Frederick Pease Harlow – Chanteying Aboard American Ships cover
Chanteying Aboard American Ships front page
sailors on yard
Big thanks, to my mentor, teacher, and friend from the United States, Simon Spalding.
For recommending and introducing me to Frederick Pease Harlow – Chanteying Aboard American Ships. This book is a real treasure for lovers of sea shanties and the times of ironmen on wooden ships. I also wish to recommend reading another Harlow book: “The Making Of A Sailor”. Both complement each other very well. The first “The Making Of A Sailor” describes works where shanties were used. The second “Chanting on American Ships”, is more like a collection of them.
Finally, it is worth adding that many of the greatest shanties singers point to both Harlow’s books. They are one of the main sources of their repertoire and knowledge about sea shanties. Simon Spalding talks about his book “My Secret Weapon”. A few sea shanties from this book Simon Spalding sang on the album “Round The Capstan”, recorded with the Polish shanty band Cztery Refy. Cztery Refy and Stare Dzwony are the leading bands singing traditional shanties in Poland.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
Frederick Pease Harlow – The making of a sailor cover
title page
contents
Frederick Pease Harlow – The making of a sailor
First, I would like to thank my mentor, teacher, and (I dare to say it publicly for the first time) my friend, from the United States, Simon Spalding for recommending and introducing me to Frederick Harlow who wrote this great work. This book is a real treasure for shanty enthusiasts and the times of ironmen on wooden ships. You can put this book in the same row with such works as “The Merchant Vessel” by Nordhoff. or Richard Dana’s “Two Years Before Mast”.
This is simply a sailor’s diary, detailing the life of a sailor, with shanties intertwined in the plot. Real descriptions of the deep sea sailor profession, his life on the sea and onshore. This book is best read together with Frederick Harlow’s second book “Chanteying Aboard American Ships”. Both complement each other perfectly. The first describes works where shanties were used, and the second is a huge collection of them. Finally, it is worth adding that many of the greatest shanty singers point to both Harlow’s books as one of the main sources of their repertoire and knowledge about shanties.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
In the Harper’s Monthly Magazine from June to November 1882, we can find a spectacular collection of sea shanties. Interestingly enough is the fact that an author talking about the sailors says that the typical “Jack” of the pre-propeller age – the “packeterian”; and the able saman of the clipper-ship fleet – has, however, utterly varnished”, in an article from 1882! Whatever we can think, we need to understand how misunderstood and underestimated the importance of the sources, is and how priceless it is to read shanty collections like this one.
This is essential to preserve the authentic character of those songs. This is one of the earliest collections containing musical notations of the shanties covering around twenty shanties. “Bowline”, “Haul away Joe”, “Good-by My love goodbye”, and much more, we can find in this article. Very close to the original, printed, about 80 years before Stan Hugill’s “Shanties From The Seven Seas”. For all maritime and merchant fleet culture lovers, and most importantly for shanty enthusiasts, this article screams to be read. If anyone wants to read this article and does not have access, please contact me through Messenger, and I will be happy to share images of the whole article.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
Related to Harpers Monthly Magazine (1882) – Sailor Songs
Shanties With Descants clear the trackShanties With Descants clear the track
Richard Runciman Terry – Shanties With Descants – Grand Hall Shanty revival
“Shanties with Descants” – Shanties collected and arranged by SIR RICHARD TERRY. Descants written by MAURICE JACOBSON – set 1(date of publication unknown to me). Here is the publication, one of the many published during the so-called “Grand Hall shanty revival”, when tenors in beautiful tuxedos and choirs of classical music singers played scenes from “ship decks” on the stages of theaters, where the shantymen sang and the choir sailors in perfect harmony, answered in the chorus. The period of this revival falls in the second and third decades of the 20th century.
In the publication, we find five real deep-sea sailor shanties. The music in the arrangement has a full music notation written for two voices and a pianoforte, each song has a really good number of stanzas. It is worth noting that this is one of the two parts of this publication, unfortunately, I haven’t got the second one yet, so if someone has information on where to get, and buy, or someone has the second part and would like to make a gift for my collection, please contact me.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
“Sailors’ Shanties And Sea-Songs” – Chambers Journal, Saturday, December 11, 1869
I must admit that this is one of the most valuable items in my collection of books. There are many reasons why I think so. The first is the date when this wonderful article was published. It was published before the first great collection of shanties by Alexandrine Smith, “The Music of The Waters” (1888). Thus 19 years earlier, it was also a time, when the shanties were truly in the golden age. The second reason is that, even though the content is relatively small, the enormity of the content is overwhelming me. It is important in terms of description of the types of shanties and confirm their usefulness, I highly recommend this article. (For those interested, I will be happy to send you pictures of the entire article).
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
I read about this beautiful song of the sea from Stan Hugill’s greatest book “Shanties from the Seven Seas”. In his book, on page 148 of the first edition, he gives us only the chorus of this song. It seems to be based on the chant of “Donkey Riding”, he did not remember the source or composer of this song. The song according to Stan Hugill’s description points to this song at the time in the 1850s. Unfortunately, in “Shanties from the Seven Seas” we can only find the chorus. Here is the oldest source of this beautiful song I could get.
This is the 59th edition written and composed by Michael Watson “The Powder-Monkey” (An Old Salt’s Story), published by London: Patey & Willis, [n / a]. Interesting information on the cover says that “this song may be sung in public free of charge”. However, two things are most important to me, the first one – is this is the first song in Stan Hugill’s book, which is not a sea shanty or a forebitter, it is a full-blooded “shore sea-song”, two – is the melody of the verses spectacularly changes the whole song, the refrain itself sounds like a sea shanty.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or below post in the comment section.
I was incredibly lucky, that I heard about Simon Spalding’s book – Food At Sea. I am also happy to say that I heard about the existence of this fantastic book from the author himself. Simon Spalding is one of the most famous shantymen. The author is a shanty singer, known not only in Poland but also around the world in the great community of shanty enthusiasts. Simon is a very experienced sailor (his experience was gained mainly on traditional big sail vessels). He is also a musicologist, a multi-instrumentalist, and a historian. We can say renaissance man (basically, he is an American twin of our National Polish Shantyman Marek Szurawski).
Noticable is that he has had the privilege of singing with the most famous shantyman known ever, Stan Hugill. But this is not what this book is about. The book is the largest compendium of knowledge ever published about food in the vessels on the seas and oceans.
What we can find in Simon Spalding – Food At Sea
In the book, the author describes it in the smallest detail. The book tells what types of dishes and food were part of the diet of a sailor, captain, or passenger. Starting from the first centuries, through the glorious period of the War of the great armadas of the Middle Ages. Also, there are chapters about the nineteenth-century diet of merchant seamen. The book not ending there. The next chapters tell about the food on large transatlantic liners to modern ships, including nuclear submarines.
The book is fantastically complemented by a chapter, with real recipes. We can find there the method of preparing the dishes that the author describes in his book. Dishes such as a rat dish or sea biscuits; as well as three ways to prepare grog. All recipes are the recipes used in historically documented moments in the history of the Navy. A little bit more about the prohibition era …
I am so glad that I read this wonderful book right after reading Stan Hugill’s Sailortown. Both of these books are a great source of the life of a sailor from the merchant navy. Merchant navy is the center point around the subject of the history of the shanties.
Do you want to be more involved?
You can find excellent records of sea shanties here. If you want to discuss this book or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here. Also below post in the comment section.
Blow Boys Blow (C) was a shanty in which the singer often repeated the solo lines, to string out on a long haul. This shanty has three patterns: (a) The Guinea Slaver; (b) The Buck Ship (A Yankee China Clipper); (c) The Harry Tate Ship (English skit on Yankee Packets); This version is the The Harry Tate Ship.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 226).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 228, 229).
The Record of the Blow Boys Blow (C)
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
Blow, Boys, Blow (C)
Blow,me boys, I long ter hear yer, – BLOW, boys, BLOW! Blow,me boys, I can’t git near yer, – BLOW, me bully boys, BLOW!
* 2 *
Oh, a yankie ship came down the river, Her masts all bent, her sails a-shiver.
* 3 *
How d’yer know she’s a Yankee clipper? By the Stars an’ Bars that fly above her.
* 4 *
How d’yer think wuz skipper of her? Why, Slimey Joe wuz the skipper of her?
* 5 *
An’ who d’yer think wuz chief mate of her? Why, Boss-eyed Bill the Bowery Bastard.
* 6 *
Who d’yer thinks the second greaser? Why, Santander Jim the ‘Frisco bludger.
* 7 *
The third wuz Sam the Slippery Dodger, He’ll ride yiz down like yiz ride a spanker.
* 8 *
The bosun wuz a big buck [nigger] bugger, His handle wuz Joe the ‘Frisco Digger.
* 9 *
The sails wuz just a jobbin’ tailor, The chips wuz not a Blackwall sailor.
* 10 *
The cook wuz Jack the Boston Booty, The steward had to learn his dooty.
* 11 *
Her sides wuz old an’ her sails wuz rotten, His charts the Old Man had forgotten.
* 12 *
Scotchmen hangin’ in her riggin’. Oh, can’t yiz her them banjoes pingin’?
* 13 *
The crew wuz anything but frisky, They’d never crossed the Bay o’ Biscay.
* 14 *
What d’yer think they had for dinner? Nanny goat’s horns an’ a Chinaman’s liver.
* 15 *
She sailed away for Kingston City, Never got ther, the more’s the pity.
* 16 *
Blow today an’ blow termorrer, Blow for that ol’ ship in sorrer.
Blow Boys Blow (B) was a shanty in which the singer often repeated the solo lines, to string out on a long haul. This shanty has three patterns: (a) The Guinea Slaver; (b) The Buck Ship (A Yankee China Clipper); (c) The Harry Tate Ship (English skit on Yankee Packets); This version is the A Yankee China Clipper.
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 226).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 227, 228).
The Record of the Blow Boys Blow (B)
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
Blow, Boys, Blow (B)
Blow,me boys, I long ter hear yer, – BLOW, boys, BLOW! Ooooh, blow, me boys, an’ I long ter hear yer, – BLOW, me bully boys, BLOW!
* 2 *
A yankie ship came down the river, Her masts and yards they shine like silver.
* 3 *
How d’yer know she’s a Yankee clipper? By the blood an’ guts that flow from her scuppers.
* 4 *
How d’yer know she’s Yankee liner? By the stars an’ bars streamin’ out behind her.
* 5 *
How d’yer know she’s a Yankee packet? She fired her guns an’ we heard the racket.
* 6 *
She’s a Yankee ship an’ she’s bound to China, And a bunch o’ bastards they have signed her.
* 7 *
How d’yer know she’s bound for China? By the flyin’-fish sailors what ‘ave gone an’ joined her.
* 8 *
Who d’yer thinks the skipper of her? Why, Ol’ Bully Forbes is the skipper of her.
* 9 *
Who d’yer thinks the chief mate of her? Some ugly case what ‘ates poor sailors.
* 10 *
Who d’yer think wuz second mate of her? Saccrappa Jim was the second mate of her.
* 11 *
What d’yer think they had for breakfast? Why, the starboard side o’ an ol’ sou’wester.
* 12 *
What d’yer think they had for breakfast? Why, the starboard side o’ an ol’ sou’wester.
* 13 *
What d’yer think they had for dinner? Belayin’-pin soup an’ a squeeze through the wringer.
* 14 *
What d’yer think they had for supper? Oh, handspike hash an’ a roll in the scuppers.
* 15 *
What d’yer think they had for carger? Five hundred whores from Yokohammer.
* 16 *
Ye’ll wish ye all wuz dead an’ buried, An’ cross the river lets all git ferried.
* 17 *
Six days work as ye are able, On the seventh day, bullies, ye will chip the cable.
* 18 *
On this bloodboat there ain’t no laybacks, Get haulin’, all ye lazy shellbacks.
* 19 *
Blow today an’ blow termorrer, Blow for this hell-ship all in sorrer.
Another shanty with the word “Blow” is a fine old tops’l halyard shanty “Blow, Boys, Blow”.
This shanty has three patterns: (a) The Guinea Slaver; (b) The Buck Ship (A Yankee China Clipper); (c) The Harry Tate Ship (English skit on Yankee Packets); This version (The Guinea Slaver), Stan Hugill obtained from Australian seamen, ex-“Manuerwa” and “Silver Pine”.
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 226).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 226, 227).
The Record of the Blow Boys Blow (A)
You can also find this record on my YouTube channel here, or directly listen below. Additionally, if you want to share your opinion about the record you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or leave a comment at the bottom of this blog article.
The musical notation
The full lyrics
Blow, Boys, Blow (A)
Say, wuz ye niver down the Congo River? – BLOW, boys, BLOW! Ohh! yes I’ve bin down the Congo River, – BLOW, me bully boys, BLOW!
* 2 *
Congo she’s a mighty river, Where the fever makes the white man shiver,
* 3 *
A yankee ship came down the river, As she rolls down her tops’ls shiver.
* 4 *
Yonder comes the “Arrow” packet, She fired her guns an’ I heard the racket.
* 5 *
Yonder comes a Creole lady, I guess she’s got a – creol – [nigger] baby.
* 6 *
Who d’yer thinks the skipper of her? Who, ol’ Bully Pete, the – creol – [nigger] lover.
* 7 *
Who d’yer thinks the skipper of her? Why, Saccrappa Joe wuz the chief mate of her.
* 8 *
Who d’yer think wuz second mate of her? Saccrappa Jim was the second mate of her.
* 9 *
Sacrappa Jim he’s a rocket from hell, boys, He’ll ride yiz down like yiz ride a spanker.
* 10 *
What d’yer think they had for breakfast? Why, the starboard side o’ an ol’ sou’wester.
* 11 *
What d’yer think they had for dinner? Belayin’-pin soup an’ a squeeze through the wringer.
* 12 *
What d’yer think they had for supper? Oh, handspike hash an’ a roll in the scuppers.
* 13 *
What d’yer think they had for carger? Why, black sheep that have run the Embarger.
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