Songs of American Sailormen Archives - Traditional Sea Shanties

Joanna Colcord – Songs Of American Sailormen (1938)

April 1, 2024May 15, 2022 by Jerzy Brzezinski

Joanna Colcord – Songs Of American Sailormen (1938)

Songs Of American Sailormen (1938) by Joanna Carver Colcord is a cornerstone of the American heritage of the sea shanties. The author herself was born at sea. The father of an author Lincoln Colcord was a captain of a merchant fleet ship for over two decades. The edition from 1938 is an enlarged and revised book from 1924.
The author of the book “Songs of American Sailormen”; 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 described shanties were used. Joanna C 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 C Colchord’s books; were one of the main source texts of the works of one of the two most popular shanty bands; “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 Songs Of American Sailormen

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

R. W. Saar & Gilbert Forsyth – Twelve Sailors Songs or Chanteys v2 (1927)

John Ashton – Real sailor songs (1891)

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

April 1, 2024May 12, 2022 by Jerzy Brzezinski

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)

Oh Susanna

December 13, 2023March 27, 2022 by Jerzy Brzezinski

Interesting Facts about the Oh Susanna

Oh, Susanna, another song from the time when the Gold Rush of 1849 happens was “Oh, Susanna”. Stan Hugill says, is that this song has never been in print, with the exception of Miss Colcord’s fragmentary version listed in her book as a fo’c’sle song.

So this is what Joanna C. Colcord gives us in her book (“Songs of American Sailormen” – 1938, in the “Roll & Go” – 1924, in both books we can find, the same amount of verses):
“It was singular that with all the vast pride and delight of the sailor in his ship, so few songs were sung in celebration of the qualities of individual vessels. There was about California clipper “Sovereign of the Seas”, which went to the same tune as the ‘fourty-niners’ song”…

The source of this sea shanty

The music: “Songs of American Sailormen” – by Joanna Carver Colcord (1938).

The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed: p 116).

The Record of the Oh Susanna

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.