Interesting Facts about Roll The Cotton Down (F)
Here halyard version of the shanty “Roll the cotton down”, Roll The Cotton Down (F) opens a big family of shanties, which Stan Hugill describes as the shanty with the word ‘Roll’. As a matter of fact, it vies with ‘blow’ and ‘Hilo’ as the most popular word in a sailor’s work song.
The versions of this great shanty are:
(a) Negro Version
(b) Cotton-Stowers’ version
(c) Deep-sea version.
(d) Blackball version.
(e) Paddy and the railway.
(f) “A Long Time Ago”
This version is an “A Long Time Ago” version theme version. The book example suggests using more verses from “Blow the Man Down” shanty, I add additional five verses which gives us a reasonable length of the song.
The song will be reconstructed by myself as the halyard shanty.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 154 ).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 156 ).
The Record of the Roll The Cotton Down (F)
“Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 155 ).
You also can find this record on my YouTube channel here or directly listen below. Additionally, if you want to share your opinion about the record or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or leave a comment at the bottom of this blog article.
The full lyrics
Roll The Cotton Down (F)
Oh, a long, long time an’ a very long time,
– Roll the cotton down!
Oh, a long, long time an’ a very long time,
– We’ll roll the cotton down!
* 2 *
Oh, there ships they lay in Frisco Bay,
There ships they lay in Frisco Bay,
* 3 *
An’ the smartest o’ these was an ol’ Yankie,
An’ the smartest o’ these was an ol’ Yankie,
* 4 *
These smart Yankee packets lay out in the Bay,
All a-waiting a fair wind to get under way,
* 5 *
With all their poor sailors so weak an’ so sad,
They’d drunk all their limejuice, no more could be had.
* 6 *
With all their poor sailors so sick an’ so sore,
They’d scoffed all their whack an’ they couldn’t get more.
* 7 *
Oh, I sailed out of ‘Frisco in a full rigged ship,
I sailed out o’ ‘Frisco in a full-rigged ship.
* 8 *
Her masts wuz of silver an’ her yards wuz of gold,
Her masts wuz of silver an’ her yards wuz of gold.
* 9 *
We wuz bound for New York with a cargo o’ gold,
Bound south ’round the Horn through the ice an’ the cold.
* 10 *
In eighteen hundred and ninety-four,
We shipped in a drogher bound for Singapore.