OT: Sea shanties

[MdStang]

Kris Delmhorst set the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield to music...

 

[ClifSpliffy]

well, we've expanded from songs directly aboot work on the water to songs aboot girls dancing the polka, so i'll widen it further to songs aboot being on the water. lol.
the Lakes are big water too.
one of my alltime favorites. living near the sub base and the Coast Guard will do that to ya.

nightmarishly haunting. great tune.
'does anyone know where the love of God goes,
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?'

 

[ClifSpliffy]

gonna bust it up further, cuz the thread title sez 'shanty,' so what's the problem?
do i get absolution cuz this cut comes from The Shaboo?


no way im gettin into heaven, unless Ronald McDonald is calling the shots at the gate. if so, then i'll be strollin in, and walkin haughtily right up to the big mac chow line, while thread police types will still be stuck as inventory clerks working in a 'notions' store, whatever the heck that is. lol.

 

[Hoops66]

There are a number of renditions of this great old sea shanty. Here's one from some Kiwi students that is nicely done.

 

[Rocket009]

old favorite

 

[Zorro]

 

[Zorro]

 

[dbmill]

For those who are interested in sea chanties, Mystic Seaport holds an annual Sea Music Festival every June, and it is difficult not to hear sea chanties being performed at the festival. My wife and I have attended every Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival since 1996 (it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, and I suspect that it will be again this June). At any rate, the Sea Music Festival is the highlight of the summer months for us. The next Sea Music Festival that is held will be number 41 (believe me, there are plenty of people in the crowd every year who have been going to it longer than my wife and I).

One of the big attractions at the Sea Music Festival is Don Sineti, one of the staff chantey men at Mystic Seaport, whose voice is a real force of nature. Believe me, he does not need a microphone to be heard.

 

[Bigboote]

well, we've expanded from songs directly aboot work on the water to songs aboot girls dancing the polka, so i'll widen it further to songs aboot being on the water. lol.
the Lakes are big water too.
one of my alltime favorites. living near the sub base and the Coast Guard will do that to ya.

nightmarishly haunting. great tune.
'does anyone know where the love of God goes,
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?'

But the song about the girls dancing the polka IS a sea shanty. Shanties aren't necessarily about working , they're songs FOR working. The rhythms are designed for specific tasks, probably half of them for pulling ropes. Fast ones like New York Girls for hand-over-hand pulls (light lines), slower ones like Spanish Ladies for two-handed rope pulls. The lyrics are often nonsense or about what they'll do on shore. The lyrics to New York Girls can be quite bawdy; Steeleye's version is heavily sanitized.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

But the song about the girls dancing the polka IS a sea shanty. Shanties aren't necessarily about working , they're songs FOR working. The rhythms are designed for specific tasks, probably half of them for pulling ropes. Fast ones like New York Girls for hand-over-hand pulls (light lines), slower ones like Spanish Ladies for two-handed rope pulls. The lyrics are often nonsense or about what they'll do on shore. The lyrics to New York Girls can be quite bawdy; Steeleye's version is heavily sanitized.

that's a great explanation.

 

[Ozimoto]

Here is one from "Fisherman's Friends". They are featured in a 2019 movie that is currently available on NetFlix. My wife and I enjoyed the music immensely and she gifted me a recording of them entitled "One and All" for Christmas.

They are a group of Cornish Fisherman and the movie is based on actual events.

 

[chj001]

Don't know if it's a sea shanty, but to me the song that's most evocative of the sea is Procol Harem's "A Salty Dog." With the seagulls squawking, you can almost smell low tide!!!

 

[chj001]

There's an album of sea shanties on YouTube called "Roast Beef of Old England" that has a great version of the shanty "Spanish Ladies." The song was partly sung by the sailors in "Master and Commander." Unfortunately II'm too computer illiterate to download it to the Boneyard. Sorry.

 

[chj001]

 

[dbmill]

I mentioned before that my wife and I go have been going to the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival for many years. I have seen Jerry Bryant numerous times at that festival.

 

[dbmill]

There's an album of sea shanties on YouTube called "Roast Beef of Old England" that has a great version of the shanty "Spanish Ladies." The song was partly sung by the sailors in "Master and Commander." Unfortunately II'm too computer illiterate to download it to the Boneyard. Sorry.

Don Sineti, who I mentioned before is a staff chantey man at Mystic Seaport and a regular performer at its Sea Music Festival, served as a consultant on the film Master and Commander", where they requested his input on the traditional songs used in the film.

 

[chj001]

Don Sineti, who I mentioned before is a staff chantey man at Mystic Seaport and a regular performer at its Sea Music Festival, served as a consultant on the film Master and Commander", where they requested his input on the traditional songs used in the film.

It's a real shame that they didn't follow up with one or more sequels to "Master and Commander" from the 20 books of the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. I read that Russell Crowe was more than eager to do another one. One of my all-time favorite movies. I rewatch it at least once a year.

 

[Aluminny69]

Don't know if it's a sea shanty, but to me the song that's most evocative of the sea is Procol Harem's "A Salty Dog." With the seagulls squawking, you can almost smell low tide!!!

For me, the song that's fits this description is this: ( Seagulls and all!)

 

[Aluminny69]

Even more romantic!

 

[EasyEd]

This is the one I thought of first:
Whale of a Tale

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Love, love, love that song. My favorite version:

Spanish Ladies (British Naval song), Helena Cinto

I found this song one day while I was searching for new songs to sing. I thought, "wow, it's so beautiful" and I wanted to sing it...but I couldn't find the ...

www.youtube.com

 

[Scud49]

Great Country Joe tune, from the album "Paradise With an Ocean View":

 

[dbmill]

Another favorite sea chanty of mine, this one is a Capstan chantey, used for raising or lowering anchor. David Coffin is another guy who has appeared at the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival.

 

[Hoops66]

Another favorite sea chanty of mine, this one is a Capstan chantey, used for raising or lowering anchor. David Coffin is another guy who has appeared at the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival.

David Coffin has been with the Revels in the Boston/Cambridge group for many years. He leads the Christmas Revels which is a wonderful welcome to the winter season. Check out Revels on YouTube for an intro. (David Coffin too.)

 

[Hoops66]

Try his version.