co. Cork
Paree = Paris, of course.
Sullivan's Quay. Quay pronounced "Cay" in Cork.
Poitín = pronounced "put-cheen". Illegal Irish whiskey.



Slán

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 04:27 PM

Looks like an intriguing mystery to me.

Cheerily.
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 05:00 PM

Well done, Guest. Maith an fear (bean?)!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: radriano
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 07:31 PM

Dear Guest,



Thank you very much! Replete with glossary no less!



Richard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: radriano
Date: 03 Oct 02 - 12:13 PM

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 are 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 grateful 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)

Radriano

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Oct 02 - 08:44 PM

Nice work, indeed. Now which island was Santan on, or was it a state of mind?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 08:09 AM

How do you deduce it was on an island? Charley. Anyway I can't find anywhere called Santan on the net that fills the bill. Santan, Arizona obviously is out. Santan, Indonesia? is that on the coast?. However the references to Spanish language, patois, taki-taki and rastas don't seem very relevent in that part of the world. I would imagine it to be somewhere in Latin-America or the Caribbean. Perhaps it's an abberviated or slang version of some place, that's if it exists at all, of course. Sounds like 'twould be a great place for a sing-song though.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wild Caribee
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 02:52 PM

Refresh! I'm still intrigued by the geographical mystery of the port of Santan, although maybe it is in Arizona!

Charley Noble