Maritime work song in general

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 25 May 23 - 01:54 PM

“Rowing. This practice was anciently directed by a person called Celeustes, who gave the signal for the rowers to strike, and encouraged them by his song or cry. This song, called the celeusma, was either sung by the rowers, or played upon instruments, or effected by a symphony of many, or striking sonorous tones. The commander of the rowers, called Hortator Remigum, Pausarius, and Portisculus, was placed in the middle of them. He carried a staff, with which he gave the signal, when his voice could not be heard. The Corinthians first introduced the use of many ranks of oars. The method consisted in the rowers sitting obliquely one above another in this fashion….

They did not sit, but stood inclined. Ossian mentions the rowing song; and the Anglo-Saxon, batswan, or boatswain, as they called him, had also a staff to direct the rowers ; nor is one man, rowing with sculls, one in each hand, modern, the Greeks having boats on purpose, called ampheres, long and narrow. Mention is made of rowing with the face to the prow, as usual with our ancestors, but it must be pushing not drawing the oar. The oar upon the Etruscan vases is of the form of a very narrow pyramid from top to bottom. Evelyn says, that Andrew Baldarius was the inventor of oars, applied to large vessels for fighting.”
[Encyclopedia of Antiquities; and elements of Archaeology, Classical and Mediæval, Vol.1, Fosbroke, 1825]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 25 May 23 - 01:54 PM

“Salóma, sf. singing out of sailors, goldline.
Salomár, vn. to sing out
Zalóma, sf. singing out of seamen when they pull with a rope.
Zalomár, vn. to sing out
[A Pocket Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, Neuman-Baretti, 1823]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 25 May 23 - 01:52 PM

“With HEAVE AND HOW seems to mean, with interest or perhaps, with force implying such an exertion as makes a preson cry ho! for ho it seems to have been pronounced, by the rhyme:
        The silent soule yet cries for vengeance just
                Unto the mighty God and to his saints,
        Who though they seem in punishing slow,
        Yet pay they home at last with heave and how.
                        Harr. Ariost. xxxvii. 89.”
[A Glossary: Or, Collection of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions to Customs, Proverbs, &c., which Have Been Thought to Require Illustration, in the Works of English Authors, Particularly Shakespeare, and His Contemporaries …, Nares, 1822]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 25 May 23 - 01:47 PM

“...Staffa ordered his barge to be manned; and thinking, according to the Scottish adage, “Bode a gown if gowd, and ye'll aye get the slieve of it,” that is, “Try, and you will get something of what you try for,” and that, if we could not reach the islands both of Staffa and Iona, we might reach one of them, we embarked with the piper, who sat at the head of the boat, and played some merry and mournful tunes, but which I could not ascertain, as we committed ourselves to the ocean; when he ceased, the strokesman of our rowers commenced a spirited Gaelic song, the chorus of which ended with “Hatyin, foam! foam, Hatyin, foam! foam, foam, Hatyin, foam! foam, eri!”* in which the principal singer introduced some peculiarly shrill notes, beating time very smartly with his hand upon the oar, and producing a brisk and agreeable effect; this had such influence upon his comrades, that, to borrow a marine expression “we flew through the water,” and with great velocity passed Inchkenneth, which I shall mention hereafter, the black basaltic rocks of Ulva, and the Cave of Mackinnow, which time and the weather would not admit of our reaching. After between three and four hours of hard and incessant rowing, we reached one of the great objects of our voyage, and landed on Staffa.”
[Caledonian Sketches, Or, A Tour Through Scotland in 1807, Carr, 1809]
Sir John Carr (1772–1832) –– English barrister and (travel) writer.

* See also: The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides With S. Johnson, Boswell, 1785 (above)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 25 May 23 - 01:44 PM

“Slow to the sun-shine beach they now draw near,
To sounding oars the choral iurrum swells, (13)
While echoes join from out their secret cells.
        “Ho roe i loe! Come poise the sweeping oar!
        Thus braved our sires the deep, in days of yore!…”

“13 To sounding oars the choral iurram swells. –– P. 138.
We learn from ancient history that, among the Greeks, the oar-song, called, …. was sung to the lyre by a musician, whose duty it was to cheer the rowers by his powers of song, when by reason of long continued exertion their spirits flagged, and their bodies became weary and faint with labour, and also to direct the rowers to keep the rythmus or time exactly, to which custom the Roman poet thus alludes.

“ ––––––Mediæ stat margine puppis,
“ Qui voce alternos nautarum temperet ictus,
“ Et remis dictet sonitum, pariterque relatis
“ Ad numerum plaudat resonantia cærula tonsis.
                                        SILIUS ITALICUS, Lib. vi.

The iurrams or oar-songs of our Hebridian mariners, however, are always sung by one, who is joined by the rest of the rowers in chorus. In general, when the Gael are weary, or begin to flag at any sort of labour, a lunneag or song and chorus is called for, and it is truly surprising with what animation they renew their employment when the lunneag strikes up.
[The Grampians Desolate A Poem, Campbell, 1804]
Alexander Campbell (1764-1824) –– musician and writer)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 May 23 - 07:58 PM

“PROCELEUSMATIC, adj. (applied to verses), procéleusmatique.
[Dictionnaire Phraséologique Royal Anglaise-Francais, Francaise-Anglaise, Tarver, 1845]


“As for divine songs, however, they can easily, even while working with their hands, say them, and like as rowers with a boat-song[1], so with godly melody cheer up their very toil. Or are we ignorant how it is with all workmen, to what vanities, and for the most part filthiness, of theatrical fables they give their hearts and tongues, while their hands recede not from their work?
[1] celeumate.”
[Seventeen Short Treatises of S. Augustine, Cornish, Browne, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 May 23 - 07:54 PM

“The next was the kuberneter,—the master or pilot, who had charge of the navigation of the ship, and sat at the stern to steer. He was expected to be well versed in the kubernetike techne, or art of navigation, such as it was then practised. It consisted, first, in the management of the rudder, the sails, and the engines, then in use,—second, in the knowledge of the winds, the stars-their motions-and their supposed influences on man,—and third, in the knowledge of the best harbours, the rocks, quicksands, and other hydrographical particulars. As may be supposed, the navigators of those times, kept to sea only during the day— commencing the voyage at sun-rise, and anchoring at sunset. The master had his proreus,, or mate, under him, whose station was on the forecastle.—to his care the tackling was assigned, and the placing of the rowers. The duty of the keleustes, or boatswain, was to repeat the orders, and to distribute the allowances to the ship's company. The purser was styled the grammateus,. Nor was the trieraudes,, or musician, forgotten; whose duty, like the modern fifer on the capstan, was to cheer and inspirit the rowers, and to keep them in time.”
[Navigation in Ancient Greece, The Pilot, or Sailors' Magazine. [Continued as] Sailors' Magazine, Vol.2, anon RN officer, 1840]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 May 23 - 07:52 PM

“Perhaps my reader, who has never been at sea, may picture the delight with which the officers, rising from their heated cabins, would behold such a scene as the one I have attempted to describe; the men with their breasts applied to the capstan-bar, heaving up the anchor to the mirth-inspiring sounds of the merry flute and fiddle; their hearts bounding wildly in their bosoms with all the pride and joyousness of a sailor, as they turned their eyes aloft, to behold spar above spar distend its bleached canvass freely to the breeze, with many an indignant flutter, like a young blood-horse champing at the bit.”
[The Port Admiral: A Tale of the War, Vol.1, Neale, 1833]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 22 May 23 - 08:30 PM

“On arriving off the island of Poros, instead of continuing our course towards Athens, we turned aside, and ran in to communicate with H.M.S. Cymbrian; we did not anchor, but the captain repaired on board, and in ten minutes we held the pipe, “All hands up anchor,” and the capstan moving round to the air of that most approved and fashionable bravura, “Fiddle dum dee.””
[Cavendish; or, the Patrician at Sea, Vol.2, Neale, 1831]
William Johnson Neale (1812–1893) –– English barrister and novelist.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 22 May 23 - 08:28 PM

“PROCELEUSMÁTICO, PROCELEUSMATICUS, PROCÉLEUSMATIQUE, Bersglied, Poes., da... (pro), avanti, e da... (celeuò), comandare, esortare. Verso, il cui primo piede consta di quattro sillabe brevi, e che è l'opposto del Dispondeo: tali sono i citati da Giovanni Argoli (in Not. ad lib. I. cap. 2. Panvin. de lud. Circens.):
= Pecora rapida caper agitat =.
= Humi caput inanime tepet, avida neque manu =.
= Memor eris, Asine, moreris , Asine, vapulans =.
Fu così esso denominato, quasi primus jussus, perchè ne' sacrificj di Minerva sembra pronunciarsi il primo piede di questo verso, o perchè per la sua celerità è, ne' casi urgenti della Milizia o della Nautica, acconcio ad esortare ed incoraggiare i Soldati od i Marinari.”
[Dizionario Tecnico Etimologico Filologico, Tom.II, Marchi, 1829]

Note: See vol.I, above and Bardin on celeustique (to follow.)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 22 May 23 - 08:26 PM

“The day had hardly yet begun to dawn, the stars shone with unclouded brilliance, and the breeze was fresh off the land. The capstan was soon manned, the messenger brought-to, and all fair for heaving, when the sound of the mirth-inspiring fiddle operated like magic on the sailors' heels, and made them move with life and uniformity to its hornpipe measure.”
[Excursion to Vourla and Clazomene, The Literary Gazette, Vol.8, 1824]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 22 May 23 - 08:24 PM

c.1812
“Then he turned. His tone was almost gay now.

“Here, Johnny Bow,” he cried, “up with you!” A little sailor with a fiddle tucked under his chin mounted the capstan. The men with half a cheer set the bars into place, and Johnny Bow, with one foot stamping out the time, struck up “The girl I left behind me,” and the lively rattle of capstan joined in an accompaniment.”
[Midshipman Farragut, Barnes, 1896]
David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870) - Went to sea at age 11 years. Flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

David Porter (1780–1843) - Farragut's foster father, mentor and Capt. of the USS Essex (1799) c.1812-1814.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 04:33 PM

“*The Gaëlic liturgy, composed by John Kerswell, afterwards Bishop of Argyle, 1566, contains the form of blessing a ship when going to sea. The steersman says, “Let us bless our ship,” the crew responding “God, the Father, bless her!” Repeating his request they rejoin, “Jesus Christ bless her!” and, to the same observation, the third time, “The Holy Ghost bless her!” The steersman then asks them what they fear, if God, the Father, be with them, &c.; to which they reply, “We do not fear any thing.” They did not, however, altogether rely on the assistance of the Trinity, for they were careful to suspend a hegoat from the mast to insure a favourable wind.” [p.184, footnote]

“Address to the Rowers, or the Prosnachadh Uimrai: “That you may urge on the long, dark, brown vessel, man the tough, long, polished oars; keep time, strike quick, and deeply wound the heaving billows, and make the surges fly like sparkling showers of living flame. Send her, swift as an eagle, o'er the deep vales and mountains of the sea. O, stretch, bend, and pull the straight sons of the forest! And see how the stout conquerors of the ocean bend their muscular forms like one man! Behold their hairy, sinewy arms! See how they twist their oars in the bosom of the deep! Now the pilot's song inspires them with fresh vigour –– see how they urge the swift courser of the ocean, snorting o'er the fluid plain. Lo! how her prow cuts the roaring waves! Her strong sides creak amidst the dark heaving deep, while the sons of the forest, wielded by the strong arms of the crew, impel her against the storm. These are the fearless, unwearied, unbending rowers, whose oars can shut the very throat of the whirlpool.”

As soon as the sixteen rowers were seated at their oars, and ready to row the vessel into the fair wind, Callum Garbh, Mac Ronald of the ocean, the fore oar's-man, sung the Ioram, which consists of fifteen stanzas.” [p.185]

“Fhir a bhata or the boatmen, the music of which is annexed, is sung in the above manner, by the Highlanders with much effect. It is the song of a girl whose lover is at sea, whose safety she prays for, and whose return she anxiously expects.” [p.253]

Fhir a bhata (Iorram) music. [p.260]
[The Scottish Gaël; Or, Celtic Manners, as Preserved Among the Highlanders, Logan, 1831]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 04:31 PM

“Beannachadh luige marrai Prosnachadh fairge, 18th century.

There is no title, author, or date. It has been noted in previous historical records by the first line of the text, which reads Beannachadh luinge marrai Prosnachadh fairge, which translates as 'Blessing a sea ship and sea-cheering'. It appears to be poem, religious in tone, blessing a ship and the sailors who will sail in it.
The University of Edinburgh, Archives Online

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 04:27 PM

I've lost count on the number of 'boat songs' passed over to date; Fhir a Bhata / Fear a Bhata / The boatman was one of many.

However, Logan's The Scottish Gaël has come up again and the author does label the two lines of Fhír a Bhata's music as an iorram. Also, at least one later source (Peacock) links it to Fulling songs.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Jan 23 - 01:57 AM

“CELEUMA. (Lelt.) Ce-lè-u-ma. Sm. V. G. Lat. celeuma. (Da celeome io comando, io esorto.) Nome del grido col quale si esortavano presso i Greci i rematori ed i cocchieri, acciò raddoppiassero i loro sforzi. –– Celeusma, sin. Tesauro, lett. Mis. 5. 113. Berg. (Aq) (0)
CELEUSMA. (Lelt.) Ce-lè-u-sma. Sf. V. G. Lat. celeusma. Lo stesso che Celeuma. V. (Aq) (0)
CELEUSTANORE, Ce-leu-stà-no-re. N. pr. M. (Dal gr. celeustes esortatore, e da henorea fortezza: Esortatore di fortezza.) –– Figliuolo Ercole e di Laotoe. (Mit)
CELEUSTE. (Lelt.) Ce-lè-u-ste: Sm. V. G. Lat. celeustes. Gr. … (Da celevo io comando.) Cosi chiamavano i Greci il capitano della nave o moderatore della navigazione, il quale or con la semplice voce, or con una specie di cantilena, ed or col suon della tromba regolava il naviglio. (Aq)”
[Vocabolario Universale della Lingua Italiana, Vol.II, Mortara, Bellini, Codogni, Mainardi, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Jan 23 - 01:54 AM

“The canoes are elegantly shaped, and elaborately ornamented with grotesque carvings, painted red with kokowai; they have elevated stern-posts, and carry low triangular sails made of raupo (a species of rush), and look remarkably picturesque. A fleet of canoes, adorned, as they often are, with the snow-white feathers of the albatross or the gull, and each manned by a numerous band of paddlers, presents a singular and beautiful appearance; gliding swiftly over the blue and crisp waves, and lowering their mat-sails as they dart into the bay, and run up on the beach, shooting like arrows through the white breakers. Many of the canoes that arrive at Waitemata from the Thames, will carry from fifty to sixty men, who all paddle together, singing in unison some Maori boat-song: their strokes and voices are timed by an individual who stands erect in the centre of the canoe, performing the twofold duty of conductor and prompter; beating each stroke with a staff, which he holds in his hand, and prompting the words of the song. The voices of the crew, shouting in measured strain, may frequently be heard when the canoe itself is but a speck on the waves, and the distant sound falls on the ear with a wild and savage effect.”
[Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand, Angas, 1847]
George French Angas (1822–1886)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Jan 23 - 01:52 AM

“A simple “all ready, sir,” uttered by the first to the captain, in a common tone of voice, was answered by a “very well, sir, get your anchor,” in the same tone, set every thing in motion. “Stamp and go,” soon followed, and taking the whole scene together, Rose felt a strange excitement come over her. There were the shrill, animating music of the fife; the stamping time of the men at the bars; the perceptible motion of the ship, as she drew ahead to her anchor,…”
[The Islets of the Gulf; or Rose Budd, Graham's American Monthly, Cooper, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 08:21 PM

“The approach to Montreal, in one of the Laprarie ferry-boats, allows you to contemplate it at leisure. The distance is nine miles: the river, which is three miles broad, being crossed transversely. You are excited by the rapidity of th the powerful steamboat, and of the current, bearing you like a bird over a ragged channel, which often is visible, covered with crags, apparently ready to tear the bottom of the vessel. French, of a harsh and uncouth dialect, is dinned in your ears by market-men and women, watching their baskets of roots, herbs, &c., gathered it scanty harvest from some part of the rich but abused plain, which extends from the river's bank to the horizon, except where it is bounded by a few distant and imposing isolated mountains. If you cross in a batteau, you hear the boat song of your rowers, in which there is little sweetness or poetry. The city, spreading along the low shore of the river, shoots up the spires of five or six churches, with the domes of two convents, and the towers of the new cathedral, against the Mountain of Montreal, which alone rescues the scene from utter tameness. Those who wish to contemplate the largest specimen of barbarous architecture in North America (saving Mexico), may visit the cathedral.”
[Summer Tours; Or, Notes of a Traveler Through Some of the Middle and Northern States, Dwight, 1847]
Theodore Dwight (1796–1866)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 08:17 PM

“The day before my departure, with a view to keeping my people as sober as I could during our stay, I directed Beau Pré to have the canoe put in order for the voyage, and to be ready with the men to take me over to the fort, where I was engaged to dine with General Brooke. I was glad to see them all at the appointed time tolerably sober, and after making a grand flourish along the river side with their paddles, they worked the canoe across to the fort in admirable style, to the very popular air of “Et en revenant du boulanger,” from which Mr. Moore took the idea of his Canadian boat-song of “Faintly as tolls the evening chime,” After passing the day very agreeably at the fort, and taking leave of the officers, I returned in the evening to Navarino, giving orders for the canoe and men to be all in readiness the next morning to receive the lading and take our departure.”
[A Canoe Voyage Up the Minnay Sotor, Featherstonhaugh, 1847]
George William Featherstonhaugh, FRS (1780–1866)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 08:13 PM

“Shooting the rapids.––When a boat enters the rapids of the Columbia, the bowman and the steersman quickly resign their oars, and grasp short canoe paddles, which they hold down edge-wise, by the boat's sides, propping themselves, at the same time, against her gunwale, to steady her; while the rowers, in the middle, ply their oars most vigourously and then the boat sweeps onward––rising, or ducking, or spinning about, according as she is borne by the current or the eddies; to the great terror of those who, for the first time, are thus whirled along. The success of such a perilous adventure mainly depends on the steadiness and skill of the two guides, at the stem and stern––the efforts of the middle men* being, mainly, to keep the boat buoyant. The contrast between the Canadian voyageurs and the Indians, in performing this feat, is remarkable and characteristic those merrily chaunt their boat-song; but these are as silent and stern as death.”
[History of the Oregon Territory and British North-American Fur Trade, Dunn, 1844]

*ie: milieu.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 08:02 PM

“After remaining a very short time at Lisbon, we one morning fired a gun to give notice to our convoy to get under weigh. Immediately the harbor was alive with noise and activity. The song of the sailors weighing anchor, the creaking of pulleys, the flapping of the sails, the loud, gruff voices of the officers, and the splashing of the waters, created what was to us, now that we were “homeward bound,” a sweet harmony of sounds. Amid all this animation, our own stately frigate spread her bellying sails to a light but favoring breeze; with colors flying, our band playing lively airs, and the captain with his speaking trumpet urging the lagging merchant-ships to more activity, we passed gaily through the large fleet consigned to our care….”

“Our preparations all completed, the hoarse voice of the boatswain rang through the ship, crying, “All hands up anchor, ahoy!” in a trice, the capstan bars were shipped, the fifer was at his station playing a lively tune, the boys were on the main deck holding on to the “nippers,” ready to pass them to the men, who put them round the “messenger” and cable; then, amid the cries of “Walk round! heave away, my lads!” accompanied by the shrill music of the fife, the anchor rose from its bed, and was soon dangling under our bows. The sails were then shaken out, the ship brought before the wind, and we were once more on our way to sea….”
[Thirty Years from Home, Or A Voice from the Main Deck, Leech, 1843]
Samuel Leech (1798–1848)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 08:00 PM

“The wind being fair, in a few minutes the well-known song at the windlass was heard, and then the hoarse voice of the first officer calling out, “The anchor is short apeak, sir; lay aloft fore and aft, and loose the topsails and top-gallant sails.” These orders were quickly obeyed. The sails were sheeted home, and hoisted to the mast-head, and the yards were braced so as to cant the ship's head to starboard. And again the long-drawn song was heard at the windlass, the anchor was rapidly hove up to the bows, and in a few minutes our gallant ship was standing down the river under a press of canvass.”
[Life on the Ocean; or, Twenty Years at Sea, Little, 1843]
George Little (1791-1849)

Note: Same author as The American Cruiser (above.)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 06:50 PM

“Chanter, va. cantar † (náut.) zalomar † fam. charlar † vulg. (pain à) hostia, oblea † pouille, decir ó tirar pullas, dicterios † la palinodie, cantar la palinodia, llamarse antana.”
[Nouveau Dictionnaire Français-Espagnol, Blanc,1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 06:46 PM

“» British sailors have a Knack
        »Haul away! Yeo, ho, boys!
» Of pulling down a Franchman's lack
        » Gainst any odds, you know boys.

» I marinari Ingelsi hanno un'arte. Oh, Eh, Ih, oh ragazzi! D'abbattere un marinaro francese, qualunque sia la disparità. Voi lo sapete ragazzi! »

È questa la canzone che cantano, allorchè a bordo fanno qualche fatica che richiegga la simultanea convergenza ed applicazione delle forze di tutti allo scopo medesimo. La qual terminata, intuonarono l'altra.”
[I Marinari Inglesi, Poliorama Pittoresco, Lauria, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 06:45 PM

“We were steering for the Jetty, and the junk having way enough on her, had lowered our huge mat-sail, when a chop-boat ran foul of us, and we were constrained to hoist it again.

This was done by us Europeans; and the task which would have taken the Chinese crew some time to perform, we dispatched in a few minutes.

The young American sailor brought the clumsy halyards to the windlass, and manning a handspike, gave the cheering song to Mr. Dobbs and us Middies, of –

“Heave-ho-ye-o!”

Into which he threw a falsetto, with a voice of such force, fervour, and beauty, that it suspended the performance of a band of music in a pleasure-boat floating at a distance in the moon-light, who were working their bugles at the vulgar tune of Paddy O'Carrol.

It was really glorious to behold the sail go up the junk's mast, as it were by the transporting magic of the young sailor's chant.

“Heave and paul,” [sic] cried Mr. Dobbs; “we have got a taut leech on the sail–if a mat deserves the name….”
[Jack Ariel or Life on Board an Indiaman, v.III, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 06:43 PM

Steve: Yup, see 1779, above. And Dibdin's inspiration was? And Aristophanes? &c &c.

Also in 1846, The Ohio Boatman's Song which I'll be posting here until we learn more: River Songs

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 04:40 PM

In keeping with the rest of the piece it would be more likely a quote from one of Dibdin's songs, thus not a work song. 'I'm Afloat' by Eliza Cook of course.

Cooke's set up reminds one more of Paddy West's methods of making a seaman, but much more upmarket. No doubt the same effect obtained though.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 12:54 PM

Steve: "Yeo heo-heo!"

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 10:40 AM

Hi Phil.
Can you relate anything here or by Cooke that relates to Mwsig?

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 05:10 PM

*Thomas Potter Cooke (1786–1864)
Mr. T. P. Cooke as Ben Backstay

“He was born on 23 April 1786, in Titchfield Street, Marylebone, London; his father was a surgeon, who died when he was six years old. He sailed, under age, on board the sloop HMS Raven to Toulon, and was present at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797. After escaping drowning off Cuxhaven, where Raven was lost and the crew had to take refuge in the rigging, he reached England. He sailed again on board HMS Prince of Wales, carrying Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Calder, to the blockade of Brest. The Peace of Amiens of 1802 deprived Cooke of his naval occupation.” [wiki]

...'the best sailor out of all sight and hearing that ever trod the stage,' praise in which all authorities have concurred.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 05:07 PM

See also: James William Wallack (above) ––

“NAUTICAL LECTURES.
THE union of amusement with instruction has become such a very popular notion that the Admiralty has, we understand, determined on adopting it. In order to introduce among the junior members of the Naval service a knowledge of their profession, an arrangement has, we believe, been entered into with MR. T. P. COOKE*, to give some of those faithful representations of the character and habits of the British Seaman for which he has long been eminent. It is in contemplation to obtain his attendance at the various sea-ports in succession, for the purpose of going through a series of semi-dramatic lectures, in the presence of the officers and crews of the ships at the different stations. The following is a slight sketch of the programme of the first of these performances, which will take place at Portsmouth, as soon as the necessary arrangements are completed:

PART I
Introduction to Naval Life––The deck of the Daisy––Anecdote of a Thames Stoker––Young BEN, the pride of Putney––Song: “I'm Afloat”––Yeo heo-heo!––Abaft the binnacle once more––Life in a paddle-box––Hip, hip, hip, hurrah!––“Jack's the boy”––Naval hornpipe, and Off she goes.

Between the Parts, a Naval Hornpipe.

PART II
“The Sea, the Sea––Epsom salts and salt water––Neptune out of tune––Rigs in the rigging––Anecdote of GEORGE ROBINS––A Sail! A Sail!––A Dance on deck––“To the Pumps, to the Pumps”––A Quadrille in the Channel––Channel sole Shoes––Who's for the Shore “The Shark and the Shrimp”––The Learned Pig and the Sow Wester––A Sea Fight––Hornpipe in character––concluding with RULE BRITANNIA.

It is intended that the lectures shall be varied as the marine pupils advance, and the whole science of navigation, illustrated by songs, anecdotes, and hornpipes, will be laid open to the student. It is confidently anticipated that a perfect British Seaman may be turned out in half-a-dozen lectures. The room will be fitted up with a mast and rope ladder, so that the illusion in office,-though we do not mean to say they will be as complete as possible.”
[Punch, Or, The London Charivari, Vol.10, 1846]

*see following for bio.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 12:06 AM

Note: Greek text omitted. Entries for keleusma, keleustes &c. ––
“–– a command, order; cheering cry, shout of encouragement, exhortation to sailors, soldiers, charioteers; … at a signal.

–– a commander, one who exhorts; particularly, he who raises the [keleusma], or animating shout or cry; the signal officer, who, by signs or voice, gives the time to the rowers; the boatswain,… Thucyd. vii, 70; compare Silicus Italicus, vi, 360; pointed out by Bloomfield in his Gloss, in Pers. 403; he sung a tune, or boat-song to the rowers, to make them keep time with their oars. See Arnold's Thucyd. I. 365...”
[A Comprehensive Lexicon of the Greek Language, adapted to the use of colleges and schools in the United States, Pickering, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 12:04 AM

“SCOTLAND
...Entering a boat at the end of Loch Katrine, we were soon joined by four stout rowers, who started off in fine style, singing with tolerable melody the well-known boat-song, and “Hail to the Chief.”
[Summer's Jaunt Across the Water, Smith, 1846]

Advent of steam trivia, same volume: "The attempt to establish a steamboat on Loch Katrine, in 1843, frustrated by the boatmen's sinking it, to prevent interference with their trade, is about to be renewed; but the rowers seemed to think the effort would be attended with like success."

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 04:21 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7OZUce-E-U It works quite well as a work song. i sang it yesterday while harvesting seaweed

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jan 23 - 11:10 PM

“Voyage up the Nile, From Alexandria to Cairo
Monday, November 3d, 1838.––
...At night the wind failed, and the germ was alternately dragged along by a rope, or wafted by a breeze in the sudden turns and angles of the river. The moon shone magnificently on the low banks of the Delta: we seemed to glide within an arm's length of the shore, while a fountain of silvery light fell upon the rich carpet of green, the tufted palms, and other trees of less height, but more graceful outline. The occasional note of the Arab pipe sounded from the village solitudes; the plaintive boat-song just roused from deep repose a bevy of aquatic birds that squatted on the newly deposited mud; our mariners in their national costume, with their turbans of red and white, all fierce and bustling in their aspect, as they ran along by the water's edge, pulling the boat, and joining in one full, vigorous burst of song; all these novelties blended wildness with beauty, and gave a scene bordering on romance.”
[Sketches by a Resident in Cairo, The Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jan 23 - 11:08 PM

“...I stopped for a minute to take another look at the lovely picture: beautiful lights and shades lay on the soft landscape; and now, scarcely audible in the distance, the song of “La Claire Fontaine,” came still from the little canoes. The gentle scene fixed itself on my mind, and remains stored up in the treasury of pleasant memories.

A couple of little canoes, two women in one, and a man in the other, lay on the calm lake under the shadow of a rocky knoll covered with firs and cedars, the occupants leisurely employed in setting fishing lines. They were at the far side from us, and soft and faint over the smooth surface of the ater, came their song,––“La Claire Fontaine,” the national air of the Canadian French.”
[Hochelaga: Or, England in the New World, Vol.1, Warburton, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jan 23 - 11:06 PM

“*CONSONAR, a. ant. SALOMAR. || n. Sonar un cuerpo sonoro, instrumento músico ó bélico, dando el mismo tono á la tercera, quinta y octava del [octava que el] que da otro con quien esta acorde.
CONTRAMAESTRE. m. Náut. Oficial de mar que manda las maniobras del navío, y cuida de la marinería bajo las órdenes del oficial de guerra. Navis, nautarumque subpraefectus. || En algunas fábricas de seda y de lana cierto veedor que hay sobre los maestros de tejidos. Textrinae subpraefectus.
SALOMA. f. La accion de salomar. Nautica opera canendo acta.
*SALOMAR. n. [a.] Náut, Gritar el contramaestre ó guardian diciendo varias retahilas, para que al responder á ellas, tiren todos á un tiempo del cabo que tienen en la mano. Operam canendo praescribere in navibus.
XINGLAR. n. p. Ar. Gritar, pronunciando ó sin pronunciar voz alguna, en demostracion de regocijo. Clamare, vociferare.
† ZALOMA. f. SALOMA.
† ZALOMAR. a. SALOMAR.”
[Nuevo Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana, Salvá y Pérez, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Jan 23 - 11:04 PM

“EERAM, s. A boat-song; a rowing song; apparently the same with Joram. Saxon and Gael.

JORRAM, Joram, Jorum, s. 1. Properly a boat-song, slow and melancholy. Heart of Mid-Lothian. 2. Sometimes used with greater latitude, though with less propriety, to denote a song in chorus, although not a boat-song. Saxon and Gael. 3. Improperly used to denote a drinking-vessel, or the liquor it contained in it, S. Hence, Push about the Jorum is the name of an old Scottish Reel, or tune adapted to it.”
[A Dictionary of the Scottish Language, Jamieson, Johnstone, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 10:58 PM

“Celéustica, s.f. Mil. Arte de trosmitir las órdenes por medio de sonidos marcialmente músicus.
Celéusticamente, adv. De mod. Por medio de la celéustica.
Guiriote, s.m. Especie de tambor que úsan los negros.”
[Diccionario Nacional ó Gran Diccionario Clásico de la Lengua Española, Tom.I, Domínguez, 1846]


“...the ships's fiddler therefore mounted the capstan and scraped away, while the anchor was getting up, and in a little time we were again out to sea.”
[Camp and Barrack-room, Or, The British Army as it is, McMullen, 1846]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 10:56 PM

“The deck tackle was then stretched fore and aft, the fore-topsail was sheeted home, and hoisted to the mast head, the yards were braced so as to cant the Cruiser to port, and the anchor was hove up to the bow in great spirit, inspired by laughing Jimmy's fife with the national air of “Yankee Doodle.” The Cruiser was now under way, and the numerous spectators on the Battery returned three times three to the hearty cheers given by the crew, and soon, very soon, the sound was lost by the increased distance of the Cruiser.”
[The American Cruiser's Own Book, Little, 1846]
[The American Cruiser; or The Two Messmates. A Tale of the Last War, Little, 1846]
[The American Cruiser; A Tale of the Last War, Little, 1847]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 10:55 PM

RE: Illinois Monthly Magazine, Vol.1, 1831 & Michel de Coucy (above) –– The real world author was: Judge James Hall (1793–1868,) also the source of:
Origin: Way Down in Shawneetown lyric and
much of the Americana/folklore behind: Mike Fink.


Unrelated: The Dictionary of High and Colloquial Malayalim and English dedicated by permission to His Highness the Rajah of Travancore by Benjamin Bailey in 1846 has an entry for “boat song.”

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:47 PM

“The chief mate gave his orders in a voice which made itself heard in the most distant portion of the ship. The boatswain and his mates were summoned; the crew gathered round the mainmast; a long shrill note from the boatswain's whistle sounded through the air.

“All hands up anchor, ahoy!” shouted the chief mate.

The handspikes were in the capstan as instantaneously as if they had been conveyed thither by an electric shock. The silence of the grave succeeded. “Heave round!––Heave round, my lads!––Heave round !” rung from the lips of the mate. Instantly a dozen throats cheerily sent forth the song of “Yo, heave ho!” with other merry sounds, and the anchor was slowly raised above the blue water; while several hands aloft were already freeing the sails from the yards and opening them to the wind. The topsails were sheeted home in a trice; down fell the courses and top-gallant sails. The staysails were run up; the royals set; foresail, jib, and spanker spread their bosoms to the breeze, the mainsail curved and tightened as if about to burst, and our gallant bark, yielding gracefully to the light gale, swept past the vessels at anchor, and held her way towards the great German Ocean.”
[The Quarter Deck, Cook, 1844]

Note: Author - C.J.R. Cook, M.R.C.S., L.A.C., &c. &c. &c. and the fictional vessel the Earl Moira an East Indiaman of eight hundred tons.

There was a Charles John Robert Cook, Surgeon Supt., on the barque Mary Anne, 600 tons, New Zealand Company, c.1841-2.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:41 PM

“...The steamer moves––the paddles plash––
And soon upon their way they dash.
As is the custom of the crew,
When they approach, or bid adieu,
To large town or to city,
O’er wave and wood––o'er glade and glen,
Rung forth a merry ditty;
And Joe, caught quick, with flying pen,
This song of western steamboat men.

                SONG.
                1.
Ye mariners, who sail the seas,
I'm told you've made the boast,
Of all who go upon the waves,
You hold yourselves the toast;
But list to me, ye mariners,
As bounding on ye go,
A-cracking up your merry ship,
With your wild yo! heave ho!

                2.
I'll not deny, ye mariners,
It is a joyous thing,
To see ye dashing on your way,
Like bird upon the wing;
Ye wave a farewell hand to home,
And then away ye sweep,
To where the blue sky rests upon
The bosom of the deep.

                3.
But mariners—but mariners
When loud the storm doth blow,
Ye have a toilsome time, my boys,
With your wild yo! heave ho!
And when at last the calm comes on,
And ye swing upon the sea,
How sad are then your thoughts of home,
And sadder they must be.

                4.
Oh, how ye at the sweepers tug,
And how ye have to tow,
And faint and weary comes the cry
Then of your yo! heave ho!
Ye say ye hate to hear our noise,
Our puffing, and our buzz;
But don't forget, ye mariners,
That 'pretty is that does!'...”
[The Beechen Tree: A Tale: Told in Rhyme, Thomas, 1844]
Frederick William Thomas (1806–1866)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:39 PM

“LXIV.
When the bright morning streaked the east with red,
“All hands unmoor!” passed hoarsely through the ship;
Manned was the capstan, and the steady tread,
With the loud “Yo, heave, ho,” from many a lip
Soon brought the word “the anchor is atrip.”
The loosened sails in fluttering festoons hung,
The stripes and stars at the topgallant's tip
Their beauties to the early zephyrs flung––
“Heave in!” “Sheet home!” “Ay! ay!” now through the vessel rung….”
[Fitz Clarence: A Poem, French, 1844]
Benjamin Brown French (1800–1870)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:37 PM

“This is commonly called the dull season of the year but really, in a walk made along the Delaware front of the city, from the navy yard to the upper part of Kensington, we cannot find the epithet dull at all applicable to the various occupations carried on. At every boat yard, there were several boats being built: every anvil resound-ed to the blow of the smith; every steam engine, whether driving saw mills or machine shops, are puffing away as if in earnest. Drays were busy carrying away the large amount of products, with which our wharves are loaded; and the loud "yo heave ho" of the arriving mariner, spoke of foreign lands. Indeed, it was a scene full of pleasurable emotion to a citizen of Philadelphia-it spoke of better days to come….”
[Trade and Commerce, from the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Niles' National Register, Vol.66, 1844]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Dec 22 - 03:11 PM

“Chanter, v.n. chan-té. Cantar; mover la voz con inflexiones ordenadas segun las reglas musicales…. || Mar. Zalomar; voces que se daban por los marineros para uniformar la fuerza y que están absolutamente prohibidas en los buques de guerra.”
[Diccionario Universal Francés-Español, Vol.I, Dominguez, 1845]


“Next morning the hallooing of the sailors weighing the anchor, gave him to understand that the Sphinx was about to sail; he saw her spread her snow-white canvass, and with three cheers from her British tars stand from the bay.”
[The Irish Legend, M'Sparran, 1846, p.28]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Dec 22 - 03:08 PM

“At this instant the topsails of the brig began to rattle; a fresh of wind had come down upon us, circling in eddies round the Sugarloaf. Bang! went a gun, and away aloft went “66” again from the Admiral “Up anchor,” shouted Fabian; the bars were shiped in the capstan, and the messenger brought to before the call of the Boatswain's Mate was heard “Heave round,” roared MacCreery, and the men danced off as if they were mad, the fiddlers struck “Off she goes;” but, though they played in quick time, the men got far a head of them in the step. In an almost incredible short period, not only was the anchor at her bows, but a cloud of canvas spread upon the masts––the jib-boom rigged out, and the jib set.”
[Oldjunk, My Own Recollections of the River Plate, The Anglo American, Vol.6, March, 1845]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Dec 22 - 05:50 PM

More Ben Brace & Scrapewell:

“You must n't sit on the roof' said the coachman to me and Bill and Scrapehard, who had got on the quarter-deck of the coach, the old fiddler playing 'Moll in the Wad,' and slewing round on his stern like a fifer in the capstan when it's 'up anchor!'”
[Ben Brace, the Last of Nelson's Agamemnons, Chamier, 1836]



“...It has been the practice, time out of mind, in getting the anchor up on board ship, to have the marine drum and fife play those beautiful airs, “Moll in the Wad,” and “Off she goes,” while the sailors heave round the capstan. This noise serves merely to give a cadence of step to the men, but has small power as an excitement. Give them, in place of this monotonous rattle, a couple of good warlike musical instruments, well played on, and there could be little doubt that the messenger would travel faster.”
[Wilkie, On Military Music, Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, Pt.II, Vol.48, 1845]
Note: Lieut.-Colonel David Wilkie was the nephew of Scottish painter Sir David Wilkie.

Lyr Add: Moll in the Wad
Moll in the Wad (2) - Traditional Tune Archive

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Dec 22 - 02:45 PM

“HISSER, hi-sa, v. a. v. 3, (mar.) to hoist, to sway, to heave up, to haul up, to pull up any thing by a tackle. — promptement, to trice. Hisse, hisse! hoist away!, hoist heartily. Hisse à courir, a run, a run!

?, s. m. an o; (interj.) O! ho!C'est un o en chiffr?. he is a mere cipher. (Prov.) Les ? de Noël, Christmas anthems beginning with ?. ? çà, now. O! Du navire, hola! hoa, the ship ahoy! O!’ d'en haut! yoa hoa, aloft there! man head there! O! hisse, ô! hale, ô! saille, ô! saque, ô! ride, (method of singing out as a signal to hoist! haul or rouse together on a tackle, or to push a beam.

SAILLE! Oh, saille! Interj. (mar.) rouse together!

UN deux, trois! (mar.) haul-in, haul-to, haul belay! (song used by seamen when hauling the bowlines.)

VOIX, V. Port. —, (mar.) the song (of sailors in hoisting, etc.) Donner la —, to sing out. A la —! mind the man that sings!”
[A New and Complete French and English and English and French Dictionary, Fleming-Tibbins, 1845]