Sea Shanties, Arrrg, ya scurvey dog

TOO-A-LOO-RA-LOO-RAL
That's An Irish Lullaby

Over in Killarney
Many years ago,
Me Mither sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low.
Just a simple little ditty,
In her good ould Irish way,
And l'd give the world if she could sing
That song to me this day.

Chorus:
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby."

Oft in dreams I wander
To that cot again,
I feel her arms a-huggin' me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a -hummin'
To me as in days of yore,
When she used to rock me fast asleep
Outside the cabin door.

RED IS THE ROSE
chorus:
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows,
And fair is the lily of the valley;
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.

Come over the hills, my bonny Irish lass
Comer over the hills to your darling;
You choose the rose, love, and I'll make the vow
And I'll be your true love forever.

'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed
And the moon and the stars they were shining;
The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she swore she'd be my love forever.

It's not for the parting tht my sister pains
It's not for the grief of my mother,
"Tis all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever.

Before posting this next piece, a small intr I think is necessary-- I had heard the song a hundred times but never thought of its meaning/origin, until explained to me by a wise Scotsman elder------At the Battle of Banochburn (sp?), the Scots realized they were terribly outnumbered by the English, and that their only hope at winning would be to divide and flank them. The half that took the highland route stood a chance of survival, and the others taking the valley were assuredly doomed to die, with the disadvantages of their route. This song was written about a Lad who fought along lowland trail, knowing full well he would die, that actually his soul would return to Scotland before his advantaged brothers in the hills. And of the love he left in Loch Lomond that he would never return to.

After learning this I've never heard the song the same again. Hope you enjoyed this.

Loch Lomond

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever won't to gae
On the bonnie bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond

chorus:
O' ye'll tak the high road and I'll tak the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie bonnie banks o' loch Lomond

Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep steep side o' Ben Lomond,
Where in deep purple hue, the Hieland hills we view,
And the moon coming oot in the gloaming.

chorus

The wee birdies sing, and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping,
But the broken heart will ken nae second spring again,'
Though the waefu' may cease fae their greeting

chorus

Hoo! Yah!! Good stuff.

I've got to jump in here.

Cape St. Mary's

-Stan Rogers (of course)

Take me back to my western boat
Let me fish off Cape St. Mary's
Where the hog-down sail
And the Fog horns wail
With my friends the Browns and the Clearys
Let me fish off Cape St. Mary's

Let me feel my dory lift
To the broad Atlantic combers
Where the tide rip swirls
And the wild ducks whirl
And old Neptune calls the numbers.
'Neath the wild Atlantic combers

Let me sail up Golden Bay
With my oilskins all a-streaming
From the thunder squalls when I hauled my trawls.
And my old Cape Ann a-gleaming
With my oilskins all a-streaming.

And let me view that ragged shore
With the beaches all a-glisten
With the caplin spawn
Where from dusk till dawn
You bait your trawn, and you listen
To the undertow a-hissin'.

And when I reach that last big shoal
Where the groundswells break asunder,
Where the wild sands roll to the surge's toll
Let me be a man and take it
When my dory fails to make it.

Oh take me back to that snug green cove
Where the seas roll up their thunder
There let me rest
In the Earth's cool breast
Where the stars shine out their wonder
And the seas roll up their thunder.

~~ My sincere appologies i got caught in the moment and strayed from the theme "sea shantys", but those tunes are good as well, heehee

Wyldpiper
I think there are many versions of the 'true' story behind the lyrics of Loch Lomond. I have heard yours, but this is the one that is the most commonly held one.... I'm not saying it's the right one, just another 'true' version!!!

Two Jacobite soldiers were captured at the Battle of Culloden, and imprisoned in Carlisle Castle.

The next morning, one of the soldiers was to be freed, the other hanged. The condemned man sings about his sweetheart to the soldier who is to be freed and says "You'll take the high road (ie still in the land of the living), and I'll take the low road (of the dead)..."and I'll be in Scotland afore ye'

The Corries recorded a version of Loch Lomond and thread it with words sung from the sweetheart's point of view. Truly, truly moving. I can't remember which album it is on, but I'll see if I can find it!

That is the story I have always known to go with Loch Lomand.
I remember hearing it told to me as a little one in school.

I like that one

It's been a while since I have been here. Need to fix that


South Australia

In South Australia I was born
    To me heave away, haul away
In South Australia round Cape Horn
    We're bound for South Australia
    Haul away you rolling kings
    To me heave away, haul away
    Haul away, you'll hear me sing
    We're bound for South Australia

As I walked out one morning fair
'Twas there I met Miss Nancy Blair

I shook her up and I shook her down
I shook her round and round the town

I run her all night and I run her all day
And I run her until we sailed away

There ain't but one thing grieves me mind
To leave Miss Nancy Blair behind

And as we wallop around Cape Horn
You'll wish to God you'd never been born

In South Australia my native land
Full of rocks and thieves and fleas and sand

I wish I was on Australia's strand
With a bottle of whiskey in my hand

As we do not have the sea here in Indianapolis,IN but we do have a Lake (actually a resevoir )
A Friend of mine has a slip for his Hobi Cat that we will go and sit on the beach and sing sea shanty's in the summer.

Appropriately we have a favorite "lake shanty" the wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald which I noticed the other day bears a strong resemblance musically to a traditional Sea Shanty which escapes my brain at the present.

Ok, so I realize this is not a "traditional" Sea Shanty, but I still love it.

The Last Saskatchewan Pirate By: The Arrogant Worms

Oh, I used to be a farmer and I made a living fine,
I had a little stretch of land along the CP line
But time are hard and though I tried, the money wasn't there
And bankers came and took my land and told me fair is fair
I looked for every kind of job, the answer always "no"
Hire you now, they'd always laugh, we just let twenty go!
The government, they promised me a measly little sum
But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum.
Then I thought who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone
I'm gonna be a PIRATE! on the River Saskatchewan!

Chorus:
Cause it's a heave-ho! hi-ho!
Coming down the plains
Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains
And it's a ho-hey! hi-hey!
Farmers bar your doors when you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores.

Well you think the locals farmers would know that I'm at large
But, just the other day I saw an unsuspecting barge
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser,
I rammed their ship, and sank it, and I stole their fertilizer!
A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans a mighty river
The farmers pass in so much fear, their stomachs are a-quiver
Because the know that TRACTOR JACK! is hiding in the bay,
I'll jump the bridge and knock them cold and sail off with their hay!

Chorus

Well Mountie Bob he chased me, he was always at my throat
He'd follow on the shoreline but he didn't own a boat
But cutbacks were a-coming and the Mountie lost his job
Now he's sailing with me and we call him Salty Bob.
A swingin' sword, and skull n' bones, and pleasant company
I never pay my income tax and screw the GST- SCREW IT!
Prince Albert down to Saskatoon, I'm the terror of the sea
If ya wanna reach the Co-op, boy, you gotta get by me!

Chorus

Well, pirate life's appealing, but you don't just find it here
I've heard that in Alberta, there's a band of bucaneers
They roam the Athabasca, from Smith to Fort McKay
And you're gonna lose your Stetson if you have to pass their way
Well winter is a-coming and a chill is in the breeze
Our pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze
I'll be back in springtime, but now I 've to go,
I hear there's lots of plundering down in New Mexico!

Chorus
Repeat Chorus
Repeat last line of chorus

http://www.contemplator.com/history/epedia.html#shanty
(turn down your speakers first...there's quite the midi file playing when you load the page)

Here' an interesting site. I never realized that there were different types of shanties. Makes sense though because of all the different stuff there is to do on a boat.

Cheers

Here a shanty our band plays (Stationary Willberries). It's not on our CD unfortunately so you won't hear it on HR. (

Not sure of the origin.

Paddy Lay Back

'Twas a cold and dreary morning in December
December
All of me money, it was spent,
Spent, spent
Where it went to, Lord, I can't remember
Remember
So down to the shipping office I went
Went, went!

(Chorus)Paddy lay back,
Paddy lay back!
Take in the slack,
Take in the slack
Take a turn around the capstan,
Heave a pawl!
Heave a pawl
About ship's stations, boys, be handy
Be handy!
We're bound for Valipariso 'round the Horn!

That day there was a great demand for sailors,
For the colonies, for 'Frisco and for France.
So I shipped aboard a limey barque, the Hotspur,
An' got paralytic drunk on my advance.

Now I joined her on a cold December mornin',
A-frappin' o' me flippers to keep me warm,
With the south cone a-hoisted as a warnin',
To stand by the comin' of a storm.

Now some of our fellers had been drinkin',
An' I meself was heavy on the booze.
An' I was on me ol' sea-chest a' thinkin'
I'd turn into me bunk an' have a snooze.

I woke up in the mornin' sick an' sore,
I knew I was outward bound again;
I hears a voice a-bawlin' at the door,
``Lay aft, ye sods, an' answer to yer names.''

'Twas on the quarterdeck where I first saw 'em.
Such an ugly bunch I never seen before,
For there was a bum and stiff from every quarter,
(For the captain had shipped a shanghai crew of Dutchmen)
An' it made me poor ol' heart feel sick and sore.

There was Spaniards an' Dutchmen an' Rooshians,
An' Johnny Crapoos jist acrost from France.
An' most of them could speak no word of English,
But answered to the name of `Month's Advance!'

I wisht I was in the ``Jolly Sailor,''
Along with Irish Kate a-drinkin' beer,
An' then I thought what jolly chaps were sailors,
An' with me flipper I wiped away a tear.

I knew that in me box I had a bottle,
By the boardin'-master 'twas put there;
An' I wanted something for to wet me throttle,
Somethin' for to drive away dull care.

So down upon me knees I went like thunder,
Put me hand into the bottom o' the box,
An' what wuz me great surprise an' wonder,
Found only a bottle o' medicine for the pox.