Lyr Req: Banana Shanty

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Leadfingers
Date: 24 Jun 04 - 05:22 AM

As Sung by 'The Shanty Crew From Hell' of inglorious memory !!

Subject: Lyr Add: TILAPA TIRADE (Tony O'Neill)
From: GUEST,The Admiral at Home
Date: 23 Jun 04 - 01:28 PM

TILAPA TIRADE
(Tony O'Neill)

1) Three weeks at anchor, swinging in Cowes Roads,
Tilapa, Tucurinca, Tarialba and Tela.
Three weeks at anchor but no liberty boats,
Chuck 'em in, hoist 'em up and throw 'em over!
Chuck 'em in, hoist 'em up and throw 'em over!

2) The dockies are strikin', there's bananas in the hold,
Jamaican bananas, all green turning gold.

3) Orders came to lift the hook and sail for the west,
Feed the cargo to the sharks, a meal of the very best.

4) The Mate's loafin' on the deck and the Second Mate too,
Third Mate's lurkin' in the hold, chuckin' in with crew.

5) The Third "E" and the Fourth "E" and the Juniors all,
The Bosun and the Chippy all havin' a ball.

6) There's bananas for breakfast and bananas for lunch,
Bananas for dinner, in your cabin another bunch!

7) There's banana fritters and banana soup (eeuch),
If we see another banana, we'll belt the bloody cook!

8) One hundred and forty thousand boxes gone,
We scraped 'em from the lower hold, cor...what a pong!

9) Eight hours to the Pilot, nearing Barrios town,
Spanish "ladies" all around and Cuba Libres abound.

10) Now we're loadin' bananas for the New Orleans quay,
"Tilapa", "Tucurinca", "Tarialba" and "Tela".
"Chiquita" bananas, they can have 'em says we!...
Chuck 'em in, hoist 'em up, and throw 'em over! (x 3)

Based on true events which occurred on SS "Tilapa" commencing Cowes Week, around 1974, caused by one of the many national dock strikes. Though after ten days steaming slowly back over the Atlantic dumping 50-lb boxes of bananas all the way there was general agreement amongst the crew that the "****in' dockies" deserved everything that came to them! Written mainly in Flensburg, in August 1984.

'Chuck 'em in, hoist 'em up and throw them over' refers to the use of cargo nets to dump the bananas but Pearl Houlden pick up on this as being the way to load a bra!

Enjoy!

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: The Admiral
Date: 23 Jun 04 - 08:32 AM

Hi Guys!

Pearl's just pointed me at this thread (thanks Leadfingers and Dave Bryant as well) and like her I'm surprised (not to say astonished!) that the song is at all widely known!
I don't have time to type the words here at work but will copy and paste them when I get home. I love the references to Stan H in relation to this song as it was written somewhat tongue in cheek! But to be fair I once did hear 'worksongs' used when at anchor in Montego Bay and we were loading cargo (bananas) by 'hand' (men running up planks form the barges and down the same into the holds) but like the young idiot I was I didn't realise the significance of what I was hearing!

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: GUEST,Pearl O'Neill
Date: 23 Jun 04 - 08:09 AM

Hi Joe and fellow mudcatters
Glad you know have the words - although really interested to know where from - I didn't realise 'Talepa Tirade' was that widely known.
Tony & I have been rather busy lately so missed this thread until today. However I will let Tony know.
Tony wrote this song as he had never heard a Banana Dumping Shanty and it is a true story.
The reference Dave has made to the Bra Loading originated from Pearl Houlden - it was her first impression. Dave Houlden wrote a parody which included the chorus 'Tapioca & Sago'

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 23 Jun 04 - 04:43 AM

Tony O'Neill (The Admiral) wrote the song, his wife Pearl and friends think it's really a Bra-Loading Shanty and often provide suitable gestures to "Chuck 'em in - Hoist 'em up - and Throw 'em over" !

I'll PM Tony, because it should really be him who posts the words.

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 10:50 AM

So if Joe "now has the words" WHY AREN'T THEY POSTED HERE!!!!

please

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Steve-Acton
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 08:02 AM

The use of songs to haul shacks/chanties accross Islands to escape storms is well documented and contributes to the debate about the origin of the word shanty/chantey see Hugill Shanties from the seven seas 1979 edition page 22 which gives a clear description - there are feild recordings, I think by Lomax, of the songs. It is important, therefore, to distinguish between Shanties and Sea Shanties.

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: GUEST,vectis
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 07:28 PM

No need! Joe now has the words and sings it beautifully.

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Micca
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 12:08 PM

Jeremy, Tony ONeill is a mudcatter! try PMing The Admiral and asking!

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: open mike
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 11:55 AM

i still think of Day-O, Day-ay-ay-O, etc.

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 11:52 AM

...a person could wonder why we haven't found the Banana Shanty after all this time...

Subject: Banana Shanty
From: Jeremy
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 09:52 AM

Still trying to get the words. This might help. I heard it on a Song & Ale tape sung by Tony O'Neill who lives in England. the chorus goes like this

CHUCK 'EM IN, HOIST 'EM UP AND THROW 'EM OVER
CHUCK 'EM IN, HOIST 'EM UP AND THROW 'EM OVER

I can't get the words from the verses due to the quality of the recording
Has anyone ever heard of it?

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Joe Waters
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 05:45 AM

I heard it on a song&ale tape sung by tony o'neil who lives in england. the chorus goes like this CHUCK 'EM IN, HOIST 'EM UP AND THROW 'EM OVER

i can't get the words from the verses due to the quality of the recording

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Barry Finn
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 09:27 PM

Little Susie Skinner
Says she's a beginner
She prefers it to her dinner

Haul (I do like the peel) her away

Little Flo Fanana
Slipped on a banana
Now she can't play the pianner

HAUL 'ER AWAY (click)

Hugill, at the end of this version writes;
"The tune of the foregoing has something in common with that of the Jamaican song 'Missy Ramgoat' , & also with 'Hill an' Gully Rider', another Jamaican song featured in the film Moby Dick, & later spliced to the West Indian work-song 'Banana Boat' & turned into a pop song"

Hi Roger ITS, I'd say Cliff might have at least some part of truth in his belief. The Alantic waterfront from New England to the West Indies was most commonly manned by black watermen & inshore sailors. This was the best trade for African Americans for the time of the Revolution to the Civil War. They were offered in their trade the most freedom & the least biasis & enough trust where plantion owners that ran their own ships manned those ships with all Black crews & in some cases Black officers. These sailors/watermen had a network that reached throughout the northern Alantic rim & they were privy to news & info that most weren't. They also were allowed to keep any & all earnings, in most cases, that were aquired on the side. They, as a group, always sang while working & this period was the time of their hayday. Most of the collectors agree that the golden age of the shanty was between the 1830's till the 1860's but many collectors refere to finding references to early (pre 1820's) shanties /worksongs from the West Indian. Whall, Terry, Colcord, Bullen, Doerflinger, Hugill & the lastly Abrahams give at least some credit to the West Indian & African American. Combine all of their comments & acknowledgements & their contributions seem to be grossly underestimated, combine that with the age & amount of the worksongs from the southern coast & outer islands with the fact that they were the majority of the then pilots, steveadores & wharf workers, roustabouts, inshorefishermen, cotton stowers. Mixed crews aboard whalers, cargo & passenger carriers 7 offshore fishers were very common & not so uncommon all black crews. In the song about the schooner Industry (written onboard by an annon. crew member) it sings of a gam (a social meeting of ships mid ocean) with the Traveler, both ships wholly manned by blacks, 1822. I don't say that they were the orgin or the only early source of shanties but their contributions seem to be far greater than supposed by most. Have I become aThread Creep? Barry

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Roger the zimmer
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 06:57 AM

Can't help with this ,but the thread reminds me that Cliff Hall of the Spinners always claimed shanties were West Indian in origin. His explanation (possibly a wind-up to annoy the shanty purists) was that the WI fishermen had temporary shelters (shanties) on the beach where they gutted their fish (and no doubt smoked some wacky woodbines) which were on rollers made of tree trunks. When a storm was threatened they hauled them up into the trees for safety from tidal waves etc., singing the type of song we associate with capstan work on ships.[and, of course, the Spinners used to sing "Sally Racket" among other shanties so this thrtead hasn't crept too far!]

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Fadac
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 10:17 AM

I like Banana's because they have no bones.

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Matthew B.
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 09:32 AM

Joe -

It will help us if there is anything you can tell us about the song. Do you remember even a few of the words?

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 08:56 AM

I don't suppose it's BANANA BOAT SONG?

Subject: RE: Banana Shanty
From: Wally Macnow
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 06:33 AM

Is it the one that goes

Little Sally Racket
Peel 'em all day!
She's pawned my best jacket
Peel 'em all day!
And she's lost the ticket
Peel 'em all day!
With a hauley high-O!
Peel 'em all day!

Sorry couldn't resist.

Subject: Banana Shanty
From: Joe Waters
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 06:02 AM

Does anyone know the words to 'The Banana Shanty'?