C. Fox Smith PermaThread

Subject: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 04:47 PM

This is an edited PermaThread™, and all messages posted here are subject to editing and deletion.
This thread is intended to serve as a collection of songs by Cicely Fox-Smith. It will be edited by Q and Charley Noble. Feel free to post to this thread, but be advised that all messages posted here are subject to editiong or deletion.
-Joe Offer-

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 05:05 PM

A BOOK OF SHANTIES, by C. Fox Smith
1927. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York

This book is not easy to find. All thirty-one of the shanties will be posted here.
The first post will be an index of titles. The shanties, with brief comments from the notes by Fox Smith, will follow. All of the shanties in the book were accompanied by music.

Please do not post until the shanties start to appear. Keep posts relevant to the collection by C. Fox Smith. Poems by Fox Smith will continue to be posted in other threads.
Charley Noble and Q

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 06:09 PM

A BOOK OF SHANTIES
C. Fox Smith
Index

  Across the Rockies            71
  Amsterdam                     59
  Banks of Sacramento, The      24
  Billy Riley                   52
  Blow, Boys, Blow              34
  Blow the Man Down             49
  Boney Was a Warrior           32
  Bound to California           27
  Can't You Dance the Polka?    67
  Cheerily Men                  40
  Fare You Well                 76
  Hanging Johnnie               44
  Holystoning                   85
  I'm Bound Away                22
  Leave Her Johnnie             74
  Lowlands Away                 30
  Paddy Doyle's Boots           82
  Poor Paddy                    56
  Rambling Sailor, The          91
  Reuben Ranzo                  46
  Rio Grande                    18
  Roll the Cotton Down          54
  Rolling Home                  79
  Sailor Likes His Bottle, The  42
  Sally Brown                   20
  Stately Southerner, The       86
  Stormalong                    62
  There Goes One                84
  Tom's Gone to Hilo            38
  Wide Missouri, The            64
  Whiskey Johnnie               36
  
  Introduction                9-15

Subject: Lyr Add: ACROSS THE ROCKIES
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 07:40 PM

Across the Rockies (1)
(Pumping Shanty)

Oh the young girl said to me one day-
The young girl goes a-weeping-
"I've got no money and I can't go home"-
Across the Rocky Mountains.

Oh what shall we poor shellbacks do?
The young girl goes a-weeping-
We've got no money and we can't go home
Across the Rocky Mountains.

I thought I heard the Old Man say-
The young girl goes a-weeping-
"I've got no money and I can't go home
Across the Rocky Mountains."

Across the Rockies (2)

Oh the times are hard and the wages low-
Amelia, where you bound to?
The Rocky Mountains are my home
Across the Western Ocean.

The land of promise there you'll see-
Amelia, where you bound to?
I'm bound away across the sea
To join the Irish Army.

There's Liverpool Pat with his tall box hat-
Amelia, where you bound to?
And Yankee John the packet rat-
Across the Western Ocean.

Beware the packet rats, I say-
Amelia, where you bound to?
They'll steal your money and clothes away
Across the Western Ocean.

Pumping shanty, with music. C. Fox Smith, 1927, A BOOK OF SHANTIES, pp. 71-73. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Note by CFS:

This, like several of the most famous shanties, dates from the days of the American emigrant packets of the eithteen-fifties, and the last stanza of version Two is only oe of many uncomplimentary references to the doubtful reputation for honesty of the Liverpool "packet rats" who manned them- drunken, thriftless and turbulent, but more often than not the most hardy and fearless of seamen.

The first version I think does not appear in any other collection. It was given to me by a friend who heard it sung many a time at the old-fashioned brake pump when he was a midshipman in the Blackwall Line in the early fifties (1850's), and he described its wonderfully impressive effect heard through the noise of the wind and all the racket of a ship labouring in a seaway: a leaden sky with low clouds overhead, and the great white-crested seas galloping by with thunderous tramplings. This version I should imagine is probably the original. It has the unmistakable "folk-song" air about it, especially the refrain.

In the music printed with the two versions is a suggestion of a third. A second verse begins "Oh what Mountains- but is cut off. Smith does not say where she obtained the music.

In the DT is a version of "Across the Western Ocean" from Meek, "Songs of the Irish in America." It is very close to version (2).

Compare verses in "Leave Her, Johnny."

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 07:42 PM

What joy!

The book I'm working from is entitled A BOOK OF SHANTIES, by C. Fox Smith, Methuen & Co. LTD, London, © 1927, and seems to correlate with the index that Q has posted. So I believe we are working from the same book. As Q says, this book is hard to find and if you find it on a used book website the price is usually vey expensive.

In her introduction Smith had this to say about the efforts of some of her contemporaries to revive sea shanties in the British music halls ( pp. 14-15):

A few words, however, may not be amiss regarding the right way to revive the shanty. And in this connection, let me briefly describe a painful experience of my own as to how not to do it. It was at a music hall which shall be nameless. The curtain rose, revealing one of those impossible stage inns - made of creeper and green trellis, at sevenpence-ha'penny a lineal foot - called "The Jolly Tar," or something equally improbable. Outside this preposterous establishment were seated at a small table three large mariners, whose costume - an artistic blend of jerseys, seaboots, cheesecutter and stocking caps - suggested that they had made an indiscriminate raid on the slop chest at the Sailor's Home. Quoth one of these worthies to another: "Let's have a tchahntey!" and amid encouraging cries of "A tchahntey - yes, a tchahntey!" the individual addressed rose, and with a wealth of dramatic gesture, laying aside his churchwarden pipe, sang - well, I just forget what he did sing! It was too painful to listen to!

The feelings of some hairy shellback of days gone by, if he were to be set down suddenly in a modern concert hall where a highly trained artiste in what he would no doubt term a "b'led shirt" was giving a strictly bowdlerised rendering of one of his spiciest favourites, may better be imagined than described – very much better, since truth compels the admission that his comments would be in all probability more pointed than polite; but his astonishment, at any rate, would be beyond question.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 08:32 PM

AMSTERDAM
(Capstan Shanty)

In Amsterdam there lived a maid-
Mark well what I do say!
In Amsterdam there lived a maid,
And she was mistress of her trade-
And I'll go no more a-roving
    With you, fair maid!
A-roving-a-roving- since roving's been my ru-u-in,
I'll go no more a-roving
    With you, fair maid.

Her cheeks were red, her eyes were brown-
Mark well what I do say!
Her cheeks were red, her eyes were brown,
Her hair in ringlets hanging down,
I'll go no more a-roving,
    With you, fair maid.

I put my arm around her waist-
Mark well what I do say!
I put my arm around her waist,
Says she, "Young man, you're in great haste"-
I'll go no more a-roving,
    With you, fair maid.

I took that girl upon my knee-
Mark well what I do say!
I took that girl upon my knee,
She said, "Young man you're rather free"-
I'll go no more a-roving,
    With you, fair maid.

But when I'd blowed my twelve months' pay-
Mark well what I do say!
But when I'd blowed my twelve months' pay
That girl she vanished clean away-
   And I'll go no more a-roving
    With you fair maid!
A-roving, a-roving, since roving's been my ru-u-in,
A-roving-a-roving- since roving's been my ru-u-in,
I'll go no more a-roving
    With you, fair maid!

Notes by CFS:

It has a fine swinging tune and a rousing chorus: and the words have an obvious appeal to the sailorman alike of Elizabeth's and Victoria's day.

CFS connects the shanty to lines in the Elizabethan drama, "The Rape of Lucrece," by Thomas Heywood. Bruce Olson questioned this, and pointed to "Watton Town's End," c. 1610, which with tune is found in Bruce Olson's website (find through Quick Links, top of page); also see comments in thread 5070: Maid


X:1
T:Amsterdam
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties" p 60
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:D
z6A,2|D2D2C2C2|D2D2C2A,2|D3E F2G2|A6A2|
w:In Am-ster-dam there lived a maid, Mark well what I do say! In
B2B2A2c2|B2B2G2B2|A2G2F2E2|G2E2B,2A, A,|
w:Am-ster-dam there lived a maid, And she was mis-tress of her trade And I'll
D3E F3G|(A2d2)B2G2|F4E4|D4-D2zA|B4G2B2|A4F2A2|
w:go no more a rov_-ing with you fair maid._ a rov-ing a rov-ing since
G2F2E2D2|F2D2B,2B,2|D3E F3G|(A2d2)B2G2|F4E4|D6-D2
w:rov-ing's been my ru-u-inI'll go no more a rov_-ing with you fair maid_

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 09:23 PM

WHISKEY JOHNNIE
(Halliard Shanty)

Whiskey is the life of man –
Whiskey, Johnnie!
Whiskey in an old tin can –
Whiskey for my Johnnie!

Whiskey here and whiskey there –
Whiskey, Johnnie!
Whiskey almost everywhere –
Whiskey for my Johnnie!

Whiskey gave me this red nose –
Whiskey, Johnnie!
Whiskey made me pawn my clo'es –
Whiskey for my Johnnie!

Whiskey made the old man say –
Whiskey, Johnnie!
"Another pull and then belay."
Whiskey for my Johnnie!

Whiskey is the life of man –
Whiskey, Johnnie!
Whiskey in an old tin can –
Whiskey for my Johnnie!

Notes by CFS: p. 36

"Whiskey Johnnie" was another universal favourite, for which some authorities claim a respectable antiquity, asserting, I know not on what grounds, that it was originally "malmsey" which had the deleterious effects outlined by the shantyman.

To the best of my belief, nobody has ever been able to give chapter and verse in support of that statement: but if it were true, it is certainly valuable evidence of the fact that the phenomenon of the sun being over the foreyard was by no means unknown even in the days of the Tudors.

X:1
T:Whiskey Johnnie
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 37
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
G2B2B2D2|G2B2B4|G2B4-B2|G2B4-B2|
w:Whis-key is the life of man whis-key_john-nie!_
d2d2c2B2|A2A2F4|F2A2B3B|A2G6
w:Whis-key is an old tin can Whis-key for my John-nie!

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 10:07 PM

BANKS OF SACRAMENTO
(Capstan Shanty)

In the Black Ball Line I served my time-
With a hoodah and a doodah!
In the Black Ball Line I served my time-
Hoodah, hoodah day!
Blow, bo-oys, blow,
For Californi-o!
There's plenty of gold, so I've been told,
On the banks of Sacramento!

We were the boys to make her go-
With a hoodah and a doodah!
Around Cape Stiff in frost and snow-
Hoodah, hoodah day!
Blow, bo-oys, blow,
For Californi-o!
There's plenty of gold, so I've been told,
On the banks of Sacramento!

Around Cape Stiff in seventy days-
With a hoodah and a doodah!
Around Cape Stiff is a very long way
Hoodah, hoodah day!
Blow, bo-oys, blow,
For Californi-o!
There's plenty of gold, so I've been told,
On the banks of Sacramento!

Tune- "Camptown Races," S. C. Foster.

Some, including CFS, have confused the song with "Ho for California!," 1851, by J. Hutchinson, and thus suggested that it might have antedated the Foster song. See thread 14644, esp. discussion by richr: Hoodah . In that thread, Leslie Nielson gives the lyrics for a version from "Fifty Sailors' Songs or Chanties," Boosey, c. 1870; it reminds one of "Amsterdam." CFS remarks that the words, apart from the chorus, "vary considerably....The chorus is the thing."

The first schooner, with a cargo of iron and steel, sailed up river into Sacramento, 84 miles northeast of San Francisco, in 1859. The port qualified as a terminal in 1934, and achieved full status in 1963 after many millions had been spent deepening the river and building docking facilities. The first ship in was a Chinese freighter. Outgoing cargos are mainly rice, wheat, lumber, rock and fertilizer.

X:3
T:The Banks of Sacramento
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 24
M:2/4
L:1/16
K:C
z6G G|G2 G2 E2 G2|A2 G2 E2 C D|E2 D4C D|
w:In the Black Ball Line I served my time with a hoo-dah and a
E2 D4G G|G2 G2 E2 G2|A2 G2 E4|E2 D2 E2 D2|
w:doo-dah! In the Black Ball Line I served my time Hoo-dah, hoo-dah
D6-D2|C4E2 G2|c6B2|A3 B c3 A|G6G2|
w:day!_Blow bo-oys blow For Cal-i-for-ni-o, there's
A2 A A A2 G2|A2 G2 E2 C D|E3 F E3 D|D2 C6z2
w:plen-ty of gold, so I've been told,On the banks of Sa-cra-men-to!

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 11:07 PM

BILLY RILEY
(Halliard Shanty)

Old Billy Riley
Was a dancing master-
Old Billy Riley O!

Old Billy Riley
Was master of a drogher,
Old Billy Riley O!

Master of a drogher
Sailing to Antigua,
Old Billy Riley O!



X:1
T:Billy Riley
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 53
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
G2G G G2G2|A G F E F2D2|A2A A c2B2|A6
w:Old Bil-ly Ri-ley Was a danc-ing mas-ter Old Bil-ly Ri-ley O!


Notes by CFS:

This very jolly little shanty is one of the very old stagers, and I have come across very few of the younger generation of sailormen who have heard it. This version was sung in Green's "Blackwall" in the eighteen-fifties. I find it in only one other collection- that of the late Mr. Cecil Sharp.

A "drogher" was, of course, a West Indian trader in the sugar trade; the term was later applied to timber ships. Its etymology I do not know, but it probably is Dutch.

Drogher, OED- From the Dutch (originally a fisher, with facilities for drying fish), first mentioned in English print in 1756. Applied in the West Indies to slow coastal ships. Bartlett, 1860, in his Dictionary, defined it as "built solely for burden, and for transporting cotton, lumber, and other heavy articles."

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 11:48 PM

BLOW, BOYS, BLOW
(Halliard Shanty)

A Yankee ship came down the river-
Blow, boys, blow!
Her masts and yards they shone like silver-
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

And who do you think was skipper of her?
Blow, boys, blow!
Why, Billy Hayes, him and no other!
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

And who do you think was chief mate of her?
Blow, boys, blow!
Why, Shanghai Brown, the sailor robber!
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

And what do you think they got for their dinner?
Blow, boys, blow!
Why, handspike hash, as I'm a sinner!
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

And what do you think they got for their suppers?
Blow, boys, blow!
Belaying pin soup and a roll in the scuppers-
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

Oh blow my boys and blow forever!
Blow, boys, blow!
And blow her home to the London River!
Blow, boys, bully boys, blow!

Notes by CFS:

This shanty is said to have referred originally to the slave trade, and some versions give a number of stanzas in which the Congo River is mentioned. Latterly, however, it has been taken as applying to the hard-driven, beautifully kept ships which hailed from Down East, with skippers and mates whose brutality was only equalled by their daring and skilful seamanship.

The names of the skipper and mate varied...Sometimes Captain Semmes of the "Alabama" figured as captain,... Generally, though, it was Bully Hayes who held command- that legendary, piratical super-blackbirder of the South Seas, the memory of whose exploits still lingers among the islands. Bully Hayes, ...[in] civil life, one of the mildest mannered men that ever slit a throat...

"Shanghai Brown" is, of course, the famous or infamous 'Frisco crimp who figures as Shanghai Smith in Mr. Morley Robert's nautical classic, "The Promotion of the Admiral."

This halliard shanty is also published in C. Fox Smith, 1927, A SEA CHEST, pp. 165-166, titled "A Yankee 'Blood Boat," without music.

There are two versions in the DT.

X:1
T:Blow Boys Blow
C:C. Fox Smith 'A book of Shanties' - p35
L:1/8
K:F
zF|A2A2A2F2|A3G G3F|G4A4|B6d2|
w:A Yan-kee ship came down the riv-er Blow, Boys, blow! Her
c2c2B2A2|F2C2F2G2|A2c2G G c|F4
w: masts and yard they shone like sil-ver blow boys blul-ly boys, blow!

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 08:30 AM

THE WIDE MISSOURI
(Capstan Shanty)

Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you –
Away, my rolling river!
Oh Shenandoah, I can't get near you –
Way–ay, I'm bound away
Across the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter!
Away, my rolling river!
She lives across the stormy water –
Way–ay, I'm bound away
Across the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah, I've took a notion –
Away, my rolling river!
To sail across the stormy ocean –
Way–ay, I'm bound away
Across the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you –
Away, my rolling river!
Oh Shenandoah, I can't get near you –
Way–ay, I'm bound away
Across the wide Missouri.

Notes by CFS, p. 64:

This, better known, perhaps, as "Shenandoah," or, in shellback fashion, "Shannadore" – was a general favourite before the eighteen-nineties, but it seems to have been heard comparatively seldom after that date. It is a particularly fine tune, and possesses an orthodox set of words which by no means live up to the beauty of the melody: most shantymen, however, seem to have contented themselves with the stereotyped tags – "Oh Shannadore, I long to hear you," and so forth. Whall (Capt. W.B., SEA SONGS AND SHANTIES, 1910) says it is a shore song turned into a shanty: however that may be, the very soul of the sea seems to speak in it more than any other shanty I know.

X:1
T:The Wide Missouri
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of shanties' p 65
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:Eb
z3B, E E|E3F G B|B G2z(e d)|c3B c B|
w:Oh Shen-an-doah, I long to hear you A_
G B2c c/2 c/2|c3B G E|F2E3E|G3E G c|
w:-way my roll-ing riv-er! Oh Shen-an-doah I can't get near you way
B4zE G3/2 G/2 (G F) E2|F2E2
w:-ay I'm bound a-wayA-cross the wide_ Mis-sour-i!

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 01:46 PM

TOM'S GONE TO HILO
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh Tommy's gone, what shall I do?
Away, to Hilo!
Tommy's gone and I'll go too –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Tommy's gone to Mobile Bay –
Away, to Hilo!
In a packet ship the other day –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Tommy's gone to Baltimore –
Away, to Hilo!
A-dancing on that sandy floor –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Tommy's gone to Vallipo–
Away, to Hilo!
When he'll come back I do not know –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Tommy's gone up to Quebec –
Away, to Hilo!
A-stowing timber on the deck –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Tommy's gone to Pernambuck –
Away, to Hilo!
Tommy's gone and I wish him luck –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!

Oh Tommy's gone, what shall I do?
Away, to Hilo!
Tommy's gone and I'll go too –
My Tom's gone to Hilo!


Notes by CFS, p. 38:

The Odyssey of Tom – or John – was always a favourite: it afforded plenty of scope for improvisation on the part of a fluent shantyman.

One version makes quite a romance of his wanderings – "he never kissed his girl good-bye," and so on: but I suspect this of being rather a "made-up" affair. It lacks the real shanty touch, and especially the note of good-humoured irony regarding affairs of the heart.

The great game was to take Tom the round of all the ports you could remember without getting stuck for a rhyme.
X:1
T:Tom's Gone To Hilo
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 39
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:F
z3F C D|F3A G D|F6zA|G4-G2F|
w:Oh! Tom-my's gone, what shall I do? A-way_ to
(A G3)zE|G G G3D|F E C2zD|F F A3F|G2F
w:Hilo!_ Oh! Tom-my's gone and I'll go too My Tom-my's gone to Hi-lo

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 02:00 PM

THERE GOES ONE
(Stowing Cargo Chant)

There goes one:
Hurrah, my boys, strike one:
For one now is gone,
And there's many more to come
For to make up the sum
Of one hundred so long ... (ad. lib.)

Notes from CFS, p. 84

This is, strictly speaking, more of a chant than a shanty. It dates from the eighteen-fifties, and provides an interesting example of the sort of solo recitation used formerly by sailors when performing individual tasks. It is worth noting that the opening phrase – "There goes one:" is that used by captains of bellringers when beginning a peal.

The particular occasion when this chant was used was when stowing cargo, such as saltpetre in bags, which, after it had been placed in the hold, had to be hammered in to obviate any risk of shifting, with heavy wooden mallets known as "commanders."

It was really spoken or intoned rather than sung, with the stress (corresponding to the blows of the mallet) on the italicised words.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 02:26 PM

BLOW THE MAN DOWN
(Halliard Shanty)

First Version-

As I was a-walking down Paradise Street-
To me, way-ay, blow the man down!
A big fat policeman I chanced for to meet-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

Says he, " You're a Black Baller by the cut of your hair,"
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
"I know you're a Black Baller by the togs that you wear"-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

"You sail in a packet that flies the Black Ball"-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
"You've robbed a poor Dutchman of sea chest and all"-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

"Oh p'leeceman, oh p'leeceman, you do me much wrong-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
"I'm a flying fish sailor just home from Hong Kong"-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

I spat in his face and I gave him some jaw-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
Says he, "Now, young feller, you're breaking the law"-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

So they gave me three months all in Liverpool town-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
For fighting a p'leeceman and blowing him down-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

I'll give you this warning afore we belay-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
Steer clear of policemen, you'll find it will pay-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

Second Version-

Oh blow the man down, bullies, blow him right down-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
Oh blow the man down, bullies, blow him away-
Give me some time to blow the man down!

As I was a-walking down Paradise Street
A spanking fine gal there I chanced for to meet.
This spanking fine gal then she said unto me:
"There's a dandy full-rigger just ready for sea."

That dandy full-rigger to Sydney was bound-
She was very well rigged and very well found.
But as soon as the clipper was clear of the Bar
The mate knocked me down with the end of a spar.

And as soon as the clipper was well out to sea
I'd cruel bad treatment of every degree.
So I'll give you this warning afore we belay-
To me way-ay, blow the man down-
Don't take it for gospel what spanking gals say-
Give us some time to blow the man down!

Third Version-

Oh a ship she was fited and ready for sea-
To me way-ay, blow the man down!
And fishes she had for her ship's compance-
Give us some time to blow the man down!

First come the eel with his slippery tail,
He said, "I'll lay aloft and shake out every sail."
Next came the lobster with his prickly back,
He said, "I'll go for'ard and board the foretack."

Next came the codfish with his chucklehead,
He jumped in the chains and was heaving the lead.
Next came the flounder that lies on the ground.
Saying, "Damn your eyes, chucklehead, mind where you sound."
Last came the herring, the king of the sea,
Saying, "Haul in your headsheets, now, hellum's a-lee!"

Notes by CFS:

"Blow the Man Down" well deserves its wide popularity. It has a fine swing and go about it, and must have been a rare good tune to make a job of work go the better.

I remember an old sailorman's description of the first time he heard this shanty sung. He was on board one of De Wolf's big Liverpool ships just leaving port - the crew, of course, still suffering from considerably what temperance orators would no doubt call "the effects of the previous night's debauch," and feeling distinctly languid in consequence. The mate- a great lanky Bluenose with hands like sledge-hammers and feet like yards- started up "Blow the Man Down!" The effect was magical. You just had to laugh! He had that half-dead crowd in a good humour in next to no time, and up went those topsail yards in fine style.

There are several recognized sets of words... Version One- the same which made the Liverpool grin- refers, of course, to the celebrated Black Ball Line of packets sailing out of Liverpool. This is essentially a Liverpool shanty, though individual shantymen have frequently adapted the words to fit their own particular trade or port of register. Thus Sir Richard Terry's East Coast version has "Winchester Street" for "Paradise Street," and A London shantyman would give Ratcliff Highway as the name of the thoroughfare where the encounter took place with the big fat policeman or (Version Two) the spanking fine gal.

Version Three really belongs to another shanty altogether, that of "The Fishes," with the refrain "Stormy weather- windy weather- when the wind blows pull all together," familiar to readers of Kipling's CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS.

...there are many other sets of words known. One old sailor told me they used to sing "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall"- "any sort of rubbish so long as it fitted the tune," was the way he put it.

The air of the refrain, on the other hand, seldom varied at all. The latter bears a striking resemblance to the German carol, "Stille Nacht, heil'ge Nacht," which may be accidental, or may quite possibly be an example of the picking up of a tune from emigrants. The packet ships carried hundreds of Germans to the United States, and what is more likely then that they should sing their national songs and hymns to while away the tedium of the voyage and so add to the sailor's repertoire?

X:1
T:Blow The Man Down
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties: p 50
M:3/8
L:1/16
K:Eb
z4B2|B2 c2 B2|G2 E2 G2|B2 c2 B2|G6|
w:As I was a-walk-ing down Par-a-dise Street
B2 B4|c2 c4|A3 G A2|F4c2|A2 G2 A2|F2 D2 B,2|
w:To me, way-ay, blow the man down! A big fat pol-ice-man I
A2 G2 F2|c6|B B3 B2|B4A2|G3 F G2|E4
w:chanced for to meet Give me some time to blow the man down!

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 03:10 PM

STORMALONG
(Pumping and Capstan Shanty)

Stormy's dead, that good old man –
To my ay, Stormalong!
Stormy he is dead and gone –
Ay, ay, ay, Mister Stormalong!

Stormy's dead and gone to rest –
To my ay, Stormalong!
Of all good skippers he was the best –
Ay, ay, ay, Mister Stormalong!

We dug his grave with a silver spade –
To my ay, Stormalong!
His shroud of softest silk was made –
Ay, ay, ay, Mister Stormalong!

I wish I was old Stormy's son –
To my ay, Stormalong!
I'd build a ship a thousand ton –
Ay, ay, ay, Mister Stormalong!

I'd load her deep with wine and rum –
To my ay, Stormalong!
And all my shellbacks should have some –
Ay, ay, ay, Mister Stormalong!


Notes by CFS, p. 62:

Originally a pumping shanty, when the wooden ships and the constant pumping that was in their time one of the chief parts of the day's work went their way, this, like most of its kind, survived as a capstan or windlass song.

A word or two on the subject of these converted pumping shanties may not be amiss here. They were not generally used as anchor songs. Many landsmen think a capstan and an anchor song are synonymous: whereas most of these were not generally used as anchor songs. The capstan was frequently used at sea in all sorts of ways – for sheets and halliards, for instance, and on such occasions a song like "Stormalong" or "Lowlands" would probably be requisitioned, especially in the later days when crews got smaller and ships bigger.

X:1
T:Stormalong
C:C.Fox Smith 'A book of Shanties' p 63
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
G2G2B2(A G)|c2c2G2(A3/2 B/2)|c3G c3G|E6zc|
w:Storm-ey's dead that_ good old man to_ my ay storm-a-long_
c2B2A2D2|F2A2A4|A2A2A2G F|E G3G2z2
w:Storm-ey he is dead and gone ay ay ay mis-ter storm-a-long

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 04:29 PM

BONEY WAS A WARRIOR
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh Boney was a warrior-
Way-ay-oh!
Oh Boney was a warrior-
Way-ay-oh!

First he fought the Rooshians-
Way-ay-oh!
And then he fought the Prooshians-
Way-ay-oh!

Moscow was a-burning-
Way-ay-oh!
A-blazing and a-burning-
John Frans-waw!

He went to Saint Helena-
Way-ay-oh!
He broke his heart and died there-
John Frans-waw!

Oh Boney was a warrior-
Way-ay-oh!
Oh Boney was a warrior-
John Frans-waw!

Notes by CFS:

Some authorities define the time-honoured ditty of "Boney" as the sailor's "generous tribute to a fallen foe." Of course it would be very nice if such were true, but I am inclined to doubt it. The sentiment was rather too high-falutin' for an age which had not developed tolerance to the pitch it has attained at the present day, or learned to win a war only to make the enemy a free gift of the peace. It strikes me as far more likely that the shanty was to a certain extent writ sarcastic. As for the tune, we had rather a habit of borrowing from our opponents in those days in such matters as the build of frigates, which may quite conceivably have been put into practice here. The ironical humour of the proceeding would have been exactly calculated to appeal to the sailormen of the period.

Colcord version in the DT.

X:1
T:Boney Was A Warrior
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 33
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:Eb
z4zB|B2A B2c|B2A E3|B3c3|A4zA|
w:Oh! Bo-ney was a war-ri-or Way-ay-oh! Oh
A2G F2E|D2F c3|B3B3|G6
w:bo-ney was a war-ri-or John Frans-waw!

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 05:54 PM

BOUND TO CALIFORNIA
(Capstan Shanty)

Good-bye, my lads, good-bye,
No one can tell me why
I am bound to California
To reap the shining gold!
Good-bye, my lads, good-bye
No one can tell me why
I am bound to California
To reap the shining gold!

Notes by CFS:

This shanty...refers to the California gold rush of the eighteen forties and fifties. I have not heard it in any other collection.

Captain J. L. Vivian Millett, from whom I had it, remembers hearing it sung at Algoa Bay, in the days when the anchorage off that port was still crowded with sailing ships. A big vessel was just getting up her anchor; she had a good shanty crowd, and the chorus roared out by a score of voices came over the waters of the open roadstad with an unforgettable effect.

Captain Millett could only give me the chorus: perhaps someone who reads this may be moved to recollections of the solo part.

[Hugill reproduces the shanty, but adds no further information.]

Algoa Bay- an inlet on the eastern coast of South Africa, where Port Elizabeth stands.
There is a poem called "The California Emigrant" with the lines

I'm bound to California mines,
To find the Golden Fleece;

but no other similarity.

X:1
T:Bound to California
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 28
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:D
z6A2|F3F F2A2|E6E2|A2B2c2(d B)|c6A A|
w:Good-bye, my lads, good-bye. No one can tell me_ why I am
F3F D2D2|E2E4d2|c2(d B) ^G2G2|(A2B2c2)A2|
w:bound to Cal-i-for-nia to reap the_ shin-ing gold.__ Good
F3F F2A2|E3E2|A2B2c2(d B)|c6A A|
w:-bye, my lads, good-bye, No one can tell me_ why I am
F3F D2D2|E2E4d2|c2(d B) A2^G2|A6z2
w:bound to Cal-i-forn-iato reap the_ shin-ing gold.

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 07:47 PM

THE STATELY SOUTHERNER
(Forebitter)

She was a stately Southerner
And flew the Stars and Bars:
The whistling wind from the west-north-west
Blew through her pitchpine spars.
And like an eagle swiftly on
She flew before the gale,
Till late that night she raised a light,
The Old Head of Kinsale.

No thought was there of shortening sail
By him who trod the poop,
Though by the weight of her ponderous jib
The boom bent like a hoop.
The groaning chess-trees told the strain
That bore the stout maintack,
But he only laughed as he gazed abaft
At her bright and silvery track.

It was a fine and cloudless night,
The breeze held steady and strong,
As gaily o'er the shining deep
Our good ship bowl'd along:
In foam beneath her trampling bows
The mounting waves did spread,
As stooping low her breast of snow
She buried her lee cathead.

The mid-tide met in the channel waves
That rolled from shore to shore,
The mist lay thick along the land
From Featherstone to Dunmore.
Yet gleamed the light at Tuskar Rock
Where the bell still tolled the hour,
But the beacon light that shone so bright
Was quenched on Waterford Tower.

The canvas that our good ship bore
Was topsails fore and aft,
Her spanker too and standing jib,
For she was a stiffish craft.
Then "Lay aloft," the captain cried,
"Loose out your light sails fast!"
And to'gal'n's'ls all and royal sails small
Soon swelled upon each mast.

What looms upon the starboard bow?
What hangs upon the breeze?
'Tis time the packet hauls her wind
Abreast the old Saltees.
For by her mighty press of sail
That clothed each ponderous spar,
That ship we spied on the misty tide
Was a British man-of-war.

"Out booms! Out booms!" our skipper cried,
"Out booms and give her sheet!"
And the swiftest ship that ever was launched
Shot away from the British fleet,
As 'midst a murderous hail of shot,
His stunsails hoisting away,
Down channel clear Paul Jones did steer
Just at the break of day.

Notes by CFS, p. 86:

When he (the sailor) did sing a sea song, it had, above everything else, to be correct – its seamanship like Caesar's wife, its use of technical terms beyond cavil…"The Stately Southerner" meets the most critical requirements in this respect, and it is also a jolly good rousing ballad and goes to a stirring tune…

Mr. Prosser, who sang the song for me, could only recall the words of the first two verses, so I have completed it from other sources. It appears without the music in the late Mr. J. E. Patterson's "Sea Anthology," and with the music, in Miss Joanna Colcord's American collection.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 10:54 PM

CAN'T YOU DANCE THE POLKA
(Capstan Shanty)

One day as I went walking
Down by the Clarence Dock,
It was there I spied an Irish girl
Converwing with Tapscott!
And away, you santy,
My dear honey,
Oh! you New York girls,
Can't you dance the polka!

"Good morning, Mr. Tapscott!
Good morning, Sir," said she,
"And have you got a packet ship
To carry me across the sea?"

"Oh yes," said Mr. Tapscott,
"I have ships of mighty fame,
And one now in the Waterloo Dock,
And the 'Dreadnought' is her name."

Oh my flash man is a packet rat,
He sails in the Black Ball Line,
And he's a saucy son of a gun
That will hurt that man of mine.

I went to the Fulton ferry
But I couldn't get across,
So I jumped on the back of a ferryboat man
And rode him like a hoss!
And away, you santy,
My dear honey,
Oh you New York girls,
Can't you dance the polka.

Notes by CFS:

The words of shanties, as we have already seen, are very often interchangeable. Those I give here are practically identical with those usually sung with the refrain "Heave away, my Johnnie boys, we're all bound to go!" The latter has become rather popular with the modern concert shanty singer, but was never, I think, very general afloat, at any rate in more recent times.

There is another set of words belonging to "Heave away," adapted from the old ballad of "Undaunted Mary" or "The Banks of Sweet Dundee," and beginning;

It's of a farmer's daughter
So beautiful I'm told,
Her father died and left her
Five hundred pounds in gold,

which may quite likely have been the original version.

This is, of course, a song of the Liverpool emigrant days. Mr. Tapscott, whose name occurs in several shanties, was the Liverpool agent for some of the American packet companies. The name of the ship varies according to the singer's fancy- sometimes the "Henry Clay" is given, sometimes another- and the name of the dock, too, is not always the same.

[Many copies of "Undaunted Mary," or "The Banks of Sweet Dundee" in the Bodleian Library; the oldest c. 1819-1844, Harding B 11(3942). Also see "The Banks of Sweet Dundee" (2) in the DT.]
Information in thread 72420, "Can't You Dance the Polka," and "New York Girls" in the DT. Can't You Dance

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Snuffy
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 08:27 AM

The Tapscott verses seem to have been fitted to any number of songs, such as >Yellow Girls, or Yellow Meal, Lay Me Down, Across The Western Ocean, The Irish Emigrant or just plain Tapscott - many with a tongue-twister of a chorus ending with something like "Fire away, Bridget, I'm bully for you"

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: JohnB
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 10:36 AM

One of the early postings states that this book include the music.
If this is so, is there any chance of including it in some way shape or form. I know most of them so far but do I know them to the "original" (at least printed) tune?
Thanks for all the hard work JohnB.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: MMario
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 10:40 AM

If the music can be scanned I would be happy to convert to ABC and post in the thread and also send midi's off to Joe for posting.

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 03:30 PM

CHEERLY MEN
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh Nancy Dawson-
I-oh-cheerly men!
She's got a notion-
I-oh-cheerly men!
She'll have our bosun-
I-oh-cheerly men!
Oh hauly-i-oh, cheerly men!

Oh pretty Kate-
I-oh-cheerly men!
She likes our mate-
I-oh-cheerly men!
Early and late-
I-oh-cheerly men!
Oh hauly-i-oh, cheerly men!

Haul all together-
I-oh-cheerly men!
Haul for good weather-
I-oh-cheerly men!
Oh now belay there!
I-oh-cheerly men!
Oh, hauly-i-oh, cheerly men!

Notes by CFS:

This is one of those shanties regarding which collectors are wont to drop such dark hints as to the "unprintable nature" of its words, that one might think the mere mention of it in a mixed gathering would be calculated to bring a blush to the manly cheek of the embarrassed sailorman.

In point of fact, as is very often the case, its Rabelaisian character has probably been very unnecessarily emphasized. No doubt there were dirty words sung to it, but not always. The fact that it was sung in the passenger ships of John Company, and, later, of Green and Wigram, proves it beyond a doubt, since indecent shantying was always taboo in the presence of passengers. In this view I am confirmed by Mr. Ridley James, who often heard it sung in Green's ships.

The tune is one which lends itself very readily to improvisation, and any little happening which took the fancy of the crew was liable to be embodied in it by the shantyman- sometimes in rather embarrassiing fashion. On one occasion, for example, a young woman passenger named Kate had been noticeably "éprise" with one of the officers. Imagine her confusion when she came on deck one day in time to hear the topsail being mastheaded to the strains of:

Oh pretty Kate
She loves our mate-
O-illi-i-o-cheerly men!"

This is probably a very old shanty; it is certainly one of the most primitive of all, being only one stage further developed than the 'strange wild cries" of the men hauling on the ropes alluded to by Dana.

[Richard Henry Dana, 1869, TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST, Ch. 29

The sailors' songs for capstans and falls are of a peculiar kind, having a chorus at the end of each line. The burden is usually sung, by one alone, and, at the chorus, all hands join in, - and the louder the noise, the better. With us, the chorus seemed almost to raise the decks of the ship, and might be heard at a great distance, ashore. A song is as necessary to sailors as the drum and fife to a soldier. They can't pull in time, or pull with a will, without it. Many a time, when a thing goes heavy, with one fellow yo-ho-ing, a lively song, like "Heave, to the girls!" and "Nancy oh!" "Jack Crosstree," etc., has put life and strength into every arm. We often found a great difference in the effect of the different songs in driving in the hides. Two or three songs would be tried, one after the other, with no effect; - not an inch could be got upon the tackles- when a new song, struck up, seemed to hit the humor of the moment, and drove the tackles "two blocks" at once. "Heave around hearty!", "Captain gone ashore!" and the like, might do for common pulls, but in an emergency, when we wanted a heavy, "raise-the-dead" pull, which should start the beams of the ship, there was nothin like "Time for us to go!", "Round the Corner," or "Hurrah! my hearty bullies!" ]

X:1
T:Cheerly Men
C:C. Fox smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 41
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:F
A2A2G2|F2F2F2|(F4G2)|D3E F2|
w:Oh Nan-cy Daw-son I-oh_-cheer-ly men!
C2E2F2|G2c2A2|(G4B2)|A3G F2|C2F2G2|A2c2B2|
w:She's got a no-tion I-oh_-cheer-ly men! She'll have our bo-sun I-
A6|B3A G2|c4-c2|c2B2A2|(g4B2)|A3G F2
w:oh-cheer-ly men!Oh_ haul-y-i-oh,_ cheer-ly men!

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 06:11 PM

SALLY BROWN
(Capstan Shanty)

Sally Brown, she's a bright mulatto –
Way-ay, roll and go!
She drinks rum and chews tobacco –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!

Sally Brown, she's a Creole Lady –
Way-ay, roll and go!
I guess she's got a nigger baby –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!

For seven years I courted Sally –
Way-ay, roll and go!
She said, "Oh boy, why do you dally?" –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!

The sweetest flower of the valley –
Way-ay, roll and go!
Is my dear girl, my pretty Sally –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!

For seven years she wouldn't marry –
Way-ay, roll and go!
I said, "I will no longer tarry" –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!

So off I sailed across the water –
Way-ay, roll and go!
And now I'm courting Sally's daughter –
Spend my money on Sally Brown!


Notes by CFS, p. 20:

It was usually sung when getting up the anchor; in Mr. Cecil Sharp's collection it is given as a hauling shanty, but I have never come across a sailor who had heard it so used. Quite possibly Mr. Sharp's informant, who was most likely a very old man, may have been mistaken, or Mr. Sharp himself, who had, comparatively speaking, no nautical knowledge, may have misunderstood him.

X:2
T:Sally Brown
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 21
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
C2C2C2c B|A2G2E2G2|c4(d3c)|e3d c4|
w:Sal-ly Brown she's a bright mu-lat-to wa-ay,_ roll and go!
c2B2A2G2|E2D2E2C2|G2G2G/2 G3/2 G2|D2E2C4
w:she drinks rum and chews to-bac-co Spend my mo-ney on sal-ly brown.

Alternate last measure
A2B2c4

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 08:00 PM

SAILOR LIKES HIS BOTTLE
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh the mate got drunk and went below
To take a swig at his bottle oh!
So early in the morning
The sailor likes his bottle oh!

A bottle of wine and a bottle of beer
And a bottle of Irish whiskey oh!
So early in the morning
The sailor likes his bottle oh!


Notes by CFS, p. 42:

This must be a real old stager. It was sung in the Blackwallers three quarters of a century ago, but it was probably an old song then. I have never come across a modern sailing ship man who knew it.

There is a version in Mr. Sharp's collection and another in Ferris and Tozer, both differing slightly from that given here.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 08:18 PM

ROLLING HOME
(Capstan Shanty)

Call all hands to man the capstan,
See the cable run down clear,
Heave away, and with a will, boys,
For old England we will steer!

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea,
Rolling home to merrie England
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!

Up aloft amidst the rigging,
Sings the loud exulting gale,
Straining every spar and backstay,
Every stitch in every sail.

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea,
Rolling home to merrie England
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!

Many thousand miles behind us,
Many thousand miles before,
Ancient ocean heaves to waft us
To the well-remembered shore.

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea,
Rolling home to merrie England
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!

Notes by CFS, p. 79:

I suppose some people would say that "Rolling Home" is not a shanty at all, but a popular song converted into a shanty. But it was well-known right up to the end of the windjammer period, and so high a favourite with every shellback –"the best of the blooming lot," I have heard many an old sailorman say of it, with that sentimental affection usually reserved for the "homeward bound" shanty – that no collection would be complete which did not include it. It has, moreover, rather a special interest because it affords an excellent example of the shanty in the making, and the process of its development from the song upon which it was founded…The version I give is, I think, that known to most sailormen. It was sung to me by a man who was in sail right up to the finish of the windjammer. His last ship was the "William Mitchell," one of the half-dozen survivors of Britain's age of sail.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 09:28 PM

FARE YOU WELL
(Capstan Shanty)

I thought I heard the old man say-
"Good-bye, fare you well, good-bye, fare you well!"
I thought I heard the old man say-
"Hurrah, my boys, we're homeward bound!"

The anchor is weighed and the sails they are set-
Good-bye, fare you well, good-bye, fare you well!
The girls we are leaving we'll never forget-
Hurrah, my boys, we're homeward bound!

She's a Liverpool clipper and bound for to go-
Good-bye, fare you well, good-bye, fare you well!
With the girls on her towrope she cannot say no-
Hurrah! my boys, we're homeward bound!

Notes by CFS:

The homeward bound anchor song had for the sailor a sentimental fascination peculiarly its own, and "Good-bye, fare you well," with its wistful, haunting cadence, occupied a high place in his affections until in later years it became to a considerable extent superceded by "Rolling Home."

See thread 72670, for a link to Capt. Leighton Robinson's version of "Good-bye, Fare You Well," with a link to audio at American Memory (California Gold, Cowell). Good-bye Fare You Well

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 10:04 PM

HANGING JOHNNIE
(Halliard Shanty)

They call me Hanging Johnnie-
Away-ay-i-oh!
Because I hang for money-
Oh hang, boys, hang!

Oh first I hanged my mother-
Away-ay-i-oh!
And then I hanged my brother-
Oh hang, boys, hang!

A rope, a beam, a ladder-
Away-ay-i-oh!
I'll hang you all together-
Oh hang, boys, hang!

Notes by CFS:

Both the air and the words of "Hanging Johnnie" (concerning which Mr. John Masefield has a fine descriptive passage) have a curiously haunting qualiy of almost macabre irony which is not found in any other shanty.

It was a general favourite, I think, in most ships, and survived to the end of the sail era.

Was the original "Hanging Johnnie" actually Jack Ketch? It is quite possible, and if so, the date of the shanty may be fixed within a few years.

See thread 72779 for other interpretations of "Hanging Johnny": Hanging Johnny

X:1
T:Hanging Johnnie
C:C. Fox Smith ' A Book of Shanties' p 45
L:1/8
K:Eb
z6zF|G2G F2E|G B2-B2f|c3-c B G|
w:They call me Hang-ing John-nie_ A-way_-ay-i
B3-B (G B)|c2c B2G|F E2-E2E|G3F3|E3-E
w:-oh!_ Be_-cause I hang for mon-ey_ Oh hang, boys, hang!_

---

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Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 08:47 AM

ROLL THE COTTON DOWN
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh roll the cotton down, my boys –
Roll the cotton down!
Oh roll the cotton down, my boys,
Oh roll the cotton down!

Oh once we lay in Mobile Bay –
Roll the cotton down!
Oh once we lay in Mobile Bay –
Oh roll the cotton down!

A dollar a day is a negro's pay –
Roll the cotton down!
A dollar a day is a negro's pay –
Oh roll the cotton down!

Two dollars a day is a white man's pay –
Roll the cotton down!
Two dollars a day is a white man's pay –
Oh roll the cotton down!

I thought I heard the old man say –
Roll the cotton down!
"Another pull and then belay!"
Oh roll the cotton down!


Notes by CFS, p. 54:

Why was the shantyman so enamoured of Mobile Bay? Possibly because of the sound of it; possibly because it fitted in well with the usual shanty rhythms. There must have been some such reason: otherwise why should the name of a comparatively unimportant place appear in the shanties more frequently than any other? It is one of the minor puzzles of the subject.

"Roll the Cotton Down" is a jolly little tune which deserves a wider popularity among the shanty revivalists than it has so far enjoyed.

Notes by Stan Hugill: SHANTIES FROM THE SEVEN SEAS, p. 125

This hoosier version probably stemmed from the Negro one. The white cotton-stowers used it for screwing the huge bales of cotton into place down in the dark holds of the cotton droghers, heaving at the levers of the screws…Once the cotton season was over these men would ship "foreign," taking these "cotton chants" with them for use at halyard and capstan, hence a new infusion of shanty blood – coloured blood – entered into the field, which perhaps up till then had been dominated mainly by Irish-shaped work-songs.

X:1
T:Roll The Cotton Down
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of shanties' p 55
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
z6(B A)|G3D (E D) (B, D)|G2G2G3z|A3A B B3|
w:Oh_ roll the cot_-ton_ down, my boys, roll the cot-ton
A6(c A)|B3D (E D) (B, D)|G2A2B3c|B3B A A3|G6z2
w:down Oh_ roll the cot_-ton_ down my boys oh roll the cot-ton down.

---

Click to play

Subject: ADD: Rio Grande (from Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 11:34 AM

RIO GRANDE
(Capstan Shanty)

Oh say were you ever in Rio Grande? –
Awa-ay Rio!
It's there that the rivers run down golden sand –
And we're bound for the Rio Grande.

And awa-ay Rio – oh, you Rio –
Sing fa-are you well, my bonny young girl,
For we're bound for the Rio Grande.

So pack up your donkey and get under way –
Awa-ay Rio!
The girls we are leaving can have our half-pay,
And we're bound for the Rio Grande.

And awa-ay Rio – oh, you Rio –
Sing fa-are you well, my bonny young girl,
For we're bound for the Rio Grande.

You Liverpool ladies, we'd have you to know,
Awa-ay Rio!
We're bound to the South'ard, oh Lord let us go!
And we're bound for the Rio Grande.

And awa-ay Rio – oh, you Rio –
Sing fa-are you well, my bonny young girl,
For we're bound for the Rio Grande.

And now fare you well, all you girls of the town,
Awa-ay Rio!
The pay we have left you will buy a silk gown –
And we're bound for the Rio Grande.

And awa-ay Rio – oh, you Rio –
Sing fa-are you well, my bonny young girl,
For we're bound for the Rio Grande.


Notes by CFS, p. 18:

This, with "Blow the Man Down," is probably the most generally known of all the shanties, both ashore and afloat.

I find that the air is practically identical in nearly all the collections…The words, on the other hand, very a great deal…The accepted version, however, is – with slight variations – generally on the lines of that which I give.

The identity of the "Rio Grande" referred to affords ground for interesting speculation.

The reference to the rivers which "run down golden sands" rather suggests the Mexican Rio Grande: but the gold discoveries there were not made until the 'sixties (1860's), and the shanty was, I believe, known long before that date. There seems, then, just a possibility that it may go back to the eighteenth century, when crowds of gold-seekers were flocking to the south of Brazil: in which case it must be one of the oldest of the shanties.

And oh! one word, please! "Ry-o," not "Ree-o" – and "Grande" to rhyme with "sand."

---

Click to play

ABC of music - p. 19

X:1
T:Rio Grande
C:C. Fox Smith 'A BOOK OF SHANTIES' p.19
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:Eb
z4zE|GGG GFE|(FG)F E2E|B3-B Gc|
w:Oh say, were you ev-er in Ri_-o Grande? A-wa_-ay Ri
B3z2B|cde BAG|ABA GEF|GGE F B2|
w:-o! It's there that the riv-ers run down gol-den sand And we're bound for the Ri-o
E3E2F|G3-G2F|F E2z3|B3-B2G|c B2z2B|
w:Grande. And a-wa_-ay Ri-o, Oh_ you Ri-o; Sing
(cd)e (BA)G|ABA GEF|G3/2G/2G F B2|E3-E2
w:fare_ you well,_ my bon-ny young girl, For we're bound for the Ri-o Grande._

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 01:11 PM

REUBEN RANZO
(Halliard Shanty)

Oh poor old Reuben Ranzo –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Oh poor old Reuben Ranzo –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

Oh Ranzo was a tailor –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Oh Ranzo was no sailor –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

Oh Ranzo was a tailor ––
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
He shipped on board a whaler –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

Oh Ranzo took a notion –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
To sailk upon the ocean –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

He shipped on board the "Beauty" –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
And did not know his duty –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

They set him holystoning –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
And did not mind him groaning –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

They said he was a lubber –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
And made him eat whale-blubber –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

They gave him lashes twenty –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
He thought it more than plenty –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

The captain gave him whiskey –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Which made him rather frisky –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

He taught him navigating –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
And gave him extra rating –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

He made him the best sailor –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Sailing in that whaler –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!

Ranzo now is skipper –
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Of a China Clipper –
Ranzo, bo-oys, Ranzo!


Notes by CFS, p. 46:

But who really was Reuben Ranzo?

The obvious answer is that he was a "Dago," by name Lorenzo, a view to which the description of his personal habits lends likelihood. But then obvious solutions are seldom correct, as careful perusal of detective fiction effectually demonstrates, and a closer consideration suggests several objections to this one. In the first place, Reuben isn't a Dago name at all: and secondly, who ever heard of a Dago tailor? If he had been an ice-cream merchant or an organ-grinder, now – but a tailor, no! My own private idea is that Ranzo was one of the small and select band, of which the Marquess of Reading is the most eminent representative, of Jews afloat. He may have been a Russian or Polish Jew named Ronzoff or something of the kind, in which case he would very likely be a tailor, and the fact of his presence in the whaler would be sufficiently remarkable to be worth making a shanty about. It may also be observed that he displays the characteristic national tendency to get on in the world…Anyhow, whoever and whatever Reuben Ranzo may have been, his name will endure as long as the shanty which celebrates his misfortunes and never was topsail yard hoisted to a more rousing chorus!

X:1
T:Reuben Ranzo
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 47
M:2/4
L:1/16
K:F
z6c2|A2 c2 B2 A2|G4A4|G2 G2 (G2 F2)|
w:Oh poor old Reu-ben Ran-zo Ran-zo, boys,_
A2 G2 z3G|F2 G2 F2 D2|F4C4|F2 A2 (c2 A2)|G4F2
w:Ran-zo! Oh poor old Reu-ben Ran-zoRan-zo, boys,_ Ran-zo!

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 02:01 PM

THE RAMBLING SAILOR


I am a sailor stout and bold,
And oft have ploughed the ocean,
I serve my King and country too
For honour and promotion:
My shipmates all, I bid you adieu,
I'll go no more to sea along o' you,
I'll travel the country through and through,
And I'll still be a rambling sailor!

And if you want to know my name,
My name it is young Johnson,
I've got a commission from our King
To court all gals is handsome:
With my false heart and flattering tongue,
I courts 'em all both old and young:
I courts 'em all but I marries, marries none,
And I'll still be a rambling sailor!

Oh first I came to Plymouth town,
And there were lassies many,
I boldly stepped unto a one,
To court her for her money.
Says I, "My dear, be of good cheer,
I will not leave you, do not fear,
We'll travel the country far and near,
And I'll still be a rambling sailor!"

Oh next I came to Portsmouth town,
And there were lassies plentry,
I boldly stepped unto a one,
To court her for her beauty.
Says I, "My dear, what do you choose?
Here's ale and wine and rum punch too,
Besides a pair of silk satin shoes,
If you'll travel with a rambling sailor."

Oh then I rose up with the dawn,
Just as the day was peeping,
On tiptoe down the stair I went,
And left my love a-sleeping.
And if she waits until I come,
She may lie there till the day of her doom;
I'll court some other girl in her room,
And I'll still be a rambling sailor!

Notes by CFS, p. 91:

I am not really quite sure whether this song ought to be included in this collection, because I have no direct evidence of its having been sung at sea. I remember it from childhood as part of my father's repertoire on festive occasions; where he got it from I don't know, since it is at any rate unquestionably an old sea song, if not actually a sailor's song, but I am tempted to give it a place here.

Mr. Cecil Sharp has a version in his "Folk Songs from Somerset."

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 05:58 PM

HOLYSTONING

Notes by CFS:

The sailor had a song for everything. "When we were holystoning the decks." an old sailor once told me, "we would sing:"

Leave her, Johnny and away we'll go,
Leave her Johnny.

"Leave Her Johnnie" is included in this collection.
X:1
T:Holystoning
C:C. Fox Smith 'A Book of Shanties' p 85
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Bb
F2B2B B c d|c2B2F4|B2d6|c2B6
w:Leave her John-ny and a-way we'll go, leave her John-ny.

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 07:54 PM

I'M BOUND AWAY
(Capstan Shanty)

For the sake of you, my lassie,
I'm bound away, my lassie,
For the sake of you, my lassie,
I'm bound away.

Far across the sea, my lassie,
I'm bound away, my lassie,
Far across the sea, my lassie,
I'm bound away.

Gold to win for you, my lassie,
I'm bound away, my lassie,
Gold to win for you, my lassie,
I'm bound away.

Notes by CFS:

This rather pretty little anchor song, which I think does not appear in any other collection, dates back to the early fifties, when it was a favourite in ships outward bound from the London River. "It used," said my informant, "to sound peculiarly pathetic when one knew the circumstances- the men who were singing it had probably wasted a year's hard-earned pay in a few days ashore, and were leaving home perhaps for years, penniless and full of the feelings of depression and despair left behind when the drink was just out of them.

The words seem to indicate that it may have been originally an emigrant song. The first verse only is traditional: the friend from whom I had it could remember no more. I have taken the liberty of acting as shantyman for once and improvising a couple more to make more of a song of it.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 08:42 PM

LEAVE HER, JOHNNIE
(Capstan Shanty)

Oh the times are hard and the wages low-
Leave her, Johnnie, leave her?
And now ashore again we'll go-
It's time for us to leave her?
The grub was bad, the voyage long-
Leave her, Johnnie, leave her?
The seas were high, the gales were strong-
It's time for us to leave her?

She would not wear, she would not stay-
Leave her, Johnnie, leave her?
She shipped it green, both night and day-
It's time for us to leave her?
She would not stay, she would not wear-
Leave her, Johnnie, leave her?
She shipped it green and she made us swear-
It's time for us to leave her?

The sails are furled, our work is done-
Leave her, Johnnie, leave her?
And now ashore we'll take a run-
It's time or us to leave her?

CFS: "When the packet rat references became out of date, the tune, being too good to be lost, survived with a new set of words as the familiar "Leave her, Johnnie, leave her!" which was generally sung at the capstan, and only at the end of a voyage.
"Some writers take the disparaging references to the ship, the Old Man, the mates, the cook, the weather and the rate of pay very seriously. As a matter of fact, this shanty always strikes me as an excellent example of a thorough-going shellback "grouse." A sailorman of the old school was never happier than when he was enjoying a growl with a shipmate at "this sorry scheme of things." But it didn't follow in the least that he wouldn't extol the very ship he was abusing as a sort of floating Eden when she had become his "last ship.""

Two versions in the DT. See thread 2407: Leave Her

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 10:26 PM

LOWLANDS AWAY
(Halliard Shanty)

Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
Lowlands away, I heard them say,
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
Lowlands away, I heard them say-
My dollar and a half a day!

A dollar a day is a hoosier's pay-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
A dollar a day is a hoosier's pay-
My dollar and a half a day!

Oh my old mother wrote to me-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
She wrote to me to come home from sea
My dollar and a half a day!

Lowlands away, I heard them say-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
Lowlands away, I heard them say-
My dollar and a half a day!

Alternative Version (beginning at A)

I dreamed a dream the other night-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
I dreamed a dream the other night-
My lowlands away!

I thought I saw my own true love-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
I thought I saw my own true love-
My lowlands away!

I thought my love was drowned and dead-
Lowlands, lowlands, away my John!
I thought my love was drowned and dead-
My lowlands away!

CFS: ""Lowlands Away" is the classic example of one of the outstanding characteristics of the shanty; namely, the way in which the most trivial and indeed meaningless words are wedded to haunting and beautiful melodies.
The more modern words- and that they are really very modern, since they were already well known in the 'fifties and practically extinct before the 'eighties, very few of the younger generation of sailing ship men having ever heard the shanty- are a debased version of a still older song. The horribly material refrain of "A dollar and a half a day," which is so hopelessly out of keeping with the sad, lingering cadence of the melody, and the references to "hoosiers" and such strange wildfowl, are quite obviously later interpolations. The old version is on the familiar theme of the dead lover, so popular with the folk singer, to whom and to whose audiences a thoroughly miserable story was as the breath of life; and the "Lowlands" refrain is found in more than one old song and ballad, like the well-known "Golden Vanitee," and that which tells how
   "the lowlands of Holland
   Have twinned my Love and me."

See the DT for other verses, "Lowlands of Holland," and "Golden Vanity."

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 11:12 PM

PADDY DOYLE'S BOOTS
(Bunt Shanty)

To my way-ay-ay-ah-yah,
We'll pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.

We'll all drink brandy and rum,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.

We'll all shave under the chin,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.

We'll all throw dirt at the cook,
And pay Paddy Doyle for his boots.

Notes by CFS:

Paddy Doyle was consecrated to one occasion, and one alone- namely, getting the bunt - or middle part - of a large sail, generally a course, but sometimes a topsail, on to the yard. In furling, it may be added, the strongest and most experienced seamen were at the bunt; in reefing the exact contrary was the rule.

When it is remembered that one of these big sails would probably contain about five hundred yards of Number One canvas, it will readily be believed that it took a hefty combined heave to get it, rolled into a solid bundle, on to the yard. The big effort came at the word "Boots," which was shouted rather than sung.

Who Paddy Doyle was and why he was specially associated with boots I have not been able to discover; unless, indeed, he was a euphemism for the Duke of Hell, whose riding boots every old sailor was acquainted with. Opinion seems to be divided as to whether this shanty had a solo part or was an "all hands" affair right through. Bullen and Whall favour the latter view: Patterson, also a practical seaman, says that all hands came in on "Boots." No doubt both opinions are right, and custom varied in individual ships.

The tune bears a striking resemblance to the closing bars of "The Queen's Jig," and may have been picked up from the ship's fiddler.

The shanty from Colcord is in the DT. See thread 37570 for other versions: Paddy Doyle

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:55 AM

POOR PADDY
(Pumping or Capstan Shanty)

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-one
I did as plenty more have done
My corduroy breeches I put on
To work upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-two
I joined up with an Irish crew,
I got a job of work to do
To work upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-three
I sailed away across the sea,
I sailed to North Amerikee
To work upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-four
I landed on Columbia's shore,
I had a pickaxe, nothing more,
To work upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-five
When Daniel O'Connell was alive,
I thought it time no more to strive
To work upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

In eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-six
I said good-bye to spades and picks,
I chucked my job and carried bricks
But not upon the railway…the ra-ailway…
I'm weary of the ra-ailway,
Oh poor Paddy he works on the railway!

Notes by CFS, p. 56:

This is no doubt an example of a shore song converted into a shanty, and for that reason some of the purists exclude it from their pages. But since – as I have suggested elsewhere – the likelihood is that nearly every shanty under the sun, if the truth were known, comes under the same category, and since, moreover, "Poor Paddy" has certainly been long forgotten except as a shanty, and has been for years a universal favourite afloat, I take leave to accord a place here to his Odyssey.

Captain W. H. Angel calls it a hoisting shanty: but every other writer I have consulted classes it with the capstan songs, and its form seems to indicate that it was so used as a general rule.
X:1
T:Poor Paddy
C:C. Fox Smith 'A book of Shanties' p 57
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:F
z6(c B)|A2A A G F|G2G c2c|F2F B2A|
w:In_ Eight-een hun-dred and six-ty one I did as plen-ty
G2G C2c|A3/2 A/2 A (A G) F|G2G c2B|
w:more have done My cord-u-roy breech_-es I put on to
A2F G2E|F3F2F|(E2D) C2C|E2F G2A|
w:work up-on the rail-way the rail_-way I'm wea-ry of the
B2d c3|c2B A/2 G/2 G2|F3G2E|F3F
w:ra-ail-way Oh poor pad-dy he works on the rail-way

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:44 PM

My own copy of this book has an interesting note by one of its previous owners, a Captain G. M. Ruxton, self-described master mariner, Wellington, NZ, 1923:

"Miss Smith is a dry land sailor. So are most nautical writers."

One can almost imagine the good captain bristling as he wrote this.

And so we end our all too brief voyage through this wonderful collection.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: JohnB
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 10:29 AM

Tunes, tunes, tunes,tunes, notes, notes, notes, notes, abc, abc, abc, abc. Please somebody read this thread instead of just posting to it.
Thanks in anticipation of tunes to songs posted which I don't know now.
JohnB not wishing to sound ungrateful.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: MMario
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 10:32 AM

people are working on it - see 'Rio grande'

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 04:20 PM

JohnB-

As MMario says above, he and Q are working on scanning the music in one end and generating abc's (musical squiglies) out the other end.

In the mean time, we wait as patiently as we can.

I just re-checked and they have begun!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 05:29 PM

So far, scans of 22 have been sent to MMario for ABC and to Joe for Midi. The rest in a day or so. All will show up eventually as these very obliging people get to them, so don't get your knickers in a twist.
Charley is doing the editing.
As resident Luddite of Alley Oop vintage, it took me a while to figure out how to set up the scans.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: JohnB
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 01:59 PM

I did not mean to be unappreciative, it's just that there was no posting to even acknowledge the request, so I did not know that something was happening. Many many many thanks to all.
ps how do I find them when you have done this, MMario?
JohnB

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: JudyB
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 02:41 PM

Hi John -

Must admit it's not obvious, but MMario, Joe, Q and Charley are adding the abc's and the "click to play" button at the end of the entry for each song - if you look for "BONEY WAS A WARRIOR" about halfway up, you'll see what I mean. If you scroll through the thread slowly, you'll find a bunch of others.

JudyB
(no relation, as far as I know....)

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: JohnB
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 11:44 AM

Thanks JudyB (nice name btw) MMario Pm'd me and informed me of the same thing. I had not realized that they were going back in and adding further info, I generally don't go back and re-read posts I have previously read. Amazing the talents at Mudcat.
Thanks to all involved, again, JohnB

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: MMario
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:19 PM

Perma-threads and DT study threads it pays to re-read! *grin* the *do* get edited.

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 01:16 PM

Very true. With our awesome "editing powers" this thread will get even more better and better!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Mar 06 - 10:19 AM

Here's a link to some 600 of Cicely Fox Smith's poems as they were published which are being posted by myself and Shantyfreak on the Oldpoetry website: Click here for website

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: C. Fox Smith PermaThread
From: GUEST,SHANTYFREAK
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 11:46 AM

I've just gone through this from top to bottom. Great work guys
Jim