Away Susanna!

Interesting Facts about the Away Susanna!

“Away, Susanna” or ” Can’t Ye Dance the Polka” was a popular capstan shanty on both American and British ships. This is the first Stan Hugill’s version that was invariably sung to the “shanghaied in San Francisco” theme. Charlie Evans, Arthur Spence, Bosun Chenoworth, “Artie”, an A. B. of the New Zeland brigantine “Aratapu”, and many other Stan Hugill shipmates all sang these words.
The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.

The source of the Away Susanna!

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 369).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 369-371).

The Record of this sea shanty

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.

Away Susanna! - Capstan Shanty (used at halyard winch)

The musical notation

Away Susanna! - music notation

The full lyrics

Away Susanna!

Shanghaied in San Francisco,
We fetched up in Bombay,
They set us afloat in an old lease boat,
that steered like a bale of hay

– Than away, Susanna,
– My fair maid!
– Oho! ye New York gals,
– Can’t ye dance the polka?

* 2 *

We panted in the tropics,
Whilst the pitch boiled’up on deck,
We’ve saved our hides little else besides,
From an ice-cold North Sea wreck.

* 3 *

We drank our rum in Portland,
We’ve thrashed through the Behring Straits,
An’ we toed the mark on a Yankee barque,
With a hard-case Down-east mate.

* 4 *

We know the quays of Glasgow,
An’ the boom of the lone Azores,
We’ve had our grub from a salt-horse tube,
Condemned by the Navy stores.

* 5 *

We know the track to auckland,
An’ the light of Kinsale Head,
An’ we crept close-hauled while the landsman called,
The depth of the Channel bed.

* 6 *

We know the streets of Santos,
The river at Saigon,
We’ve had our glass with a Chinee lass,
In Ship Street in Hong Kong.

* 7 *

They,ll pay us off in London,
Then it’s oh for a spell ashore,
Then again we’ll ship for a southern trip,
In a week or hardly more.

* 8 *

‘Tis goodbye, Sal an’ Lucy,
‘Tis time we were afloat,
With a straw-stuffed bed, an achin’ head,
A knife an’ an oilskin coat.

* 9 *

Sing ‘Time for us to leave ‘er’,
Sing ‘Bound for the Rio Grande,’
An’ when the tug turns back, we’ll follow her track,
For a last long look at the land.

* 10 *

An’ when the purple disappears,
An’ only the blue is seen,
That’ll take our bones to Davy Jones,
An’ our souls to Fiddler’s Green.

Related to this sea shanty

Paddy Signs On

Paddy Get Back – Dick Maitland

Roller Bowler – Trinidad Version

Skonnert Albertina – Sternvall

Interesting Facts about the Albertina – Sternvall

“Albertina” a Swedish pumping shanty, it has a melody very close to the opening line of a popular wartime song: “Twas down on the Rhine I met Rosalein”. Stan Hugill gives us two versions of this shanty, this one is the version from “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935). Sternvall in his book says the song was equally popular among all Scandinavian seamen. Probably of Norwegian origin, because always been done to sing in an imitation of the Norwegian dialect. Sternvall also says the song was always used at the capstan. I will again reconstruct this song as the pump shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 329).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 329).

The Record of the Albertina – Sternvall

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.

Skonnert Albertina (Sternvall) - Pump Shanty

The musical notation

Skonnert Albertina - Sternvall - music notation

The full lyrics

Skonnert Albertina – Sternvall

Det skull byggas ett skepp uti,
Norden, Albertina skall vara skeppets namn,
– Pumpa läns!
Albertina, låt så vara, Albertina, ingen fara,
Albertina skall vara skeppets namn,
– Pumpa läns!

– Albertina, låt så vara, Albertina, ingen fara,
– Albertina skall vara skeppets namn,

– Pumpa läns!

* 2 *

Och det skeppet är allaredan lastat,
Det är lastat med bayerskt öl och vin

Det är lastat, låt så vara, Det är lastat, ingen fara,
Det är lastat med bayerskt öl och vin,

* 3 *

Men på straden står Ingrid och gråter,
Ja, hon gråter efter lilla vännen sin,
Ja, hon gråter, låt så vara, ja hon gråter, men vi fara
Ja, hon gråter efter lilla vännen sin,

* 4 *

Varje sjömans grav är redan gräven,
Den är gräven i böljorna de blå
Den är gräven, låt så vara, den är gräven, men vi fara,
Den är gräven i böljorna de blå

* 5 *

Och min gravskrift den är redan skriven,
Den är skriven på finaste latin
Den är skriven, låt så vara, den är skriven, men vi fara,
Den är skriven på finaste latin

Related to this sea shanty

Heave Away Cheerily O!

Leave Her Johnny Leave Her – Pumps

Across The Rockies

Paddy Signs On

Interesting Facts about the Paddy Signs On

“Paddy Signs On”, as Stan Hugill mentioned, comes from “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935) (1st ed p 372, 373). As Sternvall says his version of the song is the capstan shanty (gångspelsshanty). According to Sternvall, the text recorded by sea captain A. M. Säfström on board the bark ship “Trio” of Tvedestrand in 1913. Sung by captain N. A. Knafe. In this somewhat altered and polished form, it is known from the 1890s. This song will be reconstructed as the capstan shanty.

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935) (1st ed p 372, 373).
The lyrics: “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935 (1st ed p 372 – 374).
Mentioned in: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 324).

The Record of the Paddy Signs On

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.

Paddy Signs On - Capstan Shanty

The musical notation

Paddy Signs On - music notation part 1
Paddy Signs On - music notation part 2

And the full lyrics

Paddy Signs On

A cold and frosty morning of December,
when all of my money I had spent,
where it went to, now I don’t remember –
I down to a shippingoffice went.

That day there was a great demand for sailors
for Frisco and for London and for France,
so I shipped aboard of a whaler
and went off to cash my advance.

– Paddy, lay back,
– take in your slack,
– rally around the capstan!
– Heave a pawl, heave a pawl!
– Ready about your stations, boys, be handy,
– raise tacks, sheets and mainsail haul!

* 2 *

Next morning I came aboard the vessel,
afeeling very heavy on the booze.
I sat upon my chest aquitely thinking,
I turned in my bunk to have a snooze.

Just then I thought I heard a voice calling.
I listened and I heard it again.
It was the mate, a louding hauling:
“Say boys, answer to your names!”

Related to this sea shanty

Were All Bound To Go – Sampson

Were All Bound To Go – Davis And Tozer

Heave Away – Colcord

Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You

Interesting Facts about the Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You

Stan Hugill on page 230 of the “Shanties From The Seven Seas”, mentioned he discovered this version by searching foreign sources. The mentioned book by Stan Hugill is the “Sang Under Segel” of the Sigurd Sternvall. The mentioned song we can find on page 370 of the mentioned source (fortunately this book is a part of my collection of the shanty books). The comments from Sternvall’s book say:
…”The text by sailmaker Gustaf Wiman, Boston, 1909.
“Bully “s have the same as mischievous. In English college slang, it also has this meaning. “Belaying pin’s soup” is in Swedish translation nothing more than a good cooking beat.”…

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935).

The lyrics:  “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935). This reconstruction will contain full text and music notation from Sigurd Sternvall’s book, and also the title is changed from the original.

Mentioned in: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 230).

The Record of the Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You

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.

Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You - Halyard Shanty

The musical notation

Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You - music notation

The full lyrics

Oh Blow Ye Winds I Like To Hear You

Oh, blow ye winds, I like to hear you,
– BL0W boys BL0W!
Blow today and blow tomorrow!
– BL0W boys! Bully, bully, BLOW, boys, blow!

* 2 *

A Yankee ship came down the river.
Her mast and spars they shine like silver.

* 3 *

How do you know she is a Yankee clipper?
By the stars and stripes she flies behind her.

* 4 *

And who do you think is the master of her?
One-eyed Kelly, the Bowery runner.

* 5 *

And what do you think they will have for dinner?
Belaying pin’s soup and monkeys liver.

Related to this sea shanty

Blow Boys Blow (B)

Blow Boys Blow (odd verses)

Hourra Mes Boués Hourra! (French)

Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Singurd Sternvall version)

Interesting Facts about the Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Sigurd Sternvall version)

Stan Hugill on page 124 mentioned the Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Sigurd Sternvall version); he says this is a Swedish version in “Sang under Segel”, and gives us one verse without chorus lines. In big effort and great luck I found this original mentioned book: Singuard Sternvall’s “Sang under Segel” (1935), so now I can sing this mentioned shanty in full 5 verses length. Also, I will use the original music taken from this beautiful book. The original comment to this song in “Sang under Segel” says:

“A very old gang song: sing in my time mostly as a halyard shanty”.

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

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935) (1st ed p 357, 358).

The lyrics:  “Sang Under Segel” by Sigurd Sternvall (1935 (1st ed p 357, 358).

Mentioned in: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 124).

The Record of the Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Sigurd Sternvall version)

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.

Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Singurd Sternvall version) - Halyard Shanty

The musical notation

goodbye-fare-ye-well-singurd-sternvall-version music notation

The full lyrics

Goodbye Fare-ye-well (Sigurd Sternvall version)

Oh, fare you well, I wish you well.
– Good-BYE; fare you well, good-BYE; fare you well.
Oh, fare you well, my bonny young lass.
– HooRAY; my boys; we are HOMEward bound!

* 2 *

Oh, don’t you hear the Old Man say:
“We are homeward bound; this very day”.

* 3 *

We are homeward bound; and I hear the sound.
So have on the windlass and make it come round.

* 4 *

Our anchors aweigh; and our sails they are set
and the girls we are leaving; we leave with regret.

* 5 *

She is a flash clipper packet and bound for to go,
with all boys on the towrope she cannot say no.

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As-Tu-Connu Le Per’ Lanc’lot

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De Runer Von Hamborg