Interesting Facts about the Old English Chantey
“Old English Chantey” is a forebitter, sometimes used at the pumps. This version, without the tune from an article “Old Songs Men Have Sung” by Frothingham, printed in the American magazine “Adventure”. I will use one of the Stan Hugill melodies (the first one from The Bosuns Alphabet”) to reconstruct these beautiful lyrics.
I will reconstruct this song as a forebitter.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 456).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 458).
The Record of the Old English Chantey
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 musical notation
The full lyrics
Old English Chantey
A’s for the Anchor that hangs o’er our bow,
B’s for the Bowsprit, as every one knows,
C’s for the Capstan we merrily walk around,
D is for a Davits which lower our boat down,
– So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
– No mortals on earth like a sailors at sea.
– Hi derry, ho derry, hey derry down,
– Give sailors their grog and there’s nothing goes wrong!
* 2 *
E’s for the Ensign which at our peak flew,
F’s for the Fo’c’sle where live all our crew,
G’s for the Guns where our brave boys did stand,
H’s for the Hawsers, that never will strand.
* 3 *
I’s for the Irons where our booms ship;
J’s for the Jibs that so neatly do sit;
K’s for the Keelson, of which we are told;
L’s for the Lanyard that keeps a good hold.
* 4 *
M’s is for the Mainmast to stout and so strong;
N’s for the Needle that never points wrong;
O’s for the Oars of our jolly-boat;
P’s for the Pinnacle that always will float.
* 5 *
Q’s for the Quarterdeck, where our officers stand;
R’s for the Rudder, keeps the ship in command;
S’s for the SStuns’ls that drive her along;
T’s for the Topsails we hoist with a song.
* 6 *
U’s for Union which we all adore;
V’s for the Vane which flies at our fore,
W’s for the Wheel at which we stand our time,
And the other three letters you can’t bring in rhyme.