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Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated

03 Jun 06 - 10:35 AM (#1752156)
Subject: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Sule

Hey, does anyone have "Sally Brown" lyrics that you don't sink in pre-school?
I thought sailors were tough....any have any "real" lyrics?

thanks!


03 Jun 06 - 11:12 AM (#1752177)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Azizi

Oh, are these lyrics not "real" enough for you? :

SALLY BROWN 2 {excerpt}

Oh Sally Brown she's a creole lady,
(Way hey roll and go,)
Sally Brown's a gay old lady,
(Spent my money on Sally Brown.)
.....

Oh Sally Brown I love your daughter
I love the place she makes her water.

-snip-

or these lyrics from:

ROLL BOYS ROLL {excerpt}
West Indian halyard shanty

"Oh we're rollin' down to Trinidad to see Miss Sally Brown
Oh rollin' down to Trinidad to paint the bleedin' town

She's lovely up aloft, an' she's lovely down below
She's lovely all the way, me boys, it's all you want to know

She's lovely on the foreyard, lovely on the main
She's lovely in the summertime, she's lovely in the rain"
etc etc etc

Source:
Subject: Lyric Add: Roll Boys Roll
From: radriano - PM
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 01:22 PM

New Sea Music CD

-snip-

Should nothing be left to adult imagination?

And btw, did pre-schoolers anywhere used to know "Sally Brown"?
Unless a teacher or parent had introduced them to this song, it seems that most pre-schoolers where I live don't even know "Little Sally Walker" {sittin in a saucer} or "Little Sally Ann" {sittin in the sand}.

The only songs that it seems most pre-schoolers in my area seem to know nowadays {besides the ones on hip-hop/R&B radio stations and shows like Barney the purple dinosaur} are "Ring around the rosie" and "Hokey Pokey".

To quote somebody [I can't remember' who: "What a revolting state of development this is."


03 Jun 06 - 11:32 AM (#1752188)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Alba

SALLY BROWN (one version)

I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner
Way, hay, roll and go
And we rolled all night and we rolled till day
To spend my money along with Sally Brown

Sally Brown is a nice young lady...

Her mother doesn't like her tarry sailor...

She wants her to marry a one-legged captain...

I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner...

A sea shanty recorded by Sweeney's Men on "1968"
tune from Roll and Go, Colcord


Sule you may want to check up in the DT under "Sally" and "Sally Brown" as there are three versions listed.
I was just looking at the Sally Brown entries in the DT the other night! twilight zone theme...:)
All the Best
Alba


03 Jun 06 - 11:50 AM (#1752194)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Azizi

Sorry, I failed to note that "Sally Brown 2" {excerpt} is from the DigiTrad.


03 Jun 06 - 12:06 PM (#1752203)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Barry Finn

Here's a Brittish West Indian version, Sally' cousin.Tune is quite different from the others. From Roger Abrahams's collection in 'Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore'.

Barry

                            Feeny Brown

Fenny Brown is the belle of Bermuda
Ch: Ay yo Feeny
Fenny Brown is the belle of Bermuda
Ch: Spend my money on Feeny Brown

Grand Chorus: Give her a dollar an' she hol' for another
                         Ay yo, Fenny
                         Give her a dollar & she hol' another
                         Spend my money on Feeny Brown

Feeny Brown was a worldiest mulatta
Feeny Brown was a worldiest mulatta

Feeny Brown always chew tabacco
Feeny Brown always chew tobacco

Fenny Brown was a bright mulatta
Feeny Brown was a bright mulatta


03 Jun 06 - 12:23 PM (#1752214)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: JennyO

To quote somebody [I can't remember' who: "What a revolting state of development this is."

Azizi, just a bit of thread drift - that came from a TV show in the 50's called "Life of Riley", starring William Bendix as Chester A Riley. I was only a kid, but I remember it clearly. He was often heard to say to the camera, "What a revoltin' development this is!" when things went wrong. Talk about a blast from the past! Sometimes I amaze myself with the stuff I have tucked away in the memory banks!

Jenny


03 Jun 06 - 12:46 PM (#1752223)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Azizi

Thanks. Jenny. That's it!!!

Sometimes, I'll say that I wish that I was livin the life of Riley. Of course, if people aren't of a certain age and from a certain culture, they might not know what the heck I'm talkin about.

I also like the phrase "blast from the past". I use that one too.

Yeah, I know this thread is about dirty lyrics for that "Sally Brown" song, but us girls just wanna have some [clean] fun [too??]

end of thread creep...

;o)


03 Jun 06 - 01:32 PM (#1752247)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Amos

RILEY!! Yas!! "What a REVOLTin development!!!" LOL!


A


03 Jun 06 - 01:37 PM (#1752253)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Azizi

Oh, no Amos!

Now the walls that have ears and eyes are really focused into this place.

[and that is truly a you-know-what development].


03 Jun 06 - 01:40 PM (#1752255)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: dick greenhaus

I strongly suspect that written-down verses to shanteys are, at best, a reflection of what the singer was willing to sing to the collector. I also strongly suspect that a goodly portion of the verses to a shantey like "Sally Brown" were made up on the spot.


03 Jun 06 - 03:04 PM (#1752297)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Alba

I agree Dick.
Probably changed to suit the circumstances where they were being sung.
Best Wishes,
Alba


03 Jun 06 - 03:54 PM (#1752322)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Barry Finn

Here's a verse from another BWI shantey (only 2 verses are given & they're both the the same). The tune is close to the tune used for the 1st Sally Brown given above, maybe there's a relation? Also from Roger Abrahams collection, no tune given in the book, the tune comes from Rogers's field recordings.

The whores on shoe love sailor' man money
Roll, roll, roll & go
Roll & go from Calais to Dover
(I) Spend my money on the whores on shore

Roger follows with:
"And, as in every West Indain tradition, there are a few songs of contempt for the people in neighboring towns. The following takes aim at the girls at Rosebank, branding them as whores."

Source folows follows with:
    "That shanty was made up on Rosebank. He belongs to Barouallie here. He used to be down there fishing. Perhaps he ain' make it up, but he is the first person we heard sing it. Mr. Swaby Fredrick."

Barry


04 Jun 06 - 02:22 AM (#1752562)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Dave Hanson

Stan Hugill who actually was a shantyman, didn't publish the full ie. obscene versions in his great work, ' Shanties From The Seven Seas '

eric


04 Jun 06 - 05:38 AM (#1752606)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Azizi

Barry, I assume that 'shoe' in that last excerpted lyric means 'shore', right?

Also, this is somewhat off topic, but as I'm sure your knowthe West Indian tradition of insulting songs comes from an African tradition. For instance, the traditional musicians/singers/storytellers/historians of Senegal & The Gambia-called jalis or [the French term] griots sang either praise songs about one's ancestors or dissing {insult} songs. It depends on who their sponsors were and what they "paid" to do.

For more on this tradition, click Griots- Keepers of History

Btw, another African tradition carryover is the tradition of praising oneself in songs. You can hear this tradition in examples of songs from Blues, Calypso, Hip-Hop, and other African Diasporic [if that's a word] genres. You can also see it in the royalty and status tag names that artists from those genres give [or, in the case of blues, used to give] themselves.

Why Blues artists stopped giving themselves tag names is a whole nuther line of inquiry, but I think it would be an interesting one that also might address why many Black people aren't "feelin'" the blues.


04 Jun 06 - 12:09 PM (#1752762)
Subject: RE: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Severn

Some variations on the "Sally" character.


Two verses from the singing of Oscar Brand:

Sally Brown, she had a baby
Way hey, roll and go
She says it's mine, but I just said maybe,
Spent my money on Sally Brown

It might be mine I do repeat
But it might belong to the whole damned fleet.

In some versions, the sailor craves both Sally and her daughter.

Some related fragments about Sally from other songs:

...from "Hilo Johnny Brown" (through Danny Spooner, Lou Killen and others) which shares some verses with other "Sally" songs
and shanties:

Sally, she is a big foot nigger (or "she's got a fine full figure")
Way, hey, Sally-O
Her bow is big, but her stern (or ass) is bigger
Hilo Johnny Brown, stand to your ground

Sally, where shall I stow my cargo
Stow some forward and stow some after

Sally also appears, with baby of course, in a Canadian Maritimes dance tune, similar to the more popular ""Lots Of Fish In Bonavist' Harbor/I'se the B'y", but sung to the tune of "Reuben & Rachael
(through Ed McCurdy):

Sally Brown she had a baby
Father said that he don't care
Must've been that feller from Fortune
That was fishin' up here last year.

(chorus)
Swing your partner diddle-um dutt-win
Swing your partner diddle-um day
Swing your partner diddle-um dutt-win
Diddle-um dutt-win, diddle-um day.

Sally goes to church on Sunday
Not to sing or pray, I fear
But to see that feller from Fortune
That was fishin' up here last year.

At least often one will consider, however briefly, actually marrying Sally. Girls named Sally Brown tend to be more desirable in these songs than those named Lulu, though, where fewer redeemable verses abound. A few might be commom to both. You might try googling Lulu, probably at both a price and a risk....


04 May 14 - 04:19 AM (#3623902)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,squeezy

I recall this version we sung in music lessons in school....

Sally Brown she's a bright mullatta,
Way hey roll and go.
She drinks rum and chews tobacca,
Spend my money on Sally Brown.


29 Jan 18 - 11:32 AM (#3902588)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,Alastair Moir

Whe I was at school, 70years ago we sang:

“Sally Brown, she's a gay mulato,
Way hay, Roll and go,
She drinks rum and chews tobacco,
Spend my money on Sally Brown.”


29 Jan 18 - 12:42 PM (#3902614)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Senoufou

We were taught (!) this at Junior school (early fifties):

Sally Brown'a a fine mulatto
Way hey roll and go!
She drinks whiskey, chews tobacco,
Spend my money on Sally Brown.

I warbled this to my parents after school and they were...well...a bit 'surprised'.
I was merely intrigued as to how she could chew and drink at the same time.


29 Jan 18 - 01:12 PM (#3902628)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: RTim

A version collected in Portsmouth - Aug 1907

Tim Radford


Sally Brown.

Sally Brown she’s a gay old lady
Weigh heigh roll and go
Sally Brown she’s a gay old lady
Spend my money on Sally Brown

Sally Brown she’s a matelot’s daughter
Sally Brown she is a fine daughter

Mrs. Brown I love your daughter
Oh, Sally Brown I’m a-going for to leave you

Good-bye Sally, good-bye darling
While I’m away Sally won’t you write me?

Yes, I’ll write to you my darling
When I return I’ll marry your daughter

And we’ll have a great big supper
After the supper we’ll have a dancing

There’ll be dancing and singing the whole night
The bands they will play and the bones they will rattle

And shan’t I be glad when I marry Sally.
And shan’t I be glad when I marry Sally.


30 Jan 18 - 05:44 AM (#3902784)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,Brian Grayson

And then (from 'The Hog-Eye Man'):

Sally's in the kitchen punchin' duff
With the cheeks of her arse goin' chuff, chuff, chuff

'Duff' being a form of doughy pudding...

The imagery is delightful!


30 Jan 18 - 05:53 AM (#3902787)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Jim Carroll

My grandfather, a merchant seaman, had 'Sally Brown:

"Sally Brown was a big Mullater,
A nice little girl, but I can't get at her"

Mike Yates wrote an interesting article on obscene shanties years ago for Dance and Song
Jim Carroll


30 Jan 18 - 10:16 AM (#3902837)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,Mike Yates

Jim, I think that the article was printed in a very early edition of "Musical Traditions", rather than "Dance & Song". I seem to recall that there was a version of "Sally Brown". (I certainly remember the "place where she makes her water" verse.)


30 Jan 18 - 12:28 PM (#3902854)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Jim Carroll

You should know Mike - still a great article
Best wishes
Jim


31 Jan 18 - 05:21 AM (#3902979)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,Mike Yates

Jim, having given this a bit more thought, I think that the article appeared in an edition of Alan Ward's magazine "Traditional Music", sometime around 1976. There should be a copy in the Vaughan Williams Library.


31 Jan 18 - 05:39 AM (#3902981)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Jim Carroll

Hi Mike
We still have a full run of Alan Ward's Magazines I think (a hoarder by habit)
Thanks
If anybody would like a copy, I'll check it out
Jim


31 Jan 18 - 01:31 PM (#3903061)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: Jim Carroll

Hi Mike (if you're still there
Searched through my copies of Traditional Music (for another poster) and can't find the article
I'm missing No. 6 (early 1977) which might be the one
I wonder if anybody else knows?
Jim Carroll


19 Sep 22 - 07:14 AM (#4152957)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sally Brown -- unexpurgated
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch

1826 'nautical' type stage act origins debate here: Origins: Faithless Sally Brown