Capstan Shanties

Interesting Facts about Sally Brown (A – Dick Maitland version)

This Sally Brown (A – Dick Maitland version), was sung by Dick Maitland, a shantyman whose shanties were the core of the collection of William Main Doerflinger. Here is how this shanty was commented by Doerflinger: Favorite heroine of shanty lore was the beguiling, rum-drinking, fickle Sally Brown. “Some people might think Sally Brown was rather immoral,” Dick Maitland philosophized, “but it was the way of the world in the days!” This I another “roll” shanty, the most famous “Roll an’ Go!”, also known as “Sally Brown”. This is a capstan shanty, as Stan Hugill mentions it is only one theme of this song, and it is – all about Sally and her daughter. As the author of “Shanties from The Seven Seas” mentioned – there existed many obscene verses, which accounts partly for the fact that popularity never waned!

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shantymen And Shantyboys” by William Main Doerflinger (1951).

The lyrics: “Shantymen And Shantyboys” by William Main Doerflinger (1951).

Mentioned in: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 164).

The Record of the Sally Brown (A – Dick Maitland version)

Sally Brown A (Dick Maitland version) - Capstan Shanty

The musical notation

The full lyrics

Sally Brown (A – Dick Maitland version)

Saly Brown was a gay old lady,
– Way-ay, Roll and go!
Oh, Saly Brown was a Creole lady,
– Spend my money on Sally Brown!

* 2 *

She had a farm in the isle of Jamaica,
Where she raised sugarcane, rum an, terbacker.

* 3 *

Also she had a fine young daughter,
And that’s the gal that I was after,

* 4 *

Seven long years I courted the daughter,
And when I asked her if she’d marry,

* 5 *

She would not have a tarry sailor!
She would not have a tarry sailor!

* 6 *

“Those lily-white hands and slender waist?
A tarry sailor I’ll ne’er embrace!”

* 7 *

But now my troubles they’re almost over,
Sally got married to a creol solider.

* 8 *

He beat and abused her and stole her money,
And left her with creol baby.

* 9 *

One night she was taken with a pain in her belly,
And they sent for a doctor and his name was kelly.

* 10 *

He rode a horse with a ropeyarn bridle,
And he laid young Sally on the table

* 11 *

And from her took a little tar baby.
Oh, Sally dear, why didn’t you have me?

Related to this sea shanty

Sally Brown (A – Stanley Slade version)

Interesting Facts about Sally Brown (A – Stanley Slade version)

This I another “roll” shanty the most famous “Roll an’ Go!”, also known as “Sally Brown”, this particular version is called, Sally Brown (A – Stanley Slade). This is a capstan shanty, as Stan Hugill mentions it is only one theme of this song, and it is – all about Sally and her daughter. As the author of “Shanties from The Seven Seas” mentioned – there existed many obscene verses, which accounts partly for the fact that popularity never waned! Stan Hugill mentions that, with this version of the melody, the word was always added to make the text match the notes. A very famous shantyman from Bristol, Stanley Slade always sang in this fashion.

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 163).

The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 163, 164).

The Record of the ut Sally Brown (A – Stanley Slade version)

Sally Brown A (Stanley Slade version) - Capstan Shanty

The musical notation

The full lyrics

Sally Brown (A – Stanley Slade version)

Ooh! Sally Brown she’s a bright mulatter,
– Way-hay, Roll an’ go!
She drinks rum and ALWAYS chaws terbacker,
– Spend my money on Sally Brown!

* 2 *

Sally lives on the old plantation,
She is daughter of the ANCIENT Wild Goose Nation.

* 3 *

Seven long years I courted Sally,
But all she did was GREATLY dilly-dally,

* 4 *

Sally’s teeth are white an’ pearly,
Her eyes are black an’ her LOVELY hair is curly.

* 5 *

Sally lives in ol’ Jamaica,
Sellin’ rum an’ grown’ STRONG terbacker

* 6 *

I call her my ol, Queen of Faces,
Bought her coral beads an’ SEXY laces.

Related to this sea shanty

Sally Brown (A2)

Interesting Facts about Sally Brown (A2)

This I another “roll” shanty, the most famous “Roll an’ Go!”, also known as “Sally Brown (A2)”. This is a capstan shanty, as Stan Hugill mentions it is only one theme of this song, and it is – all about Sally and her daughter. As the author of “Shanties from The Seven Seas” mentioned – there existed many obscene verses, which accounts partly for the fact that popularity never waned! Worth mentioning is the fact that most of the verses Stan Hugill has from my favored shantyman (due to his yelps), Harding Barabadaian the West Indian Seamen.

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 163).

The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 163, 164).

The Record of the Sally Brown (A2)

In this reconstruction, I will only sing two verses to show another version mentioned by Stan Hugill. The melody of this version differs from the previous ending.

The musical notation

The full lyrics

Sally Brown (A2)

Ooh! Saly Brown she’s a bright mulatter,
– Way-hay, Roll an’ go!
She drinks rum an’ chaws terbacker,
– Spend my money on Sally Brown!

* 2 *

Sally lives on the old plantation,
She is daughter of the Wild Goose Nation.

Related to this sea shanty

Sally Brown (A)

Interesting Facts about Sally Brown (A)

This is another “roll” shanty, the most famous “Roll an’ Go!”, also known as “Sally Brown”, Sally Brown (A) is the capstan shanty, as Stan Hugill mentions it is only one theme in this song, and it is – all about Sally and her daughter. As an author of “Shanties from The Seven Seas” mentioned – there existed many obscene verses, which accounts partly for the fact that popularity never waned! Worth mentioning is the fact that most of the verses Stan Hugill has from my favored shantyman (due to his yelps), Harding Barabadaian the West Indian Seamen.

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 162).

The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 163, 164).

The Record of the Sally Brown (A)

The musical notation

The full lyrics

Sally Brown (A)

Ooh! Sally Brown she’s a bright mulatter,
– Way-hay, Roll an’ go!
She drinks rum an’ chaws terbacker,
– Spend my money on Sally Brown!

* 2 *

Sally lives on the old plantation,
She is daughter of the Wild Goose Nation.

* 3 *

Seven long years I courted Sally,
But all she did was dilly-dally,

* 4 *

Sally Brown’s a big buck creole,
Her bow is big, but her starn is bigger.

* 5 *

I brought her growns an’ I bought ‘er laces,
Took her out to all the places.

* 6 *

Sally’s teeth are white an’ pearly,
Her eyes are black an’ her hair is curly.

* 7 *

Sally lives in ol’ Jamaica,
Sellin’ rum an’ grown’ terbacker

* 8 *

I call her my ol, Queen of Faces,
Bought her coral beads an’ laces.

* 9 *

The sweetest flower in the valley,
Is my own my pretty Sally.

* 10 *

Sally Brown, what is the matter?
Pretty gal, but can’t git at her.

* 11 *

Sally Brown, I love ye dearly,
Ye had me heart, or very nearly.

* 12 *

Sally Brown’s a wild ol’ lady,
Sally’s got a creole baby

* 13 *

Sally Brown she wouldn’t marry,
An’ I no longer cared to tarry.

* 14 *

Sally Brown, I love yer daughter,
I love Yer farm beside the water.

* 15 *

Sally Brown, I kissed yer daughter,
Stopped her rum an’ gave her water.

* 16 *

She wouldn’t have a tarry sailor,
So I shipped away in a New Bedford whaler.

* 17 *

Sally Brown, I took a notion,
To sail across the flamin’ ocean.

* 18 *

I shipped away in a New Bedford whaler,
When I got back she wuz courtin’ a tailor.

* 19 *

Now me troubles they are over,
Sally’s married to a creol solider.

* 20 *

He beat her up an’ stole her money,
Then left her with a creol baby.

21 *

Sally Brown, I’m bound ter leave yer,
Sally Brown, I’ll not deceive yer.

Related to this sea shanty

Roll The Woodpile Down – capstan

December 18, 2023April 6, 2022 by Jerzy Brzezinski

Interesting Facts about Roll The Woodpile Down – capstan

Roll The Woodpile Down – capstan, is another shanty that is partially related to “Roll The Cotton Down”. This particular version mentioned by Stan Hugill belongs to S. Taylor Harris, and as a chorus instead of “Rollin’, Rollin” is used “Trav’ling, Treav’ling”, and this is all we can get about Harris’s version. The whole version we can find in S. Taylor Harris’s “Six Sea Shanties”(1925), fortunately for me I owned this super unique book, so I will be really pleased to reconstruct this beautiful version. This song I will sing as a capstan shanty.

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Six Sea Shanties” by S. Taylor Harris (1925).

The lyrics: “Six Sea Shanties” by S. Taylor Harris (1925).

Mentioned in: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 161).

The Record of the Roll The Woodpile Down – capstan

The musical notation

The full lyrics

Roll The Woodpile Down

The white folk larfed as the coon pass’d by,
– ‘Way down in Florida.
The white folk larfed as the coon pass’d by,
– An’ we’ll roll the woodpile down!
– Trav’ling, Trav’ling! as long as the worl’ goes roun’
– That brown gal of mine on the Georgia Line,
– An’ we’ll roll the woodpile down.

* 2 *

The roof do leak and the rain come froo,
The roof do leak and the rain come froo,

* 3 *

Old Runkelkeit was a dam good cook,
Old Runkelkeit was a dam good cook,

* 4 *

Oh! the work is hard and the biscuits too,
Oh! the work is hard and the biscuits too,

Related to this sea shanty