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Sea Chanteys
featured among Candy K. Sweet and Christopher Dunne's performance...
On long, lonely sea
voyages, sailors often thought of women they had met and passed
time with while at port. Recollections of these women colored
the passage of monotonous tasks (such as the tying of lines or
raising the anchor) to the performance of a "windlass"
or "capstan" chantey. Deprived of the company of women
while working at sea, it was a universal sailor's experience
to indulge themselves to excess on shore leave, spending their
hard earned wages imprudently and consorting with ladies of bad
influence and ill intentions. Amsterdam was a busy and notorious
port, crowded with unsavory characters seeking to exploit young
sailors on leave as they roved around town in search of fun,
adventure and companionship. More than one sailor went "a-roving"
with the likes of THE
MAID OF AMSTERDAM...
ADMIRAL BENBOW was a famous English warrior of
the eighteenth century who lost his life in a spectacular naval
battle with the French enemy. Benbow was beloved by his crew
of common, largely uneducated sailors 'pressed into service of
the English Navy, primarily because he attained his high rank
by virtue of heroic deeds rather than by social privilege or
formal education. Benbow faced impossible odds, vigorously commanding
at the forefront of his final battle even after suffering amputation
of his legs by a length of chain shot from a French cannon. In
spite of such a horrendous mortal wound, this "foc'sle"
chantey tells of how brave Benbow led his men to victory, even
as his life ebbed painfully away.
The rhythm of the "short drag" chantey helped sailors
pace the labor of hoisting sails and other repetitive tasks.
HAUL AWAY JOE reflects typical experiences and
matters of interest to the seafaring men of the clipper ships.
THE EDDYSTONE LIGHT was
a famous lighthouse off the English coast and the inspiration
for this "halyard chantey" fable about the lighthouse
keeper, a mermaid, a man, a porpoise and a porgy fish.
Although not specifically about the sea, EARLY ONE MORNING
is an old English folk
song about the sadness of broken promises and lost love. Separation
and heartache were popular themes of reflection in the forecastle
while enduring the long hours, weeks and months of melancholy
loneliness of life at sea.
Ballads recounting legends of famous events were popular entertainments
during long voyages. THE
BALLAD OF NEW ORLEANS
was a decisive guerilla fighter victory of the War of 1812, assuring
continued American independence and elevating Andrew "Old
Hickory" Jackson to legendary stature as heroic warrior
and courageous leader of his fellow countrymen.
Life at sea under the billowing sails was fraught with perils
and hardships far more dangerous than ocean travel today. When
a ship foundered and succumbed to the heaving sea, there was
little or no chance of rescue. When a storm reached catastrophic
intensity, a brave crew could only face their grim fate with
stoic resignation. Rugged sailors who "skipped at the top"
remained at their posts on deck and in the rigging, valiantly
struggling to keep the ship under control as it pitched and rolled
in the violent high seas. The "landlubbers" huddled
belowdecks, helplessly awaiting the horrific fate predicted by
THE MERMAID...
The exploits of military
heroes inspire tales colorfully weaved into many simple "short
drag" working chanties. The legendary career of Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte fueled many a seafaring tale of larger-than-life
adventure, conquest and ultimately inevitable loss and tragic
ruination. Indeed,
BONEY WAS A WARRIOR...
Many men in quest of
bounty from whale fishing lost their lives at sea. GREENLAND WHALE FISHERIES is
a "foc'sle" chantey that follows a particularly unfortunate
whaling vessel's hunt and ultimately unsuccessful encounter with
its prey in the bleak and icy waters off Greenland.
Gone for years at a tour, whalers were fortunate to ever return
to home port at all, driven by desperation and greed to participate
in sharing the profits from the perilous and bloody business
of whaling.
Originally a song about English Navy sailors' return from war,
New Bedford whalers adopted this melancholy ballad as their own.
Following the journey of a whaling ship's circuitous return to
home, the whalers stop at an English port for weary fishing companions
to enjoy sharing "a full bumper" of ale and "a
full bowl" of pipe tobacco, having bid FAREWELL AND ADIEU to the fair Spanish ladies left along the way.
Working chanteys recount many of the unpleasant experiences of
life at sea, particularly regarding the punishments administered
for overindulgence in alcohol consumption. A "stamp and
go" chantey is also sometimes called "a runaway song"
since it sets the pace for a crew to run a length of rope from
one end of the deck to the other. Picture the hapless, groggy
sailor being dragged through various indignities and exceedingly
harsh penalties for his misbehavior, his misery punctuated by
his eventual impressment to labor on another awful ship. Pity
the poor DRUNKEN SAILOR... |
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