Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Lighter
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 11:11 AM

Albert J. Porter, "Drift from the Seven Seas," San Francisco Chronicle (June 18, 1911), p. 29:

"If a ship was idling in a calm, the sailors would whistle 'Blow the Men Down,' believing that a breeze would respond. With the sails trimmed to the first faint airs, the watch would sing:

Oh, blow the men down, bullies, blow the men down,
    Give me some time to blow the men down.
Oh, blow the men down on board of this craft,
For blow the men down is the word from aft.
As I was a walking down South Castle sreet,
A cheeky policeman I chanced for to meet.
He opened his gob, and he gave me some jaw,
And I laid him out stiff with my Erin go bragh.
I up with my helm and ran for Lime street,
And there an old skirt-rigged craft I did meet.
'Oh, Jack,' says she, 'will you stand me a treat?'
'Oh, yes, my dear, when next we meet.'
She up with her fist, and she knocked me down.
'I'll show you,' she said, 'how to blow the men down.'"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Roberto
Date: 30 Oct 09 - 04:51 AM

Thanks Jim and thanks Phil. R

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 04:08 PM

Spot on I think Jim. Hows lake winnipesaukee these days??

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:43 PM

Phil: Thanks for your input, and please don't feel bad. Truth be told, I'll bet a LOT of singers would be shocked to know how difficult it is to understand them. And your song was clearer than most. It was mainly the geographic names and sailing jargon that gave me difficulty. I'm a landlubber from Minnesota. I'll bet you'd be confused, too, if I sang about ice-fishing on Lake Kabetogama.

Are the rest of the lyrics correct, as I have posted them?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:27 PM

Well, I've listened again, and now maybe I can hear:

"For there is my clipper. Her name's **** Sark." —where **** is a 2-syllable word, but it sure doesn't sound like "Cutty".

Alternatively, it could be "Her name's the ** Sark" —where ** is a 1-syllable word. Sea Sark, maybe? Or Sea Shark?

I calls 'em like I hears 'em.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:18 PM

Sorry. That was me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:14 PM

'She's called cutty sark' is the lyric. Must get some new teeth.

Subject: Lyr Add: BLOW THE MAN DOWN (Phil Beer)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:08 PM

Thanks to Roberto for sending me the sound file. Here's what I hear:


BLOW THE MAN DOWN
As sung by Phil Beer

1. As I was a-walking down Killigrew Street,
    Way, hey, blow the man down.
A saucy young bobby I chanced for to meet.
    Give me some time to blow the man down.

CHORUS: Blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down.
    Way, hey, blow the man down.
Blow him away, boys, to Liverpool town.
    Give me some time to blow the man down.

2. Says he: "You're a smuggler and that I can see,
So off to the Bodmin you go, Jack, with me.

3. "Your lugger is lying up there by the point.
You'll find I will soon put your nose out of joint."

4. Says I: "You young loony, you think 'tis a lark,
For there is my clipper, the Mason C. Sark."

5. They give me three months in the clink of the town
For scruffing their bobby and blowing him down.


[There is a Killegrew Street in Falmouth, Cornwall. Bodmin, Cornwall, is the former location of an Assize Court and the Bodmin Gaol. A lugger is a small sailboat such as a smuggler might use. The sailor protests that he really belongs to a clipper, a much bigger ship.

["Mason C. Sark" is pure conjecture on my part; I have no idea what he is really saying, but I'm guessing it's the name of his ship, so I tried to invent something plausible.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 02:12 PM

From the cornish song book. It'll be a rewrite, probably by Dunstan himself. I'll check when I get home (Someday). I just like it because my childhood summers were were spent at 96 killigrew rd where my grandparents lived. Three of my grandfathers brothers were Key (Quay) puntmen and many other relatives were sailors or dockers. Give me a couple of days and I'll post the text. It's actually on Box set one which has been delayed and delayed but is now due in the next couple of weeks.

Subject: Lyr Add: BLOW THE MAN DOWN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 02:11 PM

I went looking for related songs and I found this. It's a rare opportunity to see a chantey in context.

From "When Sailors Were Sailors" by Felix Reisenberg, in Outing, (Chicago & New York: Outing Publishing Company, Vol. LXII, No. 5, August, 1913), page 522:


Jimmie was a new sort of chum and the poorest listener I have ever met. He was chockfull of religion and constantly repenting the bad deeds of his youth, telling them at great length and with such relish that it seemed they had come to be his one unfailing source of enjoyment. A terrible drunk in his day, he had also indulged in robbery, having looted a house in Australia.

"Walked away with a whole bloomin' kit o' dunnage." And also, according to his story, Jimmie was a light-weight fighter in his youth, many, many years before. He was the best chantey man in the crew. To hear him "sing a rope" was an inspiration to tired arms and backs.

Well do I remember our first chantey a few days after leaving port. A heavy squall in the forenoon watch sent all of our tops'l yards to the caps, everything coming down by the run to hang slatting in the gear. Skysails, royals, flying jib and jib, and then the t'gans'ls and upper tops'ls, were lowered before the blast as the ship heeled to it almost on her beam ends until the buntlines and downhauls spilled the gripping wind. Passing as quickly as it came, the squall left us wallowing under lower tops'ls and stays'ls, the courses hanging in the buntlines.

All hands were called to "make sail," and as we manned the main tops'l halliards Jimmie Marshall jumped to the rail and faced the line of men tailing along the deck.

"A chantey, boys! Come, now, run her up!" and the heavy yard commenced to inch along the mast to the haunting tune of "Blow the Man Down," the greatest of all the "two-haul" chanteys.

Jimmie—Now rouse her right up boys for Liverpool town,
Sailors—Go, way, way, blow the man down.
Jimmie—We'll blow the man up and blow the man down.
Sailors—Oh, give us some time to blow the man down.

Jimmie—We lay off the Island of Maderdegascar.
Sailors—Hi, Ho, blow the man down.
Jimmie—We lowered two anchors to make her hold faster.
Sailors—Oh, give us some time to blow the man down.

Chorus—

All hands—Then we'll blow the man up and we'll blow the man down,
Go way, way, blow the man down.
We'll blow him right over to Liverpool town,
Oh, give us some time to blow the man down.

Ho, stand by your braces and stand by your falls.
Hi, ho, blow the man down.
We'll blow him clean over to Liverpool town.
Oh, give us some time to blow the man down.

Old Marshall faced to windward, his mustache lifting in the breeze and covering his battered nose. He always sang with a full quid in his cheek, and the absence of several front teeth helped to give a peculiar deep-sea quality to his voice.

"We have a man-o'-war crew here, Mr. Zerk," shouted the Captain from the top of the cabin where he had come out to see the fun.

"Aye, aye, Sir. Some crew," returned the Mate, looking over us with a grim smile.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Roberto
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 11:29 AM

Jim: I can't find any other CD by Phil Beer with this song. Only the compilation with the Folk Awards.

The second stanza starts with this line:
Says he – You're a smuggler, and that I can see

The third with something like:
Your lugger is lying (...) there by the point

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Blow the Man Down (Phil Beer)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 02:35 PM

Funny – neither Phil Beer's official web site nor his record label's web site mentions BLOW THE MAN DOWN. Show of Hands' web site doesn't mention it either.

Has he recorded it on any album besides the "Folk Awards 2009"? I found several web sites that advertise that album, but none of them have sound samples of this particular song. Is there anywhere online that I can hear this song, or part of it?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Phil Beer's Blow the Man Down
From: kendall
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 07:35 AM

This is the version I know. ( I also know the dirty one)

As I was a walking down Liverpool street, way hey...
A big Irish Skuffer I chance for to meet, gimme...
"I see your a sailor from the look of your clothes...
And you robbed some poor Dutchman of boots clothes and all...

"Policeman oh Policeman you do me great wrong, wey hey..
I'm a flying fish sailor just back from Hong Kong..."

So I ..... and stove in his jaw....
He said young fella your breaking the law....
They gave me 6 months in Liverpool town....
For beatin' and kickin' and blowin' him down, why hey....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Phil Beer's Blow the Man Down
From: Roberto
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 03:46 AM

The last verse should be like this:

They gave me three months in the clink of the town
For scoffin' that bobby and blowing him down

Please, help me with the middle part of the song. R

Subject: Lyr Req: Phil Beer's Blow the Man Down
From: Roberto
Date: 26 Oct 09 - 01:33 PM

I'd like to get the text of Blow the Man Down as sung by Phil Beer, a Cornish version, the booklet says (it is in this years' Folk Awards).

The first verse:

As I was a-walking down Killigrew Street
Way, Hey – Blow the Man Down
A saucy young bobby I chanced for to met
Gi' me some time to Blow the Man Down

Blow the Man Down, bullies, Blow the Man Down
Way, Hey – Blow the Man Down
Blow him away, boys, to Liverpool town
Gi' me some time to Blow the Man Down

THanks. R