Jerzy Brzezinski

R. W. Saar & Gilbert Forsyth – Twelve Sailors Songs or Chanteys v1 (1927)

R. W. Saar & Gilbert Forsyth – Twelve Sailors Songs or Chanteys v1 (1927)

R. W. Saar & Gilbert Forsyth – Twelve Sailors Songs or Chanteys v1 (1927) is a collection of twelve shanties. A good selection of very famous sea shanties. The book gives us a full range and a selection of rhythms from various types of sea shanties. However, according to the author, who says in the preface, it is worth noting that the songs have been textually and melodically adapted to the stage, so for people looking for original lyrics, this is not a good place.

As important, it should be mentioned that, in addition to the notation, all songs have chords for the ukulele (in a nice simple form of a neck sketch with marked places where you should press the strings. Another note for Polish fans: the book contains the song “Blow, Boys, Blow!” it has a melody almost identical to the beautiful song “Brzegi Congo River” by Janusz Sikorski (an author of the Polish text), one of the members of the band Stare Dzwony.

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 the Twelve Sailors Songs or Chanteys v1

John Ashton – Real sailor songs (1891)

W. G. Whittaker – Blow the wind southerly (1921)

Jim Mageean – Heave Away (2020)

John Ashton – Real Sailor Songs (1891)

John Ashton – Real Sailor Songs (1891)

The book is a collection of nautical songs and poems, collected by John Ashton. With two hundred woodcut illustrations throughout. Including Sea Fight, Press-gang, Disaster, Ashore, and Love songs. It also contains poems entitled The Battle of Trafalgar, Bold Napier, The Lady’s Love for a Sailor, and many more. This book is a masterpiece for many reasons, the first being a collection of songs, which cannot be found anywhere but in this book.

The earliest source of some of the songs.

Another reason is that in this book we find the first or one of the earliest versions of the song “Flash Frigates” which is the original of the beautiful song “La Pique” and later “Dreadnought”. This song is significant for Polish fans of sea songs. It is because it is the parent of a wonderful song, sung by the group Cztery Refy “Lśniąca Fregata”.

The last reason is the amazingly beautiful, its huge size (it is the largest book in my collection!), Woodcut illustrations, and the fact that the same top-quality paper and printing method were used as used for printing broadsides. The whole thing is so spectacular that the cheapest online copy of this book costs £ 220, I highly recommend it. Of course, as always, for those interested in particular songs, contact me and I can provide photos of the song you are looking for.

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 the Real Sailor Songs

W. G. Whittaker – Blow the wind southerly (1921)

Joanna Colcord – Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen (1924)

Frederick J Davis; Ferris Tozer – Sailors’ songs or “chanties” (3rd Edition) – (1906)

W. G. Whittaker – Blow the wind southerly (1921)

Blow The Wind Southerly – Reprinted by W. G. Whittaker (1921).

Here is a single track release “Blow The Wind Southerly” a reprint of this beautiful song from the book “North Countrie Ballads, Songs and Pipe Tunes”, edited and arranged by W. G. Whittaker. I reached this position through Stan Hugill, who mentioned the origins of “The Fishes”, in his book, on page 197 of the first edition (1961). Stan Hugill says that this is the original from which the sea shanties of the same title were made.

As we know, this song is undoubtedly a song by Scottish fishermen. The origin is of course much older. Jim Mageean told me that, It’s a Tyneside song from where He lived, the first time this song appeared in print was in The Bishoprick Garland (Cuthbert Sharp 1834), and the Northumbrian Minstrelsy ( Bruce & Stokoe 1887), then in Songs and Ballads of Northern England (John Stokoe 1892).

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 the Blow The Wind Southerly

Frederick J Davis; Ferris Tozer – Sailors’ songs or “chanties” (3rd Edition) – (1906)

Joanna Colcord – Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen (1924)

John Sampson – The Seven Seas Shanty Book (1927)

Joanna Colcord – Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen (1924)

Joanna Colcord – Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen

The book by Joanna Colcord – Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen is a cornerstone of the American heritage of the sea shanties. The author herself was born at sea. Her father Lincoln Colcord was a captain of a merchant fleet ship for over two decades. Joanna Colcord describes a huge amount of shanties not only from the musical point of view but also from the side of the work for which the shanties were used.

Colcord’s book is, next to William Doerflinger’s “Shantymen and Shantyboys” and the works of Frederick Pease Harlow, the most important authentic source of shanties and information on shanties.
An interesting fact for Polish fans of shanties is that Joanna Colcord’s book was one of the main source texts of the works, of one of the two most popular shanty bands in Poland: “Cztery Refy”. According to the story of Simon Spalding, in the 1980s, at the request of Jerzy Rogacki, Simon Spalding, using a photocopier (Xero), copied the work of Joanna C Colcord at the Mystic Seaport Museum, one for Jerzy Rogacki and the other for himself. Jerzy Rogacki received a parcel from “America”, containing a valuable photocopy of this wonderful book.

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 the Roll And Go – Songs of American Sailormen

The Atlantic Monthly – July (1858)

Robert C. Leslie – A Waterbiography (1894)

Jerzy Wadowski – Piesni Spod żagli (1989)

Frederick J Davis; Ferris Tozer – Sailors’ songs or “chanties” (3rd edition 1906)

Frederick J Davis; Ferris Tozer – Sailors’ songs or “chanties” (3rd edition 1906)

There is hardly any collection of sea shanties that would not mention Sailors’ songs or “chanties” (3rd edition 1906) as a real source of shanties. Through Joanne C. Colcord, Stan Hugill, and many others, everyone respects this source, and the source is truly wonderful. If any of you are planning to gain this phenomenal position, please be careful, because of the earlier editions, the fewer shanties. So the first edition contains twenty-some sea shanties, and the third edition fifty. One of the main advantages of this collection is a sufficiently large number of stanzas for each song.
Note about the edition, why even bother? Well, the first edition of the Sailors’ Songs or “chanties” (3rd Edition) contains 24 sea shanties, the second 40, and the 3rd one 50, so there is a huge difference in the amount of the content.

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 the Sailors’ songs or “chanties”

John Sampson – The Seven Seas Shanty Book (1927)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 2 (1926)

The Atlantic Monthly – July (1858)

John Sampson – The Seven Seas Shanty Book (1927)

John Sampson – The Seven Seas Shanty Book

It was challenging for me, to buy John Sampson – The Seven Seas Shanty Book Shanty collection. This is because every time, when I type “The Seven Seas” part of the title in search engines, the display tones of results relate to the biggest book of Stan Hugill’s book “Shanties From The Seven Seas. Paradoxically, I know about this book from a reference list placed in Stan Hugill’s book. This book is a treasure, for any shanty enthusiasts. The book contains forty-two shanties and sea songs.

The great thing about this book is that each song contains a fair amount of verses (most books from this time, have only a few verses, and that’s it), For example, Shanty “Shenandoah” contains seven verses. It is worth noting each song has a very nice description. Each description gives us some information about the type of sea shanty, time where it is from, and so on. Overall, this rare book is worth any money to have it.

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 The Seven Seas Shanty Book

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 1 (1921)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 2 (1926)

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns (1923)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 2 (1926)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 2

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 2 is one of the most recognized shanties collections ever. This is the second part. It was published in 1926. It is a continuation of the first part, after an additional five years of research, Richard Runciman Terry added another thirty-five shanties. Similar to the first part, along with sheet music for voice and pianoforte. The introduction and descriptions of shanties contain a huge amount of useful knowledge. This book is one of the many published during the so-called “Grand Hall shanty revival”. The descriptions contain a lot of important information, e.g. names of the seaman from whom the individual songs were obtained. This is a ‘must-have’ for every shanties enthusiast.

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 The Richard Runciman Terry’s Book

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 1 (1921)

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns (1923)

The Shell Book Of Sea Chanties (1952)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 1 (1921)

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 1

Richard Runciman Terry – The Shanty Book Part 1 is one of the most recognized shanties collections ever. The first part of this fantastic collection was published in 1921 and built using an author’s great experience. It contains thirty shanties along with sheet music for voice and pianoforte. The introduction and descriptions of shanties contain a huge amount of useful knowledge. This book is one of the many published during the so-called “Grand Hall shanty revival”. The descriptions contain a lot of important information, e.g. names of the seaman from whom the individual songs were obtained. This is a ‘must-have’ for every shanties enthusiast.

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 The Richard Runciman Terry’s Book

The Shell Book Of Sea Chanties (1952)

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns (1923)

Clifford Beckett – Shanties And Forebitters (1914)

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns (1923)

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns

Alex Anderson – Windjammer Yarns is over two hundred fifty pages documentary report of the life of a sailor employed on sailing ships and steamboats in the 1880s. This is one of the few unique books that help us understand the realities of a sailor’s life. Captain Alex Anderson’s book includes several shanties along with sheet music.

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 the Windjammer Yarns

Clifford Beckett – Shanties And Forebitters (1914)

Robert C Adams – On Board The Rocket (1879)

S. Taylor Harris – Six Sea Shanties (1925)

The Shell Book Of Sea Chanties (1952)

The Shell Book Of Sea Chanties – by The Shell Petroleum Company Limited (1952)

The first odd thing about this collection is that it does not have an author. This book is a collection of the sea shanties, printed by concern Shell. Only what we can find, is an editor of the book which is Hereward King. It is indeed an interesting collection. The collection is mentioned by Stan Hugill in his “Shanties From The Seven Seas”, and it has several unique versions of popular shanties. As mentioned previously, the shanties printed in this book (i.e. versions of those sea shanties), you can not find anywhere else.

Of course, the unique versions described may only be of interest, to someone interested in the footnotes and materials mentioned by Stan Hugill. What is also worth mentioning is the spectacular graphics of this book. Each illustration is a work of art and the print quality is second to none. Of course, if you are interested in any of the texts, contact me privately, I would be happy to share.

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 The Shell Book Of Sea Chanties

Clifford Beckett – Shanties And Forebitters (1914)

Frederick Pease Harlow – The making of a sailor (1928)

Frederick Pease Harlow – Chanteying Aboard American Ships (1962)