SEA SHANTIES (CHANTEYS) - A NEGLECTED AREA OF BLACK HISTORY

This Cocojams page features selected examples of family friendly sea shanties (chanteys) and comments about shanties. This page's particular focus is the core influence of Black people on the creation and/or performance of shanties in the 19th century or earlier. These examples & comments about a sample of sea shanties are presented as a means of raising awareness of this often neglected musical genre.

This page also includes several examples of African American firemen songs, which appear to be similar in construction to shanties.

This page is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of sea chanties.

All lyrics and videos that are showcased on this page are presented for their sociological, folkloric, historical, aesthetic, and entertainment value.

General Information About Sea Shanties

What Are Sea Shanties?
Sea shanties are songs about the work of sailors.
-snip-

"...a Chantey is a metrical work song, generally with verses sung by the chanteyman and choruses roared out by the crew. The work generally took place on the first beat of the chorus. This allowed the crew to coordinate their efforts."
-from a comment by EBarnacle1 posted on http://supersearch.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57499 What exactly is a sea shanty? March 6, 2003

-snip-

"Traditional shanties can be grouped into three types: short haul shanties, for tasks requiring quick pulls over a relatively short time; halyard shanties, for heavier work requiring more setup time between pulls; and capstan shanties, for long, repetitive tasks requiring a sustained rhythm, but not involving working the lines."
from Shanties and Sea Songs http://shanty.rendance.org/what.php

**
What Was The Role Of The Shantyman?
"A chanteyman directs the tempo and timing of the work and the crew follows his rhythm. That's what his job is, Coordinating the efforts of more than one person. Singing is just his tool."
-Cranky Yankee (Josh Gibson) http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34323 The origin of Sea Chanteys; May 27, 2001

-snip-

...the shanty or chantey (take your choice on the spelling) was a working song, fitted to the rhythm of the task and lasting as long as the job lasted. Forebitters or fo'c'sle songs (again, take your choice) were sung for pleasure, shanties - at least on working sailing ships, were never sung recreationally.

Certainly the British practice was that the shanty was a merchant marine thing - singing at work in the Royal Navy was a flogging offence. Shantying made up for the short-handed crews as sail tried to compete with steam - a good shantyman was worth ten extra hands on the rope.

There is no "right" set of words for a shanty. Each shantyman had his own sets, would make up verses about events or characters on board, and if the job went on after he'd finished his "normal" set of verses, he had to keep the song going, by bringing in verses from other shanties or making them up. Texts in books are just the way the song was sung once, by one particular shantyman, who may never have sung it the same way before or since.
-Crane Driver (Andrew) ; http://supersearch.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57499 What exactly is a sea shanty?; March 3, 2006

Selection Of Examples On This Page

Most of the examples of shanties that are posted on this page have some documented connection with West Indian (Caribbean), African American, and/or African sailors (as indicated by books on shanties). Other examples have text (words) that indicate their close relationship to African American and other 19th century or earlier Black dance & work songs. All of these songs can be categorized as folk songs.

I recognize that some verses from 19th century shanties, Black work songs, and Black dance songs are lifted from White black-faced minstrel songs. However, quite a number of verses from White black-faced minstrel songs were originally lifted from Black dance & work songs. There was a lot of back & forth borrowing that occurred between these song genres. Given that fact, and given the relative lack of attention collectors gave to documenting & preserving 19th Black secular songs compared to the attention given to collecting religious songs (spirituals), it's almost impossible to known which came first -the "authentic" Black dance/work song verses, or the minstrel verse.

To clarify, I am not indicating that each song that is featured on this page was "soley" composed by Black folks, though some of these songs may have been. It seems very likely that some of the verses of these songs were composed by non-Black sailors. I'm also sure that many shanties were influenced by songs performed by White black faced minstrel singers, since those songs were the "pop" music of the 19th century. However, apart from minstrel music and the fact that verses from some minstrel songs were lifted from Black dance and work songs, it's my position that Black sailors had a very significant influence on the creation and the performance of English language shanties.

Sources For The Examples

Most of the examples on this page are from selected websites. Some examples and comments are quoted from published books. I sincerely thank all the commenters, editors, and authors whose examples and/or comments about these songs are reposted on this site.

Special thanks Max Spiegel, the founder of http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm for giving me permission to repost comments from guest posters and from inactive posters to that Folk & Blues discussion forum.

Most of the examples on this page aren't easily found on the Internet or in other easily accessible resources. Brief comments may be included below some of these examples.

If a commenter or site editor sends a request to cocojams17@yahoo.com for me to remove his or her comment from Cocojams.com, I will do so.

Comment About The Use Of The "N Word" And Certain Other Dialectic Words & Phrases

As founder/editor of Cocojams.com I have decided that the "n word" will only be included on this website with asterisks or dashes or with the euphemistic term "the n word". Also, I have chosen to use the term "Black man" for the word "n****r" in the song that was originally (?) titled "Run N****r Run".

I chose to use that euphemism or that substituted referent because I consider the current use of the word "n****r" to be very offensive and highly inflammatory. I cringe when I hear or read that word regardless of who is using it. I also cringe when I read that word in the title or the content of discussion threads about 19th century or earlier songs on folkloric music discussion sites such as http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm . And I don't agree with other Black people who believe that this word can be "reclaimed", meaning that through repeated use of that word, it would no longer carry any pejorative connotations. Instead I join with other Black people and non-Black people who are opposed to the current use of the "n word" in songs, speech, or writing.

I recognize the folkloric responsiblity to document, share, and study songs, rhymes, and prose as artifacts from the past. I also recognize the fokloric responsibility to document current songs, rhymes, and other written, sung, and spoken creative works for future generations. However, I've decided that I will not use that word on this website (or elsewhere, though I've done so several times online with regard to secular slave songs) because I've concluded that for me those folkloric responsibilities don't supercede the concern that I have that documenting and showcasing songs that include offensive language practices particularly without disclaiming comments about the use of those terms 1. could be interpreted as condoning those practices in the present and/or 2. could be interpreted to mean that the person showcasing those songs doen't have any concerns or opinions about the use of those words and/or 3. could be used to condone and/or encourage the continuation of the use of those words in the future. My decision to use the euphemism "the n word" and to change that word in the above mentioned song to "the Black man" was also made because I wanted it noted and documented that some Black people (and some non-Black people) in this day & time still have negative reactions to and strong opinions about the current (and past) use of rhe word "n****r".

Similarly, in this compilation of African American secular slave songs, I have taken the liberty to substitute the word "mama" for the word "mammy" and the word "children" for the word "pickaninny". I admit that I've done this for my own aesthetic taste as I consider those words particularly offensive. However, for the folkloric record, all other 19th century dialect and vernacular words found in these examples are presented. "as is" (meaning, as I found them in the given source/s). As a means of facilitating readers' comprehension, in some examples of songs featured on this page, I've included words in parenthesis that are the currently standard form of the preceding 19th century or earlier word.

Visit Cocojams' "Mail Box" readers comment page http://www.cocojams.com/content/mail-box for a reader's comments about the deletion of dialect in songs. My response to that comment is also posted on that page.

References To Skin Color In Sea Shanties

A number of chanteys include descriptive and sometimes judgemental references to people's skin color -for example, "yella gal" with "yellow" here meaning a light skinned Black female; and a man whose skin is "black as tar". These examples are included without comment with the recognition that such references in contemporary society would generally be considered not only inappropriate but also counterproductive to interracial and intraracial rinteractions.

However, this does not mean that it's necessarily inappropriate or counterproductive nowadays to refer to your racial identity or to refer to another person's racial or ethnicity in a descriptive manner (for instance, I believe that my referring to myself as African American provides non-judgemental, descriptive, and contextual information.)

Selected Comments About Black Sailors And Sea Shanties

These excerpts from Mudcat Discussion Forum threads are sometimes posted with slight spelling corrections and changes in paragraph spacing. These entire discussion threads are well worth reading.

"First off, let me offer some historically factual statements.
In the early 18th century, merchant ships flying the British Flag, which, of course, included the colonies, began hiring sailors from the West Coast of Africa. The reason for this being that they were not Crown Subjects and therefore not elligible for impressment into the Royal Navy.

It was immediately apparent that they were excellent sailors, dependable, resourceful and hard working. So, Thousands and thousands of Africans were eventually signed on to these merchant ships.

fact #2
Africans have a centuries old tradition of coordinating the efforts of more than one person, by singing

fact #3
Oliver Hazard Perry proved to the world that "Brittania did NOT rule the waves of lake Erie" with a force from my hometown, Newport, Rhode Island, consisting of (most historians agree)50% free African American Sailors.

The above facts are offered to show that there were a LOT of African and Afro American sailors on English speaking merchant ships. Now here comes my theory, The African sailors brought the tradition of singing to coordinate work aboard with them./ This quickly caught on when the other sailors saw how much smoother and easier the work became. Sthe ship owners, found that with this practice they could operate their ships with fewer crewmen and did so, thereby enabling them to cut costs (Crew requirements being the larges operating expense) and undercut the rates of every other country's ships. The result being that we, US and British, eventually had huge fleets of sailing merchant ships, their numbers being way out of proportion to our population…
- Cranky Yankee (Josh Gibson) http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34323 "The Origin Of Sea Chanties"; May 14, 2001

****
"Actually I agree with Cranky Yankee about the probable origin of the shanty being African. I have seen plenty of examples of African laborers working and singing. Be that as it may, it was then taken on board by sailors of many nations and modified to fit the language and customs of those sailors.

One additional source of African sailors was slavery. Sometimes a slave was sold or even rented to a ship captain. For some it became the path to freedom.
Anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the experts were guilty of a little racial prejudice in their research and glossed over the African origin of the custom of using songs with labor."
-Naemanson ; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34323 "The Origin Of Sea Chanties" ; May 14, 2001

****
"A point chantey collectors also make is that black and western European influences criss-crossed over several decades, so that a song that originated in some form by black laborers was picked up by, say, Irish laborers, taken to sea, adapted, and then picked up again by black seafarers and changed again. The process also may have started with songs originated by Irish seafarers/shore laborers, and picked up by blacks, be they African Americans or Caribbean sailors, etc. In other words, the folk process was at work in the "shanty mart" of Mobile that [Stan] Hugill wrote about. "Hieland Laddie" is a good example. Scottish Highland pipers know it as a very old traditional march, chantey singers know it as a song adapted from the march with a slightly different melody, that dates back to the Dundee whalers, but was picked up, according to Hugill, in the great shanty mart of Mobile and mutated into several North American versions.

Though my reading of the collections and history doesn't point to the call/response form of those songs being totally of African origin, it's clear that the 19th Century form these songs took owes much, maybe more than we realize, to black influences. To add to Ma Fazoo's good point about how history has been written, there certainly has been a bias on the part of historians to pay more attention to cultures that have accumulated a written history, and less on cultures that have relied on transmitting their histories orally, down through generations. The vibrant oral culture of 19th Century African Americans was, for the most part, ignored by professional historians until recent times. Whether knowledge of the history of blacks and work songs aboard ships will be increased due to a wider consciousness on the part of today and tomorrow's historians, or whether those answrs are lost forever, who knows. Historians and folklorists are detectives, and hopefully we'll know more about Jody's theory at some point than we do now."
-chanteyranger ; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34323 "The Origin Of Sea Chanties" ; May 16, 2001

****
"The West Coast of Africa has been trading with Europeans since at least as 1455 when Portuguese mariner, Alvise daMosto noted down the size & capacity of their huge canoes & Fernandez reports in 1506 canoes that carried 120 men. In the late 17th century the Dutch factor William Bosman writing from Elmina Fortress on the Gold Coast notes how he'd watch 5 to 600 of these canoes set out fishing every morning & how dependent European traders were on Africans & their boats. So we do have it that Africans & Europeans were at least paddling in the canoe since very early on, maybe before the noted Venetian galleys of 1493 as reported by Felix Fabri. The Virginia Gazette in 1774 notes an impertinent runaway Negro woman who was fond of liquor & singing indecent sailor songs. In 1785 a New England merchant notes the cheerful & pleasant sounds of Negro labor while working the falls.

The 1st impressment & imprisonment of American sailors was in 1807 2 of the 4 were sailors of color & of the eventual 5000 impressed prisoners in Dartmoor Prison 22% to 25% were Afro Americans & their musical bands were aalways in the forefront. The Black/Indian captain Paul Cuffe writes of the whaling brig, the Traveler with all it's black crew visiting Port-Au-Prince 8 yr after Haitian independence, I believe this to be the same Traveler mentioned in a song written by one of the all black crew members of the whaling schooner, the Industry, with whom they were rendezvousing with in 1822. Robert Hay (Landsman Hay) describes longshoremen using negro worksongs in 1809 & again aboard the Edward in 1811 of blacks working the capstan for loading cargo, giving the words to 2 of the songs. The Quid, in 1832 shows a black fiddler on top of a capstan singing. Olmstead describes in 1841 on a whaling voyage. of a black sea cook leading the rest in worksong.

The 1st third of the 19th century was increasingly good sailors, while the 2nd third saw their prospects receding & by the last 3rd they were becoming a relic. Even though blacks in general stayed at sea far longer than their white counteparts, becoming the Old Salts to the younger 1 or 2 passage making green hands, they were still to almost completely disaappear from the sea (except as cooks & stewards) by the time Captain Whall states no real shanties were made after 1875, leaving only their mark on the songs. Is it all that strange that the music of the Manhaden fisheries died when the black fishermen ceased to fish or the last of the slave labor songs end with the Georgia Sea Island Singers or the last of the shanties could be heard among the West Indian sailors or the prison worksongs died when the blacks stopped needing them & is it any wonder that onf all these trades examples can be found were some of the versions of the cross over into the different trades while in the the white culture group labor singing died out when?"
-Barry Finn; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34323 "The Origin Of Sea Chanties" ; May 25, 2001

-snip-

Here is another thought provoking comment from another Mudcat thread on shanties:
[Regarding the shanty "Yeller Girls" (also known as "Doodle Let Me Go"] "And I am sure it was a fusion, but then again, what is not? The tunes may very well be of Irish derivation. The challenge will be distinguishing what precedents are most relevant to the historical context. The melodic influences on, say Jamaican stevedores, may have included Irish polkas, since what is "Jamaican culture" --or any culture-- but a fusion of past influences? This influences become relevant when they suggest something of significance at that historical moment...

In my working sketch, the most important aspect of it all at this "moment" was a paradigm for singing while working. The non-Black commenters have remarked on Black work-singing as if it were a practice distinct from their own. My contention is that there was something culturally remarkable about African-American work-song practice. One aspect, for example, was the feature whereby a gang of workers might have an individual who *only* sings (and gets paid for it!). Another aspect is the specific *form* of these songs.

So I've an open bias towards looking to African-American work-singing for some answers, at this point. This does not mean I think "chanteys are African"; on the contrary, I think they are fusion. However, my hypothesis is that the "new phenomenon" of "chanties" was based in what at the time was a work-song practice of the African-American community."
- from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=545&page=1 The Advent and Development of Chanties ;Gibb Sahib ; March 21, 2010

Personal Comment

It appears to me that very few people are aware of the very significant influence African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and Africans had on the composition and performances of sea shanties.

It's difficult to reclaim, honor, study, and/or perform our artistic expressions when we're not aware of the existence of those artistic expressions. I'm trying to add to the efforts by bringing more attention to this largely neglected portion of Black culture.

I recognize that many of the comments from White collectors and, sometimes, from Black people who served as informants (contributors of those songs to collectors) are demeaning to Black people. It's possible that demeaning comments from Black informants about other Black people were examples of shuckin & jivin (telling the "massa" what he expected to hear). Nevertheless, it can be harmful to one's self-esteem to read such comments. However, perhaps because Black people are now more self-confident about our racial identity, we can learn about, and reclaim this music and other types of music that may include demeaning depictions of Black people.

We Black people had a large part in creating these musical genres. It's part of our roots and culture. As the Ghanaian adinkra proverb Sankofa says "It is never too late to go back and fetch what we have left behind."

Disclaimer:
I consider myself a rhyme/song collector and a community folklorist. I'm not an expert on this subject or on any other subject.

Various Online & Off-Line Resources About Black People & Sea Shanties

http://www.seacoastnh.com/blackhistory/jacks.html An Interview With
W. Jeffrey Bolster "Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail," Harvard University Press, 1997

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty

http://www.stanhugill.com/
(information about a foremost authority on shanties, Stan Hugill.)

http://quashieart.blogspot.com/2010/06/menhaden-chanteymen.html
(article about African American shanty singing group from Beaufort, North Carolina)

Acknowledgements & Thanks

Thanks to all who help raise awareness of and appreciation for these songs!

I am heavily indebted to the research and writing of "Gibb Sahib* as well as other posters to this discussion thread that Gibb Sahib started on March 20, 2010: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=557 The Advent and Development of Chanties. That complete thread is must reading for those inerested in this subject.

*For the historical record, "Gibb Sahib" is the screen name for an Anglo-American man who holds a PH.D and has a keen interest in the history & performance of shanties.

Related Cocojams Pages

http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs

http://www.cocojams.com/content/american-banjo-fiddle-songs

http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs

****
Contact Information

Please send lyrics of Sea Shanties to cocojams17@yahoo.com for possible posting on this page. Thanks!

Your email address is never posted or shared.

Or, if you are on facebook, visit me at cocojams jambalayah, and befriend me or send me a private message.

Thanks to all those who send in links to lyrics, videos, and information!

Ms. Azizi Powell,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

last revision on 4/18/2012

EXAMPLES OF SEA SHANTIES (CHANTEYS)

A, B
ALABAMA JOHN CHEROKEE (Version #1)
Traditional - As sung by Captain Jesse Schaffer

This is the story of John Cherokee.

Alabama John Cherokee!
An Indian man from Miramichi.

Alabama John Cherokee!
Wey, hey, yah!
Alabama John Cherokee!

John Cherokee was an Indian man.
They made him a slave down in Alabam'.

They made him a slave on a whaling ship.
Time after time they gave him the slip.

They catched him again and they chained him tight.
Kept him chained both the day and night.

Gave him nothing to eat and nothing to drink,
Until his bones began to clink.

Nothing to drink and nothing to eat,
'Til he dropped dead at the captain's feet.

Now his ghost can be seen,
Sitting on the main truck wet and green.

****
ALABAMA JOHN CHEROKEE (Version #2)
Traditional - Lyrics from Songs of American Sailormen by Joanna Colcord

John Cherokee was an Indian man,
Alabama, John Cherokee!
He run away every time he can,
Alabama, John Cherokee!
Way ay yah!
Alabama, John Cherokee!
Way ay yah!
Alabama, John Cherokee!

They put him aboard a Yankee ship,
Again he gave the boss the slip.

They catch him again and chain him tight,
And starve him many days and nights.

He have nothing to drink and nothing to eat,
So he just gone dead at the boss's feet.

So they bury him by the old gate post,
And the day he died, you can see his ghost.

Source: http://www.jsward.com/shanty/JohnCherokee/colcord.html
(retrieved 2/18/2011)

Editor:
Here's a comment about this song (posted with slight spacing changes)

"[Stan] Hugill has it as Alabama or as an alternative just John Cherokee & says that his [Black West Indian] friend Harding states that it was common among "colored crowds in the old West Indian Traders". He has the chorus as "With a hauley high, an' a hauley low" instead of the more common version which Captain Robinson's version in 'The Bellman' (Minneapolis 1917) has which is "Way-aye-yah."

He believes it comes to sea by way of cotton hoosiers of Mobile & aslo believes it dates back to slavery days either in the West Indies or the Southern Staes.Colcord has this as "John Cherokee" & she says "some of the verbs & the phrase "'just gone dead'" lead me to suspect that it may be of West Indian orgin". Then she quotes Captain Robinson "I heard it during the Civil War at Nassau, while the crew was loading cotton on the ship 'Hilja'...Probably it started without any naval quality, & was adapted for such use by reason of it's vigor & swing", he has this being used at the capstan.
-Barry Finn; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=83748 Alabama John Cherokee ; August 18, 2006

Editor: Click http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/sea-shanty/Alabama_John_Cherokee.htm for a text example of this song which more clearly shows the way the refrain can be sung.

****
BLOW THE MAN DOWN [w/ score]
1903 Whitmarsh, H. Phelps. "The Chantey-man." _Harper's Monthly Magazine_ 106(632) (Jan. 1903): 319-

As I was a-walking down Paradise Street.
Way! Hey! Blow the man down.
A pretty young damsel I chanced for to meet.
Give me some time to blow the man down.
Says she, young man, will you stand treat?
'Way! Hey! Blow the man down.
Delighted, says I, for a charmer so sweet.
Give me some time to blow the man down.

And so on until a loud " Belay!" from the mate announces that the yard is high enough. In a long haul like this a poor chantey-man will repeat each line twice, while a good improvisatore will scorn such a spinning out, and turn the song upon current events, the officers, and the food. A chantey-man invariably alters certain words to suit himself...
-posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&page=2 The Advent and Development of Chanties; Gibb Sahib; February 16, 2011

Editor:
The poster indicates that this is a "Hauling song". Here's another quote from Whitmarsh who transcribed this song and others in 1903

"Most of the melodies are undoubtedly of English origin, though in many cases they have been influenced by contact with other nations. Thus we find a number of ancient airs set to words distinctly American, such as those of "Shenandoah," "Sally Brown," and "On the Banks of the Sacramento." The first two doubtless came from some Southern cotton ports, as they bear ear-marks of negro singers."

****
BILLY RILEY
Oh Billy Riley, Mister Billy Riley
Oh Billy Riley oh
Billy Riley, Mister Billy Riley
Oh Billy Riley oh

Oh Billy Riley was a dancing master
Oh Billy Riley oh
Billy Riley was a dancing master
Oh Billy Riley oh

Oh Billy Riley shipped aboard a droger
Oh Billy Riley oh…

Oh Billy Riley wed the skipper's daughter
Oh Billy Riley oh…

Oh Mrs Riley didn't like sailors
Oh Mrs Riley oh…

Oh Mrs Riley had a lovely daughter
Oh Mrs Riley oh…

Oh Missy Riley, pretty Missy Riley
Oh Missy Riley oh…

Oh Missy Riley, screw her up to Chile
Oh Missy Riley oh…

Oh Billy Riley, Mister Billy Riley
Oh Billy Riley oh…

Shanty, as sung by Mitch Reynolds with the Shellback Chorus.

According to the dictionary, a droger is a West Indian coasting vessel, with long masts and lateen sails (from the Dutch droogen -to dry- originally this was a vessel on which fish were dried.)
- posted http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46593&messages=35 "Billy Riley" by Noreen, April 16. 2002

Editor:
Several post in that thread indicate that "to Chile" is a folk processed form of the word "cherrily" which means "quickly", Here's an explanation of the phrase "screw her up": "It is most definately "cheerily" but it is pronounced "cheer'ly", and that is where the confusion stems from. "Screw him up" is an expression used aboard sailing vessels and means tighten up. It probably comes from the use of Jack Screws, which were employed to stow cargo as tightly as possible below decks - usually cotton bales, but other bulky stuff as well.

Dancing Master is correct, the switch to Boarding Master [that is found in some versions of this shanty] is most amusing, and speaks more about folk clubs wanting to do "the right thing" and so completely missing the point."
[posted in that same thread by Dead Horse in September 17. 2003]

Here's a comment about the "Billy Reilly" shanty from http://www.iol.ie/~didly-didly/warp5.html that was quoted in that thread by masato sakurai:
Billy Riley
"A song popular in Green's Blackwall ships sailing from London in the 1850s. It started life as a cotton hoosiers chant, and is obviously African American in origin. Later it went to sea and became one of the most popular halyards shanties of the day."

****
BOUND TO GO
Heave a- way, John Brown A- -a a - a- ay! Three prey-ty girls bound for Bal- ti- mo re ci- ty, Heave a- way my bon-ny boy, we're all bound to go!

Second Line:
You yellow girl, now let'a me go!
- posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=135696&messages=28 Sea Chanty Lyrics and MIDI tunes by shipcmo; February 15, 2011

****
BULLY IN THE ALLEY
(shown here as per Hugill, not as sung)

So 'elp me bob, I'm bully in the alley,
Way-a-a a-a-a, bul-ly in the alley!
So 'elp me bob, I'm bully in the alley,
Bul-ly down in Shinbone Al!

Sally am de gal down in our alley,
Sally am de gal that I spliced nearly,

I'll leave my Sal an' I'll go a-sailin',
I'll leave my Sal an' go a-whalin'.

['bully' = drunk
'bob' generally means more-or-less God & maybe from 'Babe' as in "So help me, Jesus" -- an oath, not as in asking Bob for help.]
- posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=31335 Lyr Req: Bully in the Alley
by Abby Sale June 17, 2002

Editor:
"Bully In The Alley" is described in this post as a "rousing pumping chantey". It is also described in this thread as "coming from the West Indies". This comment was also including in that post: "[Stan] Hugull just notes that more verses should be improvized
onto this base (as with any chantey)."

C, D
COAL BLACK ROSE
O, me Rosie, coal black rose
Don't ye hear the banjo
Ping-a-pong-a-pong?
On, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose!

2. O, me Rosie, coal black Rose,
Strung up like a banjo,
Allu taut an' long,
On, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose!

3. O, me Rosie, coal black Rose,
The yard is now a-movin',
Hauley-hauley ho!
On, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose!

4. The Mate be comes around, boys,
Dinging an'a dang.
Hauley-hauley ho!
On, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose!

5. Give her one more pull, boys,
Rock an' roll' er high.
Hauley-hauley ho!
On, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose!
- http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/sea-shanty/Coal_Black_Rose.htm

****
CONGO RIVER
Chorus: Way, hey, hey, me bully boys.

Oh, what a hell of a wedding over Congo river
Monkey married to the Baboon's daughter

What do you think they had for their dinner
Mosquito, gull and sandfly liver

Monkey get up to take some rice
Baboon say, ``Leave the rice alone''

Monkey get up to take some rice
Monkey say, ``I might take along''

Monkey married to the Baboon's daughter
Monkey and Baboon take everything for themselves

Nobody take a taste from them
(Repeat 1st two verses)
- http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=1325 [Listed as Congo River 2] ; retrieved on June 2, 2011

Editor:
Posting in 1997, Barry Finn from Mudcat described this as a West Indian rowing shanty.http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=1711&messages=9#5960 The Monkey Married The Baboon's Sister. Information about and lyrics of that song is posted in that Mudcat thread.

Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs for a social dance version of this song from the Turks & Caicos island (posted under the name "Conch Style").
This song is also known as "The Monkey's Wedding and "The Monkey Married The Baboon's Sister".

****
DAVID MOURNING FOR HIS SON
From Scribners Magazine, Volume LXVIII, July-December, 1920, entitled "The Trail to Kaieteur", which is in British Guiana, by Eleanor Beers Lestrade (with photos). (pp. 566-570)

"Sunday, May 11 (1919?)
We, and our men and supplies were loaded into a thirty-foot boat that was to take us to the next falls at Amatuk, and we left Kangaruma soon after sunrise. The bowman stood or squatted in the bow, then came four pairs of paddlers, then Jones half asleep, then the four of us, and in the stern three paddlers and the captain, who steered. The men had short paddles that threw the water high in the air with every stroke, and clicked in unison on the gunwales of the boat.

There was a tremendous current, and even keeping as close to the bank as we did, our progress was very slow. When we watched the water that raced past us, it seemed as if we were flying, but when we watched the bank we saw that we scarcely moved.

One of the paddlers called out, "Water me, water me." Another splashed some water with his paddle. This meant that the first paddler had a song that he could not rest until he had sung, and the other by splashing the water showed that he was waiting with the greatest impatience to hear the song and join in the chorus. These songs, or chanteys, were very simple and monotonous in words and music, but wonderfully melodious when sun by a dozen happy, lusty blacks paddling up a tropical river. The men clicked their paddles on the gunwales in time to the chantey, and paddled much better when they sang.

Sometimes we could understand and make sense out of the words, but more often not. The chantey-man would sing the first line of the song, and the others would join in the second line. If it was a pretentious song with more than two lines, the chantey-man would sing the third line, and the chorus would wind up the verse. This would be repeated over and over again, until the chantey-man was tired, or thought of a new song he would rather sing. Then he would call, "Compliment! Compliment!" and we would clap, and tell him we were enchanted with his performance.

As it was Sunday, they interspersed the programme with "Sunday chanteys." One of these ran something like this:

"David mourning for his son, Absalom;
(Chorus) Son Absalom, son Absalom.
David mourning for his son, Absalom;
(Chorus) Absalom, Absalom, Absalom."
- posted in http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=557 ; The Advent and Development of Chanties by John Minear ; March 31, 2010

Editor:
I reposted this long post because of the information it contains about shanty singing and not just because of the example of the shanty.

Here is another excerpt from that passage about another Sunday chanteys:
"I remember the chorus only of the other Sunday chantey, which ran:
Fire burning down below, hey ho!
Fire burning down below!"

-snip-
This fire may have referred to "hell's fire", but the song itself may have been reminscent of the fireman shanties. A few examples of those shanties are provided on this page.

Btw, that passage also mentions the shanty "Blow De Man Down". Here's that quote:
"The man was to be blown down with a bottle of rum or a bottle of gin, or anything that wasn't prohibition, and he was to be blown down to Amatuk, Waratuk, or Kaieteur Falls, or anywhere the chantey-man wanted him blown. With this range of variations to choose from, this song could be kept up much longer than the others."

****
DOODLE LET ME GO (also known as YELLER GALS)
I wish I was in Madame Gashay's, down in Callayo,
Hooraw! Me yeller gals, doodle let me go!

Doodle let me go, me gals
Doodle let me go,
Hooraw! Me yeller gals, doodle let me go!

She guv me gin, she guv me food, she took me to a room.

She swung her hips, she tripped her feet, she winked her sassy eye.

She grabbed me by the bobstay, boys, she danced me 'round the room.

The mate is drunk, the crew is drunk, the ol' man's got a load.

We'll tie a rope 'round Madame Gashay's an' take the place in tow.
http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3271

Editor:
Here's a comment that Barry Finn wrote on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=49421 Lyr Req: Yeller Gals - Doodle or Do Not? which was posted in support of his opinion that that the word "doodle" was a misinterpretation of the Carribean phrase "dou dou":

As I roved out one morning
away you roller bowler
I met a duo dou fair"

"Darling do do I'm going to St Peter's"
Darling do do I'm taking you with me"

**
Here's a long comment that I wrote on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=49421 Lyr Req: Yeller Gals - Doodle or Do Not? in which I provided information support of the view that "doodle" was a misinterpretation of the phrase "dou dou" meaning "sweetheart".

"Dou-Dou" (pronounced "do do" is an Eastern Caribbean word meaning "sweetheart". In the context of that line, the English wrod "fair" means "(physically) attractive". Thus, in my opinion, the line "I met a duo dou fair" means "I met an attractive beautiful (or handsome if the gender is male) sweetheart." And I believe that the line "darling do do" means "darling sweetheart" ...

-snip-

http://dictionary.sensagent.com/doudou/fr-fr/ indicates that "dou dou" is a French term that means "ma cherie":

"definitions Magnifique,doudou ourson, de marque Comptine (1.0 EUR)
Commercial use of this term

doudou (n.f.)1.(familier)ma chérie, aux Antilles." ...

E, F,
FINE TIME OF DAY
"West India Sketch Book, vol 1, by Trelawney Wentworth (Published 1834 or earlier?). It appears to refer to events possibly of 1822 or earlier. They are headed for the island of Saint Thomas.

For some distance they had pulled at an easy rate and in silence, as if made unconscious of the work they were engaged in, by the absorbing interest of the passing scenes, but at length they were roused to activity by the word of preparation for a song having been passed among them, and the negro pulling the oar nearest to us, began a singular prelude which sounded between a grunt and a groan, like a paviour's accompaniment to his labour, or the exordium of a quaker, when " the spirit" begins to move. He became more energetic with each succeeding stroke of the oar, which produced a corresponding ardour, and greater precision in pulling among the other rowers, and when this was effected, another negro, whose countenance bore the stamp of much covert humour and sagacity, and who appeared to be a sort of improvisatore among them, commenced a lively strain which accorded exactly in time with the motion of pulling, each line of the song accompanying the impetus given to the boat, and the whole crew joining in chorus in the intervals between every stroke of the oars. The subject matter of the song was as discursive and lengthy as Chevy Chase; and it showed an aptitude at invention on the part of the leader, as well as a tolerable acquaintance with the weak side of human nature, on the score of flattery: a small portion of it will suffice.

Hurra, my jolly boys
CH: Fine time o' day
We pull for San Thamas boys
CH: Fine time o' day
Nancy Gibbs and Betsy Braid
CH: Fine time o' day
Massa come fra London town
CH: Fine time o' day ETC
Massa is a hansome man,
Fine time o' day.
Massa is a dandy-man,
Fine time o' day.
Him hab de dollar, plenty too,
Fine time o' day.
Massa lub a pretty girl,
Fine time o' day.
Him lub 'em much, him lub 'em true,
Fine time o' day.
Him hunt 'em round de guaba bush,
Fine time o' day.
Him catch 'em in de cane piece,
Fine time o' day.

-posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=545&page=1 "The Advent and Development of Chanties" by Gibb Sahib; March 23, 2010

Editor:
The referent to "Chevy Chase" is probably a referent to a 16rh century English ballad.Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Chevy_Chase for more information.

****
FIRE DOWN BELOW

Editor:
Examples from the "Fire Down Below" song family are posted together regardless of their titles. Note that "Fire The Ringo" is technically not a sea shanty but a cotton stowing song (land work song).

THE STOKER'S CHAUNT
Now, some firemen's songs from that decade (1830s). I am not sure of the exact nature of work of the (mainly Black) "firemen" on river steamboats. Were they shoveling in coal, as on a locomotive? Was it logs they threw into a furnace, down below? More info, please! Whatever the case, the environment evokes the phrase, "Fire down below."

From Bentley's Miscellany, vol 4, New York, Sept. 1839,
taking place in a steamboat. Here's the song.

The ebben tide ib floating past,
Fire down below!
The arrival time ib coming fast.
Fire down below!
Racoon cry in de maple tree,
Fire down below!
The wood ib on fire, and the fire a sea,
Fire down below!
Oo a oo oh ! fire down below!"

... It appears to be related to a "fire down below" chantey that will continue to appear in the 19th century.
- posted in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&page=2 The Advent and Development of Chanties ; Gibb Sahib ; March 25, 2010

****
FIRE THE RINGO
Excerpt of "Letters From Alabama (1859),
[in the letter] dated December 31,1838. Phillip Henry Gosse, mentions the cotton-screwing shanty, "Fire the ringo" (page 305-306)

"I have been amused by observing the crew stowing the cargo. After what I said of the way in which the cotton is screwed into the bales, you would suppose that these were incapable of further compression. But it is not so. When the stowed bales in the hold are in contact with the upper deck, another layer has to be forced in. This is effected, bale by bale, by powerful jack-screws, worked by four men. When you see the end of the bale set against a crevice, into which you could scarcely push a thin board, you think it impossible that it can ever get in; and, indeed, the operation is very slow, but the screw is continually turned, and the bale does gradually insinuate itself.

The men keep the most perfect time by means of their songs. These ditties, though nearly meaningless, have much music in them, and as all join in the perpetually recurring chorus, a rough harmony is produced, by no means unpleasing. I think the leader improvises the words, of which the following is a specimen; he singing one line alone, and the whole then giving the chorus, which is repeated without change at every line, till the general chorus concludes the stanza:—

"I think I hear the black cock say,
Fire the ringo, fire away !
They shot so hard, I could not stay;
Fire the ringo ! fire away !
So I spread my wings, and flew away;
Fire the ringo ! &c.
I took my flight and ran away ;
Fire, &c.
All the way to Canaday;
Fire, &c.
To Canaday, to Canaday,
Fire, &c.
All the way to Canaday.
Ringo ! ringo ! blaze away!
Fire the ringo ! fire away!"

Sometimes the poet varied the subject by substituting political for zoological allusions. The victory over the British at New Orleans — that favourite theme with all Americans—was chosen. Thus:—

" Gin'ral Jackson gain'd the day ;
Fire the ringo, &c.
At New Orleans he won the day;
Fire the ringo, fire away!"
-posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&page=2 The Advent and Development of Chanties; Gibb Sahib; March 25, 2010

****
FIRE MARENGO
Lift him up and carry him along,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Send him down where he belongs,
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Stow him down in the hold below,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
One more turn and then we'll go
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Ease him down and let him lay,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
One more turn and then we're away
Fire Marengo, fire away.

When I gets back to Liverpool town,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
I'll pass a line to little Sally Brown
Fire Marengo, fire away.

I'll haul her high, I'll haul her low,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
I'll bust her blocks and make her go
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Sally, she's a pretty little craft,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Sharp to the fore with a rounded aft
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Screw the cotton, screw it down
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Let's get the hell from Mobile town
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Lift him up and carry him along,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Send him down where he belongs,
Fire Marengo, fire away.

Lyrics from Stan Hugill's "Shanties from the Seven Seas."
- http://www.boundingmain.com/lyrics/fire_marengo.htm (retrieved february 19, 2011)

Editor:
Gib Sahib wrote this thought provoking comment in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&page=2 The Advent and Development of Chanties thread on March 26, 2010 :
"But let the 1840s now fly!-- Fire away, my Ringo, Mr. Marengo, you dear old Mandingo of my Kingdom! It's cotton-screwing season!"

-snip-
There's no way of really knowing, but now that tI read that suggestion, it seems likely to me that "fire the ringo", "fire marengo", and "fire maringo" could be folk processed forms of "fire, Mandingo" (with Madingo being an ethnic referent used in place of a personal name). Such practices have been documented in African American history and that also may have been the custom in the history of the Caribbean.

Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandingo_people_of_Sierra_Leone
"The Mandinka people of Sierra Leone (commonly referred to as Mandingo or Mandinka) is a major ethnic group in Sierra Leone and they are the descendants of Mandinka settlers from Guinea who migrated to Sierra Leone between 1840 to about 1900. The Mandingo officially constitute 7.8% of Sierra Leone's population and they are members of the Mandinka people of West Africa with whom they share the same culture and language."...

****
FIRE DOWN BELOW
Solo
Ea- sy, ea- sy, John Brown!
Cho.
Too ma ha- a- a- ay, ho!
Solo
Ea-sy John Brown, why don't you come a-long?
Cho.
O, fire down be-low
Solo
Fire in the main-top, fire down be-low;
Cho.
Too ma ha- a- a- ay, ho!
Solo
Fire in the main-top, fire down be-low,
Cho.
O, fire down be-low

Fire in the mizzen-top, fire in the chains
Fire in the galley, cook, don't you know?
Ev'rybody call me Liverpool Tom.
Ev'rybody call me Sam, but I don't gilly-be-dam.
We're a bully crew, bully captain too!
- http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=135696&messages=28 Sea Chanty Lyrics and MIDI tunes ; shipcmo ; February 15, 2011

Editor:
See also "The Fireman Sailor" and "Heave Away" posted below for other firemen songs.

G, H
GROG GOOD TIME OF DAY
In Service Afloat (published 1833), a British sailor describes observations from during his service during the Napoleanic Wars. So, 1815 or earlier (probably not much earlier). In Antigua, he observed a song for rowing. It was another version of "Grog time of Day," showing that that song was spread through the West Indies. His transcription gives a better idea of the complete form of this work song:

Massa lock de door, and take away de key
Hurra, my jolly boys, grog time a day
CH: Grog time a day, my boys, grog time a day,
Hurra, my jolly boys, grog time a day
- posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=545&page=1 "The Advent and Development of Chanties" by Gibb Sahib; March 21, 2010

****
HAUL AWAY, JOE
From Briggs, L. Vernon. "Around Cape Horn to Honolulu on the Bark "Amy Turner" 1880".(Boston: Charles E. Lauriat Co 1926 [1925])
"The shanty we most often heard when boarding a main tack or hauling aft the fore sheet was:

Solo: Once I had a yaller gal—I kept her like a lady—
Chorus: Way, haul away, haul away, Joe!
Solo: Once I had a yaller gal—I kept her like a lady—
Chorus: Way, haul away, haul away, Joe!

Now I've got an Irish girl, she's dirty, fat and lazy—

You'd better sell your fiddle and buy your wife a gown—

I wouldn't sell my fiddle for all the wives in town.

Now I'm sparking a Spanish lass—She almost sets me crazy—

Oh, thence, boys, I'll never give her up for Miss Long-legs-Daisy.

O boys, I'll pass the grog around when i marry the Spanish lady—

O, my boys, she's the lass—She'll court you nice and easy—"
- posted in http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=557 The Advent and Development of Chanties by Gibb Sahib; January 23, 2011

****
HEAVE AWAY
Heave away, heave away!
I'd rather court a yellow gal than work for Henry Clay.
Heave away, heave away! . . .
Yellow gal, I want to go,
I'd rather court a yellow gal than work for Henry Clay.
Heave away!
Yellow gal, I want to go!

[This is one of the Savannah firemen's songs of which Mr. Kane O'Donnel gave a graphic account in a letter to the Philadelphia Press. "Each company," he says, "has its own set of tunes, its own leader, and doubtless in the growth of time, necessity and invention, its own composer."]
- William Francis Allen, et al. "Slave Songs Of The United States, 1867; http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/allen/allen.html (retrieved 2/22/2011)

****
HI HO MY DANDY-OH
Oh a dandy ship and a dandy crew,
Hi Ho My Dandy-oh!
A dandy mate and a skipper too,
Hi Ho My Dandy-oh!

Oh what shall I do for my dandy crew?
Hi Ho My Dandy-oh!
I'll give them wine and brandy too,
Hi Ho My Dandy-oh!

Notes:

From a whaling ship's log (date unknown) transcribing the singing of the Black cook "Doctor" while the crew were "cutting out" a whale, according to the historian A. Howard Clark.
- posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=542&page=3 "The Advent and Development of Chanties" by Charley Noble ; March 29, 2010

****
HUCKLEBERRY HUNTING

Editor: This shanty is also called Ranzo Ray and The Wild Goose Shanty. Each example of this shanty family that are featured on this page are posted together not matter which title is used.

HUCKLEBERRY HUNTING (Version #1)
Windlass or Pumping shanty

Oh, the boys and the girls went a-huckleberry hunting,
To me hay To me Way to me hey o way!
Oh, the boys and the girls went a-huckleberry hunting,
And sing Hilo, me Ranzo Ray!

Then a little girl ran off, and a little boy ran after,
The little girl fell down and he saw her little garter.

He said, "I'll be your beau if you'll have me for a feller,"
But the little girl said "No, for me sweetheart's Johnny Miller."

Then took her on his knee, an' he kissed her right and proper
She kissed him back agen, an' he didn't try to stop 'er

An' then he put his arm all about her waspy waist
She sez "Oh um, young man you are in great haste"

An' then he put his hand all upon her knee
She sez "Oh um, young man you're a little bit to free"

An' then he put his hand yet higher still.
She sez "Oh um, young man that is really quite a thrill!"

Oh, I'm shanteyman of this workin' party
So sing lads, pull lads, so strong and hearty
- posted on http://supersearch.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46147 Lyr Add: Huckleberry Hunting (Pumping Chantey) by Wincing Devil ; April 5, 2002

****
HUCKLEBERRY HUNTING (Version #2)
"Huckleberry Hunting" as a halliard (or halyard) shanty is in Joanna C. Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen (1938; Oak, 1964, p. 65). The tune is almost the same, with 1-3 stanzas Wincing Devil posted above and a similar chorus:

Oh, the boys and the girls went a-huckleberry hunting,
To me way-aye-aye-aye-aye-i-yah
Oh, the boys and the girls went a-huckleberry hunting,
And sing highlow, my Ranzo Ray!
-posted on http://supersearch.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46147 Lyr Add: Huckleberry Hunting (Pumping Chantey) by masato sakurai ;April 5, 2002

****
RANZO RAY also known as THE WILD GOOSE SHANTY and HUCKLEBERRY HUNTING) (Version #1)
Oh, I'm shanteyman of the workin' party
Timme way, timme hey, timme he ho hay
So sing lads, pull lads, so strong and hearty
An' sing Hilo, me Ranzo Ray!

I'm shantyman or the Wild Goose nation,
Got a maid that I lert on the big plantation,

Oh the sassiest gal o' that Wild Goose nation
Is her that I left on the big plantation.

Oh, the boys an' the gals went a huckleberry huntin'
The gals began to cry an' the boys they dowsed their buntin'
(stopped their huntin)(stopped their courtin')

Then a little gal ran off an' a little boy ran arter;
The little gal rell down an' he saw her little garter.

Said he 'I'll be yer beau, if ye'll have me for yer feller
But the little gal said,'No,'cos me sweetheat's Jackie Miller.'

But he took her on his knee, an' he kissed her right and proper
She kissed him back agen, an' he didn't try to sto-o-p'er

An' then he put his arm all around her tight and waspy waist
Sez she, 'Young man, you're showin' much too great a haste!'

From Shanties from the Seven Seas, Hugill

http://supersearch.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4884

****
RANZO RAY (also known as THE WILD GOOSE SHANTY and HUCKLEBERRY HUNTING) (Version #2)
Oh, I'm shantyman of the workin' party
Timme way, timme hey, timme he ho hay
So sing lads, pull lads, so strong and hearty
An' sing Hilo, me Ranzo Ray!

I'm shantyman or the Wild Goose nation,
Got a maid that I left on the big plantation,

-snip--

Oh, the boys an' the gals went a huckleberry huntin'
The gals began to cry an' the boys they dowsed their buntin'

It's seemed to me (just to keep it confused) that "We'll Ranzo Way" is a very different song from "Ranzo Ray" even though both are sometimes called "Wild Goose Shanty."
-Abby Sale http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8009 "Wild Goose Shanty" background ; December 10, 1998

Editor:
See examples of "Huckleberry Hunting" on this page.

**
I posted a number of comments on the thread of this YouTube video of "The Wild Goose Shanty" The video uploader's comments, other viewers, and my comments can be found by clicking this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRrRysUyOpc

Also, click http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs to find examples of songs that mention the "Wild Goose Nation"

I, J
JENNY GO TO MARKET
Jenny go to market for buy me yarrow prantin,
Heigh me know, bombye me takey.
Chorus—Heigh me know &c.
Heigh me know &c.

Me nebur know before Jenny bin a bad gal,
Heigh me know, bombye me takey.
Chorus—Heigh me know, &c.
Heigh me know &c.

Remarking on the practice of New World Blacks, the author [of Service Afloat, published 1833], has this commentary. Note that he describes the basic call and response format of a chantey, though he does not compare it to anything in his own tradition.

"Some of their airs are exceedingly plaintive, and the manner of singing in chorus evinces no small degree of natural taste : rowing in boats or other kind of labour, when a simultaneous effort is required, they have generally a song formed of extempore verses, the improvisatore being the stroke oar, the driver, or one supereminent among the rest for the talent. He in a minor key gives out a line or two in allusion to any passing event, all the rest taking up the burthen of the song, as a chorus, in a tenor, and this produces a very pleasing effect."

Note also the emphasis on improvisation. This is important to note re: the aesthetic of this music as well as something to remember when looking for references.
-posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=545&page=1 "The Advent and Development of Chanties" by Gibb Sahib; March 21, 2010

****
JOHNNY COME DOWN TO HILO (Version #1)
Never see de like since I been born
When a big buck n****r wid his sea boots on,

chorus:

Says: "Johnny come down to Hilo,
Poor old man! Oh, wake her, oh, shake her!
Oh wake dat gal wid de blue dress on!
When Johnny comes down to Hilo,
Poor old man!

l lub a little gal across de sea,
She's a 'Badian beauty, and she says to me:

Oh, was you ebber down in Mobile Bay,
Where dey screws cotton on a summer day?
Dld you ebber see de old plantation boss,
And de long-tail filly and de big black hoss?"

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
Recorded by Forebitter, also Oscar Brand
http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3271

Editor: 'Badian = from Barbados; The term "Bajan" is used now.

**
Here's an excerpt of a comment that Barry Finn posted in December 20, 2006 in a Mudcat thread that I started on December 19, 2006 on Black Shanties http://dev.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=97356 :

"N****r" has been used in the same way onboard as Dago, Swede, Johnny Crapo, Yank, etc. My take on this is that it was more a discription than a racist slur. I've never found it to be proceeded or followed by a derogatory remark as would be found when refering to say a "dirty" tailor who were despised by sailors.

I do sing the above "Johnny Come Down To Hilo" with the line changed to "big buck sailor". there's no need to keep the 'N' word there anymore except for historical content. Actually a big buck could be taken as masculine complement"....

****
JOHNNY COME DOWN TO HILO (Version #2)
From the West Indies.

Poor ole man he's sick in bed
He want somebody for rub his head
Johnny come down to the Hilo
Poor ole man.
-posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52717 "Origin: Johnny Come Down to Hilo"; by Barry Finn, October 23, 2002

Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs to find the African American secular songs "Johnny Come Down De Hollow" and "Hilo Hilo"

****
JOHNNY COME DOWN TO HILO (Version #3)
From "A Jouney In The Seaboard Slave States" by Frederick Law Olmsted, copyright 1856.

It is 1853. He is traveling on a steamboat on the Red River to Shrevport, LA.

[Another exerpt from Olmsted's book indicated that he was transcribing songs sung by "negro" sailors. See "The Sailor Fireman" posted on this page]

"I took down the following:

" John come down in de holler,
Oh, work and talk and holler,
Oh, John, come down in de ho ler,
Ime gwine away to-morrow.
Oh, John, &c.

Ime gwine away to marry,
Oh, John, &c.

Get my cloves in order,
Oh. John, &c.

I'se gwine away to-morrow,
Oh, John, &c.

Oh, work and talk and holler,
Oh, John, &c.

Massa guv me dollar,
Oh, John, &c.

Don't cry yer eyes out, honey,
Oh, John, &c.

I'm gwine to get some money,
Oh, John, &c.

But I'll come back to-morrow,
Oh, John, &c.

So work and talk and holler,
Oh, John, &c.

Work all day and Sunday,
Oh, John, &c.

Massa get de money,
Oh, John, &c.

After the conclusion of this song, and after the negroes had left the bows, and were coming aft along the guards, we passed two or three colored nurses, walking with children on the river bank; as we did so the singers jumped on some cotton bales, bowed very low to them, took off their hats, and swung and waved them, and renewed their song :

God bless yon all, dah ! ladies !
Oh, John come down in de holler,

Farwell, de Lord be wid you, honey,
Oh, John, come down, &c.

Done cry yerself to def,
Oh, John. &c.

I'm gwine down to New Orleans,
Oh, John. &c

I'll come back, dough, bime-by,
Oh, John, &c,

So far-you-well, my honey,
Oh, John, &c.

Far-you-well, all you dah, shore,
Oh, John, &c.

And save your cotton for de Dalmo!
Oh, John, &c]

-snip-
Comment by Mudcat member Gibb Sahib:
"The Black boat-hands singing are not working. However, one might presume (?) the songs would be the same ones they would use working -- for fireman duties."
-posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=546The Advent and Development of Chanties by Gibb Sahib; April 18, 2010

K, L
LEAVE HER JOHNNY

From 1902 Lubbock, A. Basil. _Round the Horn Before the Mast._ London: John Murray

Solo. "I thought I heard the skipper say,"
Chorus. "Leave her, Johnnie, leave her!"
Solo. "To-morrow you will get your pay,"  
Chorus. "It's time for us to leave her."
Solo. "The work was hard, the voyage was long,"  
Chorus. "Leave her, Johnnie, leave her!"
Solo. "The seas were high, the gales were strong,"  
Chorus. "It's time for us to leave her."
Solo. "The food was bad, the wages low,"
Chorus. "Leave her, Johnnie, leave her!"
Solo. "But now ashore again we'll go,"
Chorus. "It's time for us to leave her."
Solo. "The sails are furled, our work is done,"  
Chorus. "Leave her, Johnnie, leave her!"
Solo. "And now on shore we'll have our fun,"  
Chorus. "It's time for us to leave her."

"Some Yankee ships have what is called "checkerboard" crews, that is to say, n****rs in one watch, white men in the other, and I believe the competition between the two watches is tremendous. There are some deep voyagers that go in for entirely n****r crews.

They are said to be rather unruly at sea, though good and fearless sailors. The great point about a negro crew is their "chantying." They do nothing without a chanty, and their chantying is a real musical treat, which, if put on the stage, I am very sure would draw immensely."
-posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128220&messages=546The Advent and Development of Chanties by Gibb Sahib; February 15, 2011

M, N

O, P
PAY ME MY MONEY DOWN (Version #1)
cho: Pay me, Oh pay me,
Pay me my money down,
Oh Pay me or go to jail !
Pay me my money down
Pay me, Oh pay me,
Pay me my money down,
Oh Pay me or go to jail !
Pay me my money down.

Think I heard my captain say,
Pay me my money down,
T'morrow is my sailing day."
Pay me my money down.

Wish't I was Mr. Coffin's son
Pay me my money down
Sit in the house and drink good rum.
Pay me my money down

You oweme, pay
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Wish't I was Mr. Foster's son,
Pay me my money down
I'd set on the bank an' see the work done.
Pay me my money down

Lida Parrish says about the last verse
"Mr Foster was the "Big Boss" at the Hilton-Dodge Mill on the west side of St. Simon's & the stevedores tell me they always sang this verse when they saw him coming."
- posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=92735 "pay me my money down...who else?" by Barry Finn on July 5, 2006

Editor:
Here's a comment about this song that was posted by Desert Dancer (Becky in Tucson) on July 4, 2006 in that same thread: "Folklorist Lydia Parrish edited the book Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands (Creative Age Press, 1942) in which a version of the song was published. She didn't compose the song. Alan Lomax collected what's probably the popular version of the song "from the singing of Negro roustabouts" in Savannah, Georgia, 1944, and undoubtedly shared it with Seeger and others. He published the song in Folk Songs of North America (Doubleday, 1960), and says "see Parrish...."

****
PAY ME MY MONEY DOWN (Version #2)
cho: Pay me, Oh pay me,
Pay me my money down,
Pay me or go to jail !
Pay me my money down.

I thought I heard the captain say,
Pay me my money down,
"Tomorrow is our sailing day."
Pay me my money aown.

The very next day we cleared the bar,
He knocked me down with the end of a spar,

I wish I was Mr. Howard's son,
Sit in the house and drink good rum.

I wish I was Mr. Steven's son,
Sit on the bank and watch the work done.
- http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4625 (Retrieved 2/23/2011)

****
PAY ME MY MONEY DOWN (Version #3)
(from Bruce Springsteen album)

Pay me my money down
Tomorrow is our sailing day
Pay me my money down