SEAFARING SONGS FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here are MP3 format songs that I picked from the site noted at the bottom of this page.  I liked these four the best of the ones I listened to.  I also felt that they had the clearest music which was another reason I downloaded them for you to hear.

You may need to click a few times on the PLAY button (large button with triangle facing to your right) to start the song.

With my "Dial Up" connection I could click the Play button and start a song playing but it stopped after a short time. I could get it to resume playing the song by clicking the Play button after a short wait but it would only play some more then stop.  You can continue doing that to the end of the song but, unfortunately, I have to conclude that the MP3 files are too large for a "Dial Up" connection to satisfactorily play the songs.    

Shenandoah

This was a sea chantey, used with the windlass, and the capstan. The lead man would sing the first and third lines of each verse and the crew would sing on the second and fourth lines, as they did their work, with winches for loading cargo, raising sails, pulling up anchors, and other jobs on deck

Some believe the song originated among the early American river men, or Canadian voyageurs. Others believe it was a land song before it went to sea. Most agree that it incorporates both Irish and African-American elements.

Shenandoah was tremendously popular both on land and sea and was known by countless names, including: Shennydore, The Wide Missouri, The Wild Mizzourye, The World Of Misery-Solid Fas (a West Indian rowing shanty that may be older than other versions), The Oceanida, and Rolling River.

Two verses of the song were published in an article by W. J. Alden in Harper's Magazine (1882). A version of Solid Fa's was collected by R. Abrams in England in 1909. The shanty is said to date at least to the 1820s.

Shenandoah was an Indian chief living on the Missouri River.

Thanks to Lesley Nelson for this information. http://www.contemplator.com/folk.html

The Golden Vanity

There were a lot of sea chanties that dealt with the subject of the Captain’s daughter. The Captain would have guarded his daughter with an overwhelming sense of protective jealousy. That’s what happens in this story. After using the poor cabin boy to do his dirty work, the cruel Captain leaves him to drown, thus saving his daughter for himself.

South Australia

South Australia is a capstan shanty used by the wool traders who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. This is well known as a farewell song, sung at the docks as the big ships were leaving. The men grew a sentimental attachment to the song and were even known to request a rousing chorus on their death beds, so that they could die happy.

The Drunken Sailor

This song is well known on both sides of the Atlantic, used on sailing ships as a short haul as well as a forcastle (fo’c’sle) shanty.

All of the MP3 songs and the song notes, were downloaded from the web site "FOLK DEN - Roger McGuinn in the folk tradition"  [www.ibiblio.org]

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This site was last updated 10/02/09