Forebitter

Interesting Facts about the Ratcliffe Highway

Here is the old forebitter “Ratcliffe Highway”, which was sometimes sung at the pumps and the capstan, as told to Stan Hugill, his fellow sailor Paddy Delaney, who used to sail in the old days on the Packet Ships. As Stan Hugill tells us, regarding the words of this song, they were used in the first version of “Blow the Man Down”, which Stan Hugill calls in his book the “Blow the Man Down – A”.
As one of these Western Ocean shanties, I will reconstruct with a common introductory verse (first verse at the beginning).
I would also like to thank Artur Pietrzykowski for the wonderful illustration that you can find at the beginning of the record.

The song will be reconstructed by myself as the forebitter.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 200).

The lyrics:  “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 200, 201).

The Record of the Ratcliffe Highway

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

Ratcliffe Highway

    *introductory verse*

Come all ye young sailors an’ listen to me,
I’ll sing ye a song all about the high sea,
Now it tain’t very short, nor it tain’t very long,
‘Tis of a Flyin’ Fish Sailor just home from Hong Kong.

– Singin’ too-relye-addie, too-relye-addie,
– Singin’ too-relye-addie, aye, too-relye-ay!

* 1 *

Now as I wuz a walkin’ down Ratcliffe Highway,
A flash lookin’ packet I chanet for to say,
Of the port that she hailed from I cannot say much,
But by her appearance I took her for Dutch,

* 2 *

Her flag wuz three colours, her masthead wuz low,
She wuz round the counter an’ bluff at the bow.
From larboard to starboard an’ so sailed she,
She wuz sailing at large, she wuz runnin’ free.

* 3 *

She wuz bowlin’ along wid her wind blowin’ free;
She clewed up her courses an’ waited for me.
I fired me bow-chaser, the signal she knew,
She backed her maintops’l an’ for me hove to.

* 4 *

I hailed her in ENglish, she answered me clear,
I’m from the Black Arrow, bound to the Shakespeare,
So I wore ship an’ with a ‘What d’ya know?’
I passed ‘er me hawser an’ took ‘er in tow.

* 5 *

I tipped up my flipper an’ took her in tow,
And yard-arm to yard-arm away we did go,
She then took me up her lily-white room,
An’ there all the evening we drank and we spooned.

(Verses 6 and 7 omitted.)

* 6 *

Soon the evening did pass, boys, I lashed up an’ stowed,
I gave her some shillings ‘fore I left her abode,
But it ‘twarn’t quite enough, boys, she wanted some more,
She cursed me an’ called me a son-o’-a-whore.

She blazed like a frigate, at me she let fire,
An’ nothing could stem, boys, that Irish tart’s ire,
She kicked me an’ cursed me an’ stove in me jaw,
An’ I beat retreat through her open back-door.

* 7 *

I’ve fought wid the Russians, the Prussians also,
I’ve fought wid the Dutch, an’ wid Johnny Crapo,
But of all the fine fights that I ever did see,
She beat all the fights o’ the heathen Chinee.

* 8 *

Now all ye young sailors take a warnin’ I say,
Take it aisy, me boys, when yer down that Highway,
Steer clear of them flash gals, on the Highway do dwell,
Or they’ll take up yer flipper an’ yer soon bound ter Hell!

Related to this Forebitter

The Fishes – W. B. Whall

The Limejuice Ship (Short Chorus)

Oh, Aye, Rio

Interesting Facts about The Gals O’ Dublin Town (A)

The Gals O’ Dublin Town (A) is an old Capstan song with other titles: “Harp without the Crown” or “The Shenandoah”. Miss Joanna Colcord gives it as a forebitter, and she says it was sung to a tune almost the same as that of “The Banks of Newf’n’land”.
The “Harp without the Crown” is a phrase hearkening back to rebellious times in Ould Ireland. According to Miss Colcord, Captain Jim Murphy of the “Shenandoah”, in actual fact, flew the Irish flag beneath the American one aboard his ship.

Stan Hugill gives us, as the capstan shanty, but because they are two versions, one I will recreate as forebitter and another as capstan shanty. Both versions come from Stan Hugill’s shipmate Paddy Delaney (ex-blackball line sailor).

This version will be reconstructed as a forebitter.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 141). I try to recreate this song from hearted Stan Hugill’s version from the album “Chants des Marins Anglais” (1992).

The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 141).

The Record The Gals O’ Dublin Town (A)

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

Naow, ’tis of a famous Yankee ship, to New York we wuz bound,
An’our cap’-n be-in’ an Oirish man, belongin’ to Dubalin Town,
– Hurrah! Hurrah! for the gals o’ Dub-a-lin Town,
– Hurrah for the bonnie green flag an’ the Harp without the Crown!

* 2 *

An’ when he gazes on that land, that town of high renown,
Oh, it’s away the green burgee and the Harp without the Crown.

* 3 *

‘Twas on the seventeenth o’ March, we arrived in New York Bay,
Our Capen bein’ an Irishman must celebrate the day.

* 4 *

With the Stars an’ Stripes ‘way high aloft, an’ flutterin’ all around,
But underneath his monkey-gaff flew the Harp without the Crown.

* 5 *

Now we’re bound for ‘Frisco, boys, an’ things is runnin’ wild,
The officers an’ men dead drunk, around the decks they pile.

* 6 *

But by termorrer mornin’, boys, we’ll work without a frown,
For on board the saucy ‘Shenandoah’ flies the Harp without the Crown!

Related to this Forebitter

The Five-Gallon Jar

The Limejuice Ship (Long Chorus)

Oh, Aye, Rio

Interesting Facts about The Five-Gallon Jar

This version of The Five-Gallon Jar is a forebitter, (Only the first verse and all choruses are Hugill’s version), which Stan Hugill took from old Irish Sailor Paddy Delaney. We see the story of Jack Ratcliffe and Marry Ann, a couple who were crimps and took profit from the “Shanghaiing” sailors.
Shanghaiing or crimping is the practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps.

The source of this forebitter

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 61).

The lyrics: The first full verse and all Choruses come from: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 61). To make the song story complete, and give it a sensible length I added other 3 verses from (Doerflinger – ‘Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman’ – p111) Doerflinger’s version of “The Big Five-Gallon Jar” comes from Capitan Henry E. Burke.

To keep the consistency of the song I replaced Doerflinger verses I replaced the original wife’s name from “Caroline” into Hugill’s “Mary Ann”.

The Record of The Five-Gallon Jar

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

The Five-Gallon Jar

In Liverpool there lived a man, Jack Ratcliffe was his name
An’in the days of the Cape Horn Trade, he played the Shanghai Game,
His wife’s name was Mary Ann, sailors knew both near an’far,
an’ when they played the Shanghai Game, They used the big stone Jar,

– In The Old Virginia Lowlands, Lowlands Low
– In The Old Virginia Lowlands Low.

* 2 *

There were drunkards in the corner and bummers at the bar
And [Mary Ann]Caroline was supplying them with a big five-gallon jar
……………
……………

* 3 *

Said old Jack to old [Mary Ann]Caroline, I’ll tell you what we’ll do,
There’s a ship lying down to McKinnon’s Wharf; I think she wants a crew.
We’ll go down around the corners to get some drunken tars
We’ll shanghai them away out of Liverpool Bay with a big five gallon jar.

* 4 *

So Jack and Cal[Ann] they worked their game when the ships signed on their tars,
Skys’l Jack and Pete and Bowline Bill helped to judge old Cal’s five gallon jar.
Now we’ll bid adieu to Cal and Jack and set our sails for ports afar
Dear Shanghai Cal, we’ll all come back, and sample Jack’s five-gallon jar.

Related to this Forebitter

Susannavisan (Stan Hugill Translation)

The Gals O’ Dublin Town (A)

Susannavisan