Maritime work song in general

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 01:55 PM

“CELÉUSTICA, f. Arte de trasmitir las órdenes por medio de sonidos maricalmente musicos.
CELÉUSTICAMENTE, adv. Por medio de la celeustica.
SALOMA. m. Accion de salomar.
SALOMAR. n. Náu. Cantar los marineros para maniobrar á un tiempo.
ZALOMA, f. Cancion que usan los marinos para unir sus esfuerzos, cuando tiran de un cabo.
ZALOMAR, a. Náu Cantar la zaloma.”
[Nuevo Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana, D.R.B., 1859]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 01:53 PM

“...“I like your plan, Captain Fink,” said Bim. “There is only one thing I would add to it, which I hope you'll agree to, and the plan will be the joint production of two heads. To appear bold, and indifferent, and confident, I think our men should sing a boat song.”

“A boat song? My men can sing a Western river boat song, ten miles long, if that'll do.”

“And my men can sing any chorus that ever was invented. Now let us announce the result of our conference to his Lordship. Will you do it?””
[Border War: A Tale of Disunion, Jones, 1859]
John Beauchamp Jones (1810 – 1866)


“...That done, the anchor had to be heaved up, and about sixty men were set to work the capstan, while, to cheer them at their work, and to second their combined action, a fifer struck up an enlivening tune….”
[The Departure of the “Great Eastern.,” The Illustrated London News, vol.35, no.992, 10 Sept, 1859]

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

“But Professor Harrison, in a paper read before the Royal Irish Academy in 1847, has stated that on careful examination of the head of an elephant which he had dissected, he could “see no evidence of the muscular structure if the membrana tympani so accurately described by Sir Everhard Home,” whose deduction is clearly inconsistent with the fact that the power of two elephants may be steadily combined by singing to them a measured chant, somewhat resembling a sailor's capstan song; and in labour of a particular kind, such as hauling a stone with ropes, they will thus move conjointly a weight to which their divided strength would be unequal.”
[Ceylon, Tennent, Vol.II, 1859]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 01:49 PM

The preceding has a shorter mention in the Advent thread. See also for 1858:
Songs of the Sea, Atlantic Monthly (Pay me the money down!, Storm Along Stormy, Highland Day, Off She Goes.)
Songs of the Sailor, Oberlin Student's Monthly (We're a Bully Ship, O! Haulee, Heigho, Storm Along, Jim Along, Josey.)
Sea Drift, Robinson (Sally Brown)

And a few more no doubt.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 01:48 PM

c.1838
““Come, Juba,” said Lewis to the head oarsman, “sing us a song; the boys* will help you.”

“How you been ax me for sing, Maus Lewis? Me an't got no voice for sing,” answered Juba, who, like many of his brethren, required as much urging as a city belle.

After delaying until we had almost forgotten our request, Juba commenced a tune, the oarsmen striking in with a full but untaught counter at the last word of every line.

        “Hi de good boat Neely?†
        She row bery fast, Miss Neely!
        An't no boat like a' Miss Neely,
                                Ho yoi'!

        “Who gawing to row wid Miss Neely?
        Can't catch a' dis boat Neely––
        Nobody show he face wid Neely,
                                Ho yoi'?”

As Juba concluded this verse he paused; a sly expression passed over his face; he put an additional quid of tobacco in his mouth, and went on––

        “Maybe Maus Lewis take de oar for Neely,
        Bery handsome boat Miss Neely!
        Maus Lewis nice captain for Neely,
                                Ho yoi'!”

The verse was welcomed with shouts of laughter, and called for again and again, until the echoes of the Ashley shouted “encore!” but all the solicitations of the young men were ineffectual with Juba, who looked the personification of composure.

* Boys, a term used to negroes even of a mature age.
† Plantation boats are often named for members of a family. The chorus of one of the prettiest boat-songs I ever heard, was Eliza.”
[Recollections of a Southern Matron, and a New England Bride, Gilman, 1859]
Caroline Howard Gilman Pen name of Mrs. Clarissa Packard (1794 – 1888.)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 08:35 PM

“CALOMA, f. cal-lo-mah. Nau. Singing out of sailors
SALOMA, f. sah-lo-mah. Nau. Singing out of sailors. ? Ichth. Goldline.
SALOMAR, n. sah-lo-mar. Nau. To sing out.
ZALOMA, f. thal-lo-mah. Nau. Singing out of seamen when they haul with a rope.
ZALOMAR, n. thah-lo-mar. Nau. To sing out.”
[Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, D. J. R.,1859]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 08:34 PM

“Chanter, v. a. cantar - - zalomar (cantare).
Calomar, s. m. mar. cri des matelots (pour s'encourager á l'ouvrage).
Calomar, V. Salomar.
Salomar, v, n, mar. un le dit des matelots qui crient ou chantent tous a la fois (en manœuvrant).
[Dictionnaire Français—Espagnol et Espagnol—Français, 4th ed., Fonseca, 1858]


“Consonar, n. Tener consonancia. ? a. ant. Salomar.
Saloma, f, Accion de salomar.
Salomar, n, náut. Gritar el contramaestre ó guardian como cantando para que maniobren todos á un tiempo.”
[Diccionario Manual de la Lengua Castellana, Campuzano, 1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 08:33 PM

“The two ships' officers stood watching the lighters off, waving their hats; and as the last, bearing Major June on board, plunged away, the sailors, headed by Old Jack, gathered upon the forecastle, and gave three brave hearty cheers; the band played

        “The bold soldier boy.”

and the next sound heard was the heave-ho! of the anchor, and the stout ship Aldebaran was homeward bound.”
[FACA: An Army Memoir, Willcox, 1858]
Orlando B. Willcox (1823 – 1902)


“Day began to break; the shores of the Frith became dimly visible; the Bass, like a fixed cloud, appeared on the distant horizon; it was more than half-tide; and, as he stood upon the pier, he heard the yo-heave-ho! of seamen proceeding from a smack which lay on the south side of the harbour, by the lowest bridge.”
[Wilson's Tales of the Borders, Wilson, Leighton, 1858]


“Night and day “yo heave ho” of the Jack Tars rang over the water; and the party on shore ran to and fro, from the beach to the store, with bales, kegs, barrels, and boxes, on their shoulders.”
[Ungava: A Tale of Esquimaux-land, Ballantyne, 1858]
R. M. Ballantyne (1825 - 1894)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 08:30 PM

“CELEÚSTICAMENTE, adj. adv. céléoùsticamênté. Mil. Céleustiquement, par le moyen de la céleustique.
CELEÚSTICO, adj. céléoústico. Mil. Céleustique. Se dit de l'art de transmettre des signaux au moyen d'instruments de musique.
SALOMA, f. salóma. Cri des matelots pour haler ensemble.
SALOMAR, n. salomár. Mar. Pousser le cri de manœuvre.”
[Nouveau Dictionnaire Espagnol-Français et Français-Espagnol, vol.1, Salvá, 1858]

Note: Same as Gildo (above) save for pronunciation.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:26 AM

“After various delays, we were at last ready for sea, and under sailing orders. The tide and wind were both propitious; then came the long-expected cry of the boatswain, “All hands up anchor, ahoy!” The crew manned the capstan in a trice, and running round to the tune of a lively air played by the fifer, the huge anchor rapidly left the mud of the Thames, and hung at the bows of our frigate.” [p.6]

“After these and other preparations for another cruise were completed, the hoarse voice of the boatswain rang through the ship, crying, “All hands up anchor, ahoy!” In an instant 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.” [p.10]
[The Life of a Sailor Boy, Chamber's Miscellany of Instructive & Entertaining Tracts, vol.4, 1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:24 AM

“CELEÚSTICAMENTE. Adv. zéloustikaménté. Mil. Céleustiquement; par le moyen de la céleustique.
CELEÚSTICO, CA, adj. zéléoustiko. Mil. Céleustique, se dit de l'art de transmettre des signaux au moyen d'instruments de musique.
SALOMA, f. saloma. Sorte de cri ou de chant des matelots pendant la manœnvre.
SALOMAR, n. salomar. Mar. On le dit des matelots qui crient ou chantent tous à la fois manœunvrant.”
[Dictionnaire Espagnol-Français et Français-Espagnol, Gildo, 1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:22 AM

““...Very well,” said Ischomachus, but as to that which is common to all pursuits, whether agricultural, or political, or domestic, or military, namely, that he who would excel in them must be capable of directing others, I entirely agree with you, Socrates, that some persons greatly excel others in judgment; 3. as we see in a galley,' continued he, 'when the crew are out at sea, and have to accomplish a certain distance in the course of the day, some of the celeustæ[2] can act and speak in such a manner as to excite the spirits of the men to voluntary exertion, while others are so dull that the rowers take more than double the time in performing the same course. The one party, as well the celeustes as those who are directed by him, go on shore covered with perspiration, and praising one another, while the other party arrive indeed unfatigued, but detesting their officer, and detested by him….”

[2] We have no English word for the K???vor?g in an ancient galley. He was the man who, by voice or signal, or both, gave time to the rowers. Virgil calls him hortator, Æn. iii. 128; and he was sometimes termed portisculus and pausarius. He was somewhat similar to the modern coxswain.”
[Xenophon's Minor Works, Watson ed., 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:21 AM

“It happened that a Carthaginian quinquereme had run ashore on the Bruttian coast when Appius Claudius was first crossing over to Sicily, and it was noted as a curious circumstance, that the Roman soldiers had taken a ship of war. This quinquereme, which had probably been sent to Rome as a trophy, was now made the shipwright's model, and a hundred ships were built after her pattern, and launched in two months after the first felling of the timber. The seamen, partly Roman proletarians, or citizens of the poorest class, partly Etruscans or Greeks from the maritime states of Italy, were all unaccustomed to row in quinqueremes, and the Romans had perhaps never handled an oar of any sort. While the ships were building therefore, to lose no time, the future crew of each quinquereme were ranged upon benches ashore, in the same order, that to us undiscoverable problem, in which they were hereafter to sit on board; the keleustes, whose voice or call regulated the stroke in the ancient galleys, stood in the midst of them, and at his signal they went through their movements, and learned to keep time together, as if they had been actually afloat. With such ships and such crews the Romans put to sea early in the spring, to seek an engagement with the fleet of the first naval power in the world.”
[History of Rome, Arnold, 1844]

Note: See Polybius (above.)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:18 AM

c.1833
““All hands up anchor,” was the next cry with which the decks reverberated.
“Bring-to below, there,” said the first mate, speaking down the main-hatchway. “Bear a hand, and swift your capstan-bars here! All ready at the after hatchway?”
“All ready, sir,” was the reply.
“All ready forward?”
“All ready, sir.”
“Strike up, fifer! Huzza for Blackwall!”
The fifer fifed merrily, round went the men with the capstan-bars, keeping time with their feet to his music, and shouting at intervals in chorus to rally themselves at their labor; and in a short time the ninety-six fathoms of chain were rounded in, the sails loosed, and the old ship once more beating out of the bay.”
[An Irish Pilot on Board an Indiaman., Sea Stories, Putnam's Library, 1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 12:52 PM

The New York Sunday Times has a feature article today on
the Griswold Inn and the Jovial Crew featuring Cliff Haslam.
Their Monday Night performances must be known to some Mudcatters.
I don't see a separate thread for them,
I figure they belong here.

My computer won't let me link to the online article,
but perhaps someone else can rustle up a blue clicky.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:22 PM

“...And thee indeed, O mistress, an Argive ship of fifty oars will conduct home, and the wax-bound reed of mountain Pan with Syrinx tune cheer on the oarsmen, and prophet Phœbus, plying the tones of his seven-stringed lyre, with song will lead thee prosperously to the rich land of Athens. But leaving me here thou wilt travel by the dashing oars. And the haulyards by the prow, will stretch forth the sails to the air, above the beak, the sheet lines of the swift-journeying ship....”
[Iphigenia in Tauris, Tragedies of Euripides, vol.I, Buckely trans.,1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:20 PM

c.1858 – 1860
“Bangkok est la Venise de l'Orient; on n'y entend que le bruit des rames, celui des ancres, le chant des matelots ou les cris des rameurs qu'on nomme cipayes. La rivière tient lieu de cours et de boulevards, et les canaux remplacent les rues. Un observateur n'a de choix dans ce pays qu'entre deux positions: s'accouder sur son balcon, ou glisser mollement sur l'eau couché au fond de son canot.”
[Voyage dans les Royaumes de Siam, de Cambodge, de Laos et Autres Parties Centrales de l'Indo-Chine, Mouhot, 1868]
Henri Mouhot (1826 – 1861)


1871 Italian edition for comparison:
“Bangkok è la Venezia dell' Oriente; non s'ode che il tonfo dei remi, quello delle ancore, il canto dei marinai e il grido dei rematori chiamati cipai.”

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:19 PM

Posted another one here: Origins: 'Haul on the Bowline' melody
Related thread:Lyr Add: Haul on the Bowline (#3)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:12 PM

“The rain poured in torrents as they entered the town, and although there was a young moon in the sky, the scud flitted over it so rapidly that it was only at intervals they could distinguish the tall masts tapering from the dark hulls of the vessels, where here and there a lantern glimmered, making the “darkness visible.” Through the mist came the sounds of men at a capstan, getting up the anchor––
                “Cheerily, my men, with a yo heave ho!
                Cheerily, lads, and off we go!”

So they sang, while a fiddle played merrily, and persons passed to and fro in a hurry, the captain shouting to take away the gang-board, for he would wait no longer for the steward or the boy.”
[Hardy and Hunter, Ward, 1858]
Harriet Ward née Tidy (1808–1873)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:11 PM

“Line fishing and seine fishing now and then make a little variety in the sameness of a sailor's life, besides giving him a fresh meal, which he could not otherwise procure. When on ground for trawling, getting a good haul of fish occasionally tends much to dispel the monotony of being at sea. Only those who have heard the merry stamp and go of the watch on deck walking the trawl up to some lively tune, and seen the general excitement of the crew to know if there was a good or bad haul, can tell how much even such a little break as this enlivens a ship's company.”
[Friendly Hints to the Young Naval Lieutenant, Liardet, 1858]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 05:22 PM

“The oarsmen are a joyous race, such as is found all along the coast, singing songs in their broken English, and occasionally hitting the sides of the canoe with their paddles in cadence. They sing perhaps, “Man-o'-war come again, come again, come again,” with an occasional “whist,” and a long stroke of the paddle;––then “white man, good man, dash (give) a dollar, dollar, dollar,” “white offisher, dash dollar, big white dollar,”—and so on;––until they reach the more dangerous part of the surf, when the song is exchanged for a slow religious invocation, and at last we are landed on the beach. This we cross, take boat again upon the lagoon, and land at last in Badagry*.”
[African Proverbial Philosophy, Putnam's Magazine, October, 1857]

* Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 05:21 PM

“...This night was passed in equally as unpleasant a manner as the former one, and the first sound I heard in the morning was the crew singing the well known anchor song

                "A hundred years ago."

The massive chain began to move through the hawse-hole, and was drawn up link by link with the powerful windlass, till it lay upon the deck many a fathom. The anchor was soon secured in its place….”
[A Voyage to Australia and New Zealand, Askew, 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 05:21 PM

Min River, Fuzhou.
“...Imagine a gondola-style of craft, thirty feet long by six broad, with two sails, if the wind blows fair, and ten oarsmen, if that fails, carrying out the opposites as usual; they push instead of pull the oar, to the accompaniment of a most singularly inharmonious chant, which Tom Moore would have found far more difficult to give place to rhythm and music than the farfamed night song of the Canadian boatmen….”
[Young America Abroad in Europe, Asia, and Australia, Train, 1857]
George Francis Train (1829 – 1904)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 05:19 PM

“...The village was startled from sleep again by our return, and the crew were sleeping upon the deck; but in a few moments there was no more noise, and the junk was floating down in the moonlight, while its choicer freight was clouded in the azure mist of Latakiá, and heard only the sakias and the throbbing oars, and, at times, the wild, satanic rowing-song of the men, which Satan Saleh led with his diabolical quaver and cry….” [p.247]

“The moon rose and hung golden over Arabia, as the sad, monotonous song of the crew trembled and died away; and with its slow, measure throb the Howadji's hearts beat homeward.” [p.233]

“...The victim was put below, the crew rose from squatting on the shore and came aboard, and with plaintive songs and beating oars we drifted down the river once more, and watched the dim Theban mountains melt slowly away into invisibility.” [p.339]

“...A solitary phantom bark glides singing past––its sail as dark below as above, twin-winged in air and water. Whither, whither, ye ghostly mariners? Why so sad your singing? Why so languid-weary the slow plash of oars?” [p.350]
[Nile Notes of a Howadji, vol.I, Curtis, 1857]
George William Curtis (1824 – 1892)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 05:18 PM

“*Celerrima snel (8). schif geschrey (9. >< celeuma).
Celeum-a, -o (76), ceulesma (88) (i. clamor naut-icus, -arum t messorum sim., aus celeusma) ein schiffers o. meyers liede o. gesang (110, sim. 132). een schippers of maijers leis (107). sch. efte meiers 1. efte sank (109). lyt (99), schefsane (8um.). schiff geschrei (88). g. der schiffleute so si in noten sind o. ein yglich not-g. (74). mermin (Gf. 2, 774).
*Ceulesma v. Celeuma.”
[Glossarium Latino-Germanicum, vol.II, Diefenbach, 1857]
[Glossarium Mediae at Infimae Latinitatis: A-Z, Charles Du Fresne Du Cange, 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 05:36 PM

“CHAPTER IV
...A shore-boat was alongside, into which Webbe presently jumped; the capstan was manned, and sent round with a stamp and go; the anchor was brought home, and in less than five minutes, I should suppose, after we left the cabin, the Scout was dropping down the river, helped with a light air from the northward.”
[Kirke Webbe: The Privateer Captain, Chambers's Journal, no.183, 4 July 1857]
Uncredited: William Russell (1806 – 1876)


“...In both places, the people were busy thrashing wheat, men and women manipulating light flails, in strokes regulated with mathematical precision by the stanzas of a song chanted by a single leader, as on board ship, and the refrain taken up joyously by the whole body….”
[Social Progress at the Antipodes, Chambers's Journal, no.183, 4 July 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 05:26 PM

“Ogni notte, al cessar del vento, la barca avanza lentamente, spinta dai remi, al monotono canto dei marinai….”
[Viaggio in Egitto, nel Sudan, in Siria ed in Palestina, (1850 – 51.), Dandolo, 1854]


“SALOMARE. (Marin.) Sa-lo-mà-re. N. ass. V. Spagn. Dare la voce. (Salomar presso gli Spagnuoli è cantare, come fanno i marinari, nell'atto della manovra. In ebr. tsahal alzar la voce, mandar suori la voce tieta, e jam mare.) (S)”
[Vocabolario Universale della Lingua Italiana, vol.VII, Bellini, 1855]
See also: Vol.II above.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 05:23 PM

“Unusual sounds were heard on all sides. The deep-toned chorus of the sailor––the creaking of the capstan, and the clanking of the iron cogs––the “heave-ho!” at the windlass, and the grating of the huge anchor-chain, as link after link rasped through the rusty ring––sounds that warned us to make ready for a change.”
[The Rifle Rangers Or, Adventures of an Officer in Southern Mexico, vol.1, Reid, 1850]
Thomas Mayne Reid (1818 – 1883)


c.1850
“Ogni notte, al cessar del vento, la barca avanza lentamente, spinta dai remi, al monotono canto dei marinai….”
[Viaggio in Egitto, nel Sudan, in Siria ed in Palestina, (1850 – 51.), Dandolo, 1854]
Emilio Dandolo (1830 – 1859)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 05:18 PM

“...the sweeps were got out with a hearty good will, the schooner was swept 3 days and 3 nights, the crew emulating each other to see which could pull the hardest, and sing the best songs for the sweeps to keep time to. At length we arrived at Port Royal, having had nothing but calms, and having for the last few days lived upon bread dust alone.”
[The Midshipman's Companion, Liardet, 1851]



“...Ve' nel porto miriadi di feluche e di navicelle, le cui fiamme si spiegano sollevate da lieve venticello, che circola fischiando fra i cordami; sentì il grato odore esalante dalle alghe marine, il canto dei marinai che spiegano le larghe vele grige, umide ancora della notturna rugiada,...”
[Plik e Plok, o il Gitano e il Pirata. Racconti due. Nuova Versione Ital*, Sue, 1851]
Eugène Sue (1804 – 1857)

*Earlier edition not found to date.

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 05:15 PM

“Heaving the lead in shoal water.
Most officers admire the fine seaman-like song which is usually given by the leadsman in the chains while giving the soundings; and as Jack prides himself very much on his song while heaving the lead, it would be a pity to curtail that pride in the slightest degree, while the ship has plenty of water under her keel; but when the ship gets into shoal water, there should be no song in heaving the lead, as there can be little doubt but many ships have bumped, in order to make the hauling-in of the lead-line tally with Jack's song. It must therefore be very desirable that when a ship gets into shoal water, that the man in the chains should simply call out the number of fathoms, half-fathoms, quarter-fathoms, or feet. By doing this, the lead is hove much quicker, and the attention of the leadsman is wholly taken up with the soundings, instead of having his attention divided between the soundings and the song.”
[Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c, Liardet, 1849]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 02:22 AM

“...Past our boat, as we approached [sic] the landing*, dashed a heavy, full-modeled barge, pulled by a score of oarsmen––all black as night, poor fellows!––and apparently just arrived from Yarriba-Borgoo**, or possibly from the hippopotamiferous shores of reedy Lake Ngami––slaves, every soul of them. Afar off they announced their coming, by a wild boat-song, timed to their stroke; the words in the Congo dialect, as nearly as we could judge….”
[Pernambuco, The Williams Quarterly, vol.V., no.II, November, 1857]
Williams College, Williamstown, MA.

* Recife
**Yoruba & Borgu (roughly speaking: Modern Benin, Nigeria, & Togo)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 02:20 AM

...So, when the shades of evening were gathering grandly and gloomily around the dismantled parapets, and Louisburgh lay in all the lovely and romantic light of a red and stormy sun-set, it seemed but fitting that the cable-chain of the anchor should clank to the windlass, and the die-away song of the mariner should resound above the calm waters, and the canvas stretch toward the land opposite, that seemed so tempting and delectable….”
[Cozzens, A Month With the Blue Noses, The Knickerbocker, vol.49, no.6, June 1857]
Frederick Swartwout Cozzens (1818 – 1869)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 02:18 AM

“35465. ZALOMA: Cancion que usan los marineros para unir sus esfuerzos cuando tiran de un cabo, etc.
34566. ZALOMAR: Cantar la Zaloma, es decir, compasear con la voz en tono prolongado, melancólico, el impulso de los marineros que trabajan en una maniobra.”
[Diccionario General del Notariado de España y Ultramar: T-Z, Casas, 1857]


“Celeuma, tis ó Celeusma, tis. n. Canto, grita ó algazara de marineros cuando descubren tierra ó paradivertir el trabajo.
Celeustes, æ. m. El cómitre de galera.”
[Novisimo Diccionario Manual Español-Latino y Latino-Español, Leandro de Cabadijar, 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 02:15 AM

“...In paddling, the entire crew strike the water as one man. Time is kept by songs and choruses, in which all join. The greatest velocity of a New Zealand canoe is six miles per hour.”
[Stories of the Island World, Nordhoff, 1857]


“Every thing was new to her; the singing of the sailors as they worked at the capstan or pulled at the bowline, all, all was to her novel and strange.”
[The Crooked Elm, Or, Life by the Wayside, Higgins, 1857]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 02:14 AM

“For the conveyance of all this there was no means of transport except the horses of the field batteries, and though they worked from daylight till dark the progress was very slow. But for the blue jackets it would have been slower still. The zeal and hearty goodwill with which these gallant fellows dragged up their ships' guns to the front was really admirable. Sometime half a ship's crew might be seen harnessed to a huge sixty-eight pounder, and walking away with it cheerily to the tune of some well-known sea-song; while the ship's fiddler, seated astride of the gun, plied his bow vigorously.”
[Scenes in Camp and Field, Sketches of the War in the Crimea, Vol.I, 1857]
General Sir Richard Wilbraham KCB (1811–1900)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 12:36 AM

“...The steam was hissing with a continuous drony hum from the safety-valves; the sailors were walking round with the capstan, with even tramp and cheerful song;...”
[Clifton Grey, Or, Love and War, Egan, 1856]
Pierce Egan the Younger (1814 – 1880)


“CÉLEUSTE, n. m. (x??evotnc; gr.) Ant. gr. Celui qui chantait sur un navire pour encourager les rameurs. || Celui qui donnait les ordres aux matelots, aux rameurs et aux autres employés d'un bâtiment au moyen d'un instrument.
CÉLEUSTIQUE, adj. f. (xe?evotixóc, impératif, qui commande; gr.) Il se dit de l'art de transmettre des signaux par des instruments de musique.
–– N. f. Cet art lui-même : La céleustique.”
[Dictionnaire Universel de la Langue Française, vol.I, Poitevin, 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 12:34 AM

“CALOMÀ, s.m. T.Mar. rallentamento e dicesi del corso della barca specialmente per dicesa.
CALOMÀR, V.T. Mar. V. Calumàr.
CALUMÀR o CALOMÀR…
Calumàr le corde o le gomene, detto in T. Mar, Calumare o Calomare le funi o le gomene vale Allentarle, ed anche Tirare da un luogo all'altro un cavo, una rete, una barca.”
[Dizionario del Dialetto Veneziano, Boerio, 1856]


“...Avrà a sinistra il Forte di Porta Murata, e a destra il Porto con una o due file di bastimenti, che fanno pompa delle vario pinte polene, e delle bandiere nazionali; il suo udito sarà allettato da liete canzoni marinaresche, e il suo odorato dalle cene preparate a bordo.”
[Cenni Sopra Livorno e i Suoi Contorni, 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 12:32 AM

“272. CELEUMA, ROUENGE.
Rouenge, ramage, chant des rameurs.
Celeuma pro celeusma, cantus nautarum quem in prosperis præsertim concinebant.––Glossar. Vet. ex cod. reg. 521: celeuma, clamor nauticus, quem efficiunt quandoque nautæ propter turbationem cœli. (Gloss. Ducange.)
        Chez les anciens, Grecs et Latins, celeusma, Kn?evopa, a été employé pour signifier le chant des vendangeurs.”
[Remarques sur le Patois Suivies d'un Vocabulaire Latin-Français Inédit du XIVe Siècle, Escallier, 1856]


“THE FISHING SONG.
...The oar-stroke times the singing,
        The song falls with the oar,
And an echo in both is ringing,
        I thought to hear no more….”
[Putnam's Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science and Art, vol.8, 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 12:31 AM

“...The war-song of the Harlaw has been already noticed; it is a rugged tissue of alliteration, every letter having a separate division in the remarkable string of adjectives which are connected to introduce a short exordium and grand finale. The Jorram, or boat-song, some specimens of which attracted the attention of Dr Johnson, was a variety of the same class. In this, every measure was used which could be made to time with an oar, or to mimic a wave, either in motion or sound. Dr Johnson discovered in it the proceleusmatic song of the ancients; it certainly corresponds in real usage with the poet's description:

                        “Stat margine puppis,
                Qui voce alternos nautarum temperet ictus,
                Et remis dictet sonitum pariterque relatis,
                Ad numerum plaudet resonantia cœrula tonsis.”

Alexander Macdonald excels in this description of verse. In a piece called Clanranald's Birlinn, he has summoned his utmost efforts in timing the circumstances of a voyage with suitable metres and descriptions. A happy imitation of the boat-song has been rendered familiar to the English reader by Sir Walter Scott, in the “Roderigh Vich Alpine Dhu, ho! ieroe,” of the “Lady of the Lake.””
[The Modern Scottish Minstrel; Or, The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century, vol.2, 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 29 Jul 23 - 02:08 PM

Nice extracts, Phil!

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:27 PM

c.1856
“Drays and baggage-vans were clattering hither and thither in a wild hurry, every now and then getting blocked and jammed together, and then, during ten seconds, one could not see them for the profanity, except vaguely and dimly. Every windlass connected with every forehatch from one end of that long array of steamboats to the other, was keeping up a deafening whiz and whir, lowering freight into the hold, and the half-naked crews of perspiring negroes that worked them were roaring such songs as 'De las' sack! De las' sack!!' inspired to unimaginable exaltation by the chaos of turmoil and racket that was driving everybody else mad.”
[Life on the Mississippi, Twain, 1876]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:25 PM

“The sailors call letting down an anchor, dropping it, and they use what is termed a capstan to draw it up, or as they say, heave it again. The capstan of a ship is formed like those frequently seen along shore, used for drawing up the boats above high-water mark; it has a moveable top, called the drumhead, with holes around the sides, into which long poles, called capstan bars, are inserted; at each of these several men place themselves, and pushing with all their strength in one direction, the machine moves round, and winds in the cable: stamp! stamp! they go, with a ho heave oh! keeping time with their feet and voices, generally to the accompaniment of a drum and fife, or a fiddle, if it be a merchant ship; and the capstan creaks and groans, and the cable comes slowly in, like a huge sea serpent, to be stowed away, coil upon coil, in its proper place below, on the orlop deck. And the good ship, with her anchor weighed, as it is termed, leaves her moorings, and with sails spread or funnels smoking, ploughs the deep, or, as a poet has said––

                “Walks the waters like a thing of life,
                And seems to dare the elements to strife.””
[The Sea-Side Lesson Book, Adams,1856]
Henry Gardiner Adams (1811–1881)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:24 PM

“The double break was shipped, and with both pumps in operation we rattled away merrily to the tune of a lusty pump song, the name of which I have forgotten, if indeed it ever had a name at all. The first few lines I remember were something after this fashion:
        “Giner-rul Taylor, so-o they say––
        Heave ho-o, my lads, heave ho––
        Made San-ta An-na run a-way,
        All on the pla-a-ins of Mex-i-co….”

“...Our windlass flew swiftly round to the tune of “Johnny Tameringo, John Tamaree,” and the anchor, that had been atrip all the afternoon, was speedily hanging by the ring-stopper.”
[Saunders, Snake-Hunting, Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, vol.XI, no.1, 5 July 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:23 PM

“As morning dawned, I was awakened by the shrill sound of the boatswain's whistle merrily piping all hands to heave up anchor. Hastening upon deck, I found the men tumbling up the hatchways in high spirits, yet orderly, and with the quiet discipline observed on board a man-of-war. A portion of the crew manned the windlass and hove short, while others loosed the sails and stretched the halyards across the deck. This accomplished, Harry came upon deck and issued the order to heave up.' The windlass flew swiftly round to an animated song from the whole crew, and soon the anchor was sighted and fished, the jib was run up and the schooner's head fell rapidly off from the wind, the fore, main, and both topsails were mastheaded, and we began to hear the water rippling under our stern.”
[Saunders*, The Privateer, Ballou's Dollar Monthly Magazine, vol.III, no.1, January 1856]
*Frederick W. Saunders? (more follows.)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:19 PM

See Advent thread for 1855's:
Nordhoff x3
Twelve Years a Slave, Northrup
The Yarn of the Watch, (Ballou's) Farnsworth
Negro Minstrelsy – Ancient and Modern, (Putnam's)
Mountains and Molehills, Marryat



“…It is, even from the verge of the level, melancholy flat whereon we stand; a cheerful and enlivening picture, which ever and anon receives an additional animation from the blithe song of the sailors at windlass or capstan, or the ferry-boat or wherry bearing their lively burden to and fro across the waters of the benign river.”
[E.F.R., A Visit to Scott Russell's Dockyard, Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, pt.1, 1856]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:14 PM

c.1803 – 1805
“After this performance was closed we returned to Cooptee, which we reached at midnight, our men keeping time with their songs to the stroke of their paddles.” [p.103]

“The bringing in of this fish exhibited a scene of universal festivity. As soon as the canoes appeared at the mouth of the cove, those on board of them singing a song of triumph to a slow air, to which they kept time with their paddles,...” [p.109]
[Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, Alsop, 1849]
John R. Jewitt (1783 – 1821)
Nootka Sound


“...Now crossing the stream are numerous ferryboats, with passengers fresh from the rest of sleep, buoyant and braced for the day's trials and duties. Now comes ringing upon the ear the merry sound of the sailor's song as the anchor is weighed, the sail spread to the breeze and the vessel's head pointed to the outward passage.”
[New York Bay, The Sailor's Magazine, and Naval Journal, vol.XXII, 1850]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 07:53 PM

““It is most cheering,” says the. correspondent, “to meet a set of these jolly fellows 'working up a gun to the camp.' From a distance you hear some rough, hearty English chorus, borne on the breeze over the hillside. As you approach, the strains of an unmistakable Gosport fiddle, mingled with the squeaks of a marine fife, rise up through the unaccustomed vales of the Crimea. A cloud of dust on the ascent marks their coming and tugging up the monster gun in its cradle, with 'a stamp and go,' and strange cries, and oaths sworn by some thirty tars, all flushed with honest exercise; while the officer in charge tries to moderate their excessive energies, and to induce the two or three hairy Herculeses who are sitting astride on the gun, or on the few horses in front, with vine-leaves in their hats, or flowers in their hair, to dismount and leave off the music.”
[Russell, Our Men-o-War's Men, The Dublin University Magazine, vol.46, no.276, December, 1855]
[The War: From the Landing at Gallipoli to the Death of Lord Raglan, Russell, 1855]
William Howard Russell (1827 – 1907)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 07:51 PM

“...Sin embargo, el fondo de la lengua es latin, tanto que algunos pasajes presentan al mismo tiempo un sentido latino y otro portugués. Este y el español conservan voces derivadas del griego sin el intermedio del latin (2),…
(2) Tales son el artículo o y ho; celeuma grito de los marineros; maganão astuto; roman, granado, de roa; cara gana etc. Véase Jo. Pedro Ribeiro, Disiert. chronologicas criticas.”
[Historia Universal, tom.III, Cantù, 1855]



“On leva l'ancre au chant des matelots, et bientôt après, grâce à une fraîche brise du sud-est qui enflait les blanches voiles du léger navire, on perdit de vue la terre de France pour se retrouver le lendemain matin longeant les côtes d'Angleterre.”
[L'Autre Monde, Marie de Grandfort, 1855]

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 07:49 PM

“...Sleep after this is entirely out of the question, for any one at least who has been always accustomed to pass the night in peace, for the very possibility of further indulgence therein is entirely precluded by the combination of noises immediately over head; the coiling of heavy ropes, shrill screaming of the pipes at short intervals, the rude singing of the men, and the heavy stamp-and-go, and above all the deafening clat-clat of the capstan itself, are sufficient not only to keep the unfortunate landsman awake, but generally compel him to come up on deck, as the only means of escaping from the distracting din; once there all seems comparatively quiet, and all sensation of noise is lost in the excitement of the scene; the annoying monotony of the stamp-and-go is now heard with pleasure, and the before grumpy passenger will find himself walking the deck to the same step, and perhaps even going so far as to allow himself to be so carried away with the song, as to join in the chorus with a hum to himself, or perhaps a low whistle.”
[Five Years in the East, Hutton, 1847]
Frederick Hutton (Royal Navy officer) (1801 – 1866)

Subject: RE: Maritime work song in general
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 01:30 AM

“...The capstan was then manned, and the anchor began to rise to the measured song of the sailors, and the sound of the tam-tam. An immense matting sail was unfurled, a packet of fireworks let off, and as the breeze caught the junk we began to glide rapidly over the blue waters of the lake Pou-yang.” [p.297]

“...By degrees, as we advanced, the bed of the river enlarged itself, and the Canton junks became more numerous. The sound of the oars and the shrill nasal song of the sailors filled the air with a wild and melancholy harmony, that we listened to with a mingled feeling of joy and sadness.” [pp.410-11]
[The Chinese Empire, vol.II, Huc, 1855]
Évariste Régis Huc (1813 – 1860)