The British Library has announced the publication of Sailor Song – The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas by Gerry Smyth, a Professor of Irish Cultural History of Liverpool John Moores University. Originally planned for publication in April, the publication date has been brought forward to today.
Anyone following the news will probably know that sea shanties have been experiencing a growth in popularity, especially on social media platforms like Tik Tok. Also, the likes of Bristol’s The Longest Johns have helped this growing trend as witnessed by their very popular Youtube channel – a fine example of this is the response to their end of year Mass Choir Community Video Project which has already amassed nearly 1 million views:
Is it any coincidence that during lockdown that the singing of Sea Shanties have grown in popularity? I don’t think so, after all, online sing-alongs have reconnected many that may have otherwise felt isolated and shanties are energising communal songs. Who can forget the audience reaction to the likes of Bellowhead performing New York Girls? It’s one of their most popular and it was this song they chose to perform from home back in July:
OK, the original shanties can sometimes be a little risque – as demonstrated on the 2006 Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys which featured an all-star cast – bawdry lyrics were included and some memorable moments came from Eliza Carthy‘s Rolling Sea and Martin Carthy and Family singing The Hog Eye Man – I laughed out loud when I first head Martin Carthy singing ‘cheeks of her arse go chuff chuff chuff’…I really must grow up.
Like many…my own introduction to shanties and sea songs/ballads was via Topic Records which released some great compilations such as Blow the Man Down which featured the likes of Sam Larner, Cyril Tawney, A.L Lloyd and the incredible Louis Killen. It was through Killen that I became familiar with Stan Hugill’s writings – His book ‘The Bosun’s Locker’ is invaluable – Sea Shanties were clearly also very popular in the sixties as the book is made up of articles he wrote for a column in the American music magazine SPIN between 1962-1973.
His biography reads like one long adventure – went to sea at the age of 14, was shipwrecked twice and sailed in the last of the square-riggers, four years as a Prisoner of war. Many of shanties he collected he heard first hand. Louis Killen sailed with him in the Tall Ships Race of ’76 and Hugill also looked the part…
Here is a brilliant clip (thanks to Joe Stead) of Hugill delivering that same song from above alongside some recognisable names.
Filmed in Workum in 1990 – “Stan Hugill is joined by Ron Barnett, Johnny Collins, Nanna Kalma, Jim Mageean, Danny MacLeod, Ryszard Muzaj, Shanty Jack, Janusz Sikorski, Marek Siurawski, Mike Wilson and Steve Wilson to sing the closing shanty of the evening.”
Back to this new colourful publication which features 80+ illustrations and 160 pages…the accompanying press from the British Library reads:
From the earliest of voyages seafarers have sung, be they homeward bound or rolling in a merciless sea to an unknown horizon. The shouts and cries of these sailors’ shanties provided a musical rhythm to their work and such ‘concerted’ efforts improved efficiency as anchors were raised, sails hoisted, and bilge water pumped. Boredom was allayed, concentration increased, and the stamina-sapping agonies were borne on a melody.
In Sailor Song acclaimed writer, playwright and musician Gerry Smyth presents the words and music of some 40 ‘heaving or hauling’ working shanties and 10 off-duty sea songs and ballads. The meanings and history of each song is revealed alongside thematic sections exploring celebrated shantymen, song types and traditions as well as the influence these songs have had on the folk music movement, rock music and the modern shanty revival. The title offers lyrics, notations and a full background to the most celebrated of shanties include The Saucy Arethusa, Lowlands, Reuben Ranzo, South Australia, Stormalong, Haul the Bowline, Hearts of Oak, Drake’s Drum and The Banks of Sacremento.
This title features beautifully illustrated with commissioned artworks by popular illustrator and St Jude’s artist Jonny Hannah, whose work has graced the pages of Vogue, the New York Times and the Boston Globe and has recently published the acclaimed work Greetings from Darktown (Merrell 2015), alongside many previously unpublished artworks from the holdings of the British Library.
Sailor Song – The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas by Gerry Smyth is published 21 January 2021.
Hardback £14.99
ISBN 978 0 7123 5370 0
160 pages, 216 x 153 mm
80+ colour illustrations
Publishing January 2021
It can be ordered via the British Library shop here: https://shop.bl.uk/
Also available via Amazon
I’ll leave you with Louis Killen’s ‘Ship In Distress’ from Topic Records ‘Blow the Man Down’. The video was filmed for the TOAST fashion brand in 2012. It was shot in black and white in St. Ives.