Tall Ships and Flour Babies

Subject: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Bradypus
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 07:19 PM

In her book 'Flour Babies' (Carnegie Medal and Whitbread Award winner), Anne Fine uses a sea shanty as part of the plot. The words she uses are:

Unfurl the sail, lads, and let the winds find me
Breasting the soft, sunny, blue rising main
Toss all my burdens and woes clear behind me
Vow I'll not carry those cargoes again
Sail for a sunrise that burns with new maybes
Farewell my loved ones, and be of good cheer
Others may settle to dandle their babies
My heart's a tall ship, and high winds are near

Does anyone know if this is a genuine shanty, has it been adapted from an existing song, or do you think it was written specifically for the book? (the last line is key to the plot)

Bradypus

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 07:25 PM

It doesn't have the rhythm or language of a shanty. It could be a poem.

"Breasting the soft, sunny, blue rising main" and "Sail for a sunrise that burns with new maybes" These are not lines you would find in a shanty.

Plus a shanty would have a more definitive rhythm. A very clear motion to help a crew keep in time together as they work.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 11:44 AM

This is implicit in Naemanson's reply, but let me make it explicit:

A lot of people use the word "shanty" very loosely. There are shanties, which are work songs--audible tools, as it were--and then there are a wide variety of sea songs which are just meant for the pleasure of the singer and his audience. All shanties are sea songs; not all sea songs are shanties.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,Lottie
Date: 13 Jun 12 - 02:44 PM

Naemeson,
I've read the book 'Flour Babies' in my English class, and I'm pretty sure that it says that 'Unfurl the Sail' was a song, sung by Simon's dad the day he left the family.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: radriano
Date: 13 Jun 12 - 03:09 PM

This does not read like a shanty to me either. The language is too flowery.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Jun 12 - 03:23 PM

Shouldn't that be "too floury"?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jun 12 - 03:25 PM

CHARLIE!! Go stand on the foc'sle head!!

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: banksie
Date: 13 Jun 12 - 05:47 PM

As others have said, it seems unlikely to be a shanty for all the reasons stated.

It could be a `forebitter' (I think that is the term) - songs sung by those off watch or when it port, entertainment rather than a work song.

However, this line:
"Sail for a sunrise that burns with new maybes"
suggests a poem written by the author - it is very late 20th century wording..... I really can't see `new maybes' being a phrase old sea dogs would use in the (I assume from the original context of talking about `shanties') late 19th century sailing ship era.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 03:43 AM

It can't be a real shanty, it's not obscene.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: stallion
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 05:15 AM

There you go Charley, challenge is on to complete the poem/song, let's hear it when you have finished!

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,Beachcomber
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 07:21 AM

The Poem/Song given by Bradypus at top reminds me somewhat of a sea song written by Jimmy Crowley, the Cork born folk singer who lives , I believe, in Florida at present ?
Jimmy's song title is "My heart is a Tall Ship", I believe it was written to celebrate the Tall Ships Race when that event came to Cobh , Co.Cork some years ago.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 07:43 AM

Bradypus, it's not a shanty, it's merely a song with a nautical theme.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 11:29 AM

The Jimmy Crowley song is 'my love is a tall ship' and unrelated. The 'shanty' referred to seems to be some poetry written by the author (I can't find any references elsewhere). It's not a old shanty, or even a shanty.

There wouldn't have been so much use for shanties on the flour ship anyway, not with her self-raising yards and anchor!

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Les from Hull
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 12:02 PM

Sorry for the above - that was me, sans cookie.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: maeve
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 12:13 PM

As a point of information:

1. Bradypus hasn't posted, at least under that name, since 2004.
2. The query was posted in 2000.
3. I loved Charley's "too floury" and Les from Hull's "self-raising yards and anchor!" We need a new song.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,Ebor_Fiddler
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 05:15 PM

Flour Power! (I got in there first!)

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 05:53 PM

"too floury" and Les from Hull's "self-raising yards and anchor!"

So we are being encouraged to put together another half-baked song?

Maybe this line after an old shanty (Harry Kemp) will provide a start:

The Devil take the cook, that greasy bearded fella,
Way, hey, rise 'im high!...

But who kneads such a song?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Jun 12 - 05:59 PM

OK,Charley, go stand below the head when the vessel is in the slip.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 08:09 AM

Eric-

Such praise does run the risk of going to my head.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,Ebor_Fiddler
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 03:35 PM

No Charley - that's not praise washing you.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: sciencegeek
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 03:42 PM

Yikes!

Since Rochester, NY is known as the Flour City and is located on Lake Ontario - this should be an inland water shanty, not a deep water shanty. I'm seeing a western NY Freshwater connection here...

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 08:32 AM

How's this for a start, Chris?

If you ain't got the dough-ray-me, boys!
If you ain't got the dough-ray-me, boys!
You batter get back to old Rochester –– Syracuse, and Albany!

Flour Power!
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: sciencegeek
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 11:52 AM

Charley, you are having waaay too much fun with this...

Syracuse is known as Salt City... also home to salt potatoes...

and can't leave out Buffalo wings

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 02:03 PM

Birds have wings, not buffaloes.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 17 Jun 12 - 01:54 PM

going back twelve years, all shanties are not sea songs. Manual tasks that needed a rhythm happened on land as well

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: sciencegeek
Date: 18 Jun 12 - 10:38 AM

"Birds have wings, not buffaloes.

Dave H"

well, unlike the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Wings have been every Super Bowl party. LOL

deep fried chicken wings drenched in a 50/50 mixture of melted butter and hot pepper sauce....

personally, I prefer the other traditional speciality...

Beef on Weck, hold the horseradish.... :D

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST,jebstewert
Date: 08 Sep 12 - 08:21 PM

This is hilarious! I just finished Flour Babies for the 2nd time and was looking for the song on youtube because I thought the poem was so cool! So it's not a real song?

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Sep 12 - 09:31 PM

ScienceGeek, having been to the Anchor Bar, I know perfectly well that Buffalo wings are not necessarily able to blow your mouth off as a result of excessive hot sauce.

Subject: RE: Tall Ships and Flour Babies
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Mar 24 - 02:05 PM

not me scrolling through this for half an hour :)