Songs of the Sea
The front cover
Songs of the Sea is a history for sailors, for songsters, for anyone who is moved by the poetry of a tall ship under sail - moved to wonder. To wonder what life was really like for the men who sailed those lovely ships when the only way to trade across the seven seas was to be blown across, or blown to glory.
Life was short, brutal, lonely, and joyless for the "jolly tar," except for strong, drink, women - and the solace of song. So he sang: short, rhythmic, onomatopoeic chants to time his backbreaking work at the capstan and halyard, the famous shanties. Or forlorn ditties for idle moments, called forebitters after the metal bollards on the fo’c’s’lehead. He sang bravura songs when outward bound; yearning, sexier songs for the homeward reach; warning songs of pirates, press gangs, and unfaithful maidens; and songs of admiration for the likes of such sailors as “Bold MacCartney”……
And here they are, the authentic words and music of more than a hundred sea songs and chants in half a dozen languages. Some are as old as the mists of time, some as new as the great steel-hulled four-masters in the nitrate runs of the 1890s. Sing them, to hear the beat of lusty, salt-sprayed history
To describe and interpret that history, the book begins with an illustrated look at the sailors’ varied machines: ships, brigs, barks, schooners, sloops and so on – and their marvelously complex riggings. There is a handy glossary of terms and vernacular, and many clear explanations of customs and language, from the above-mentioned forebitters to the gruesome “Nelson’s Blood” and the ever-present “Armstrong’s Patent” – the muscle power that made everything go.
The sailor’s skill, dress, pay, superstitions, drink, food – and loves – are clearly described and pictured. There are anecdotes galore: stories of shanghaiing and mutiny, shipwreck and cannibalism, storms and tropical islands.
Every song is translated into English (and cleaned up a bit) where necessary, and accompanied by a brief history of its origins and its travels from country. But try singing the original words in French or Dutch or even Scandinavian, if only for their wonderful rhythms.
Some 250 illustrations ( not by Stan) are integrated with narrative and songs. There specially commissioned diagrams and profiles to explain and identify the natures and workings of sailing ships. There are rare historical paintings, drawings, and photographs of ships and ports, dives and waterfronts, deck scenes and sailors, with their Judies, Julias, and Madeleines
This Book was
published in
Dutch as 'Zeemansliederen'
and
German as 'Windjammerlieder'
Published by McGraw-Hill Book Company New York
ISBN No. 0-07-031138-2
A typical page from
this book
One of the high quality
illustrations.
A typical page from
this book
