FTX-141 - A-ROVING

ARCHIVE SHANTIES & SEA SONGS -1-

We owe a debt of gratitude to James Madison Carpenter, an American College professor who visited Britain with a disk recording machine,1928-9, and managed to unearth 45 of the then surviving shanty-men in Britain. Here is a selection of over 100 shanties, arranged in alphabetical order, and in some cases include variant versions. This cassette is made available by an arrangement with Mr Carpenter made by the late Dr Kenneth Goldstein and by permission of the present archive holders, The American Library of Congress, and is released on the condition that it may only be used for study and research purposes.

1. A-ROVING (a) John Middleton, Leith (b) Jack Murray, Aberdeen - 1'24"

2. ABRAHAM BROWN James Dyer, Glasgow - 1'49"

3. ALL FOR THE GROG James Henderson, Dundee - 0'27"

4. THE BANKS OF NEWFOUNDLAND William Rennie, South Shields, Durham - 2'15"

5. BLOW, BOYS, BLOW J.S.Scott, London (with cry of "belay" at end) - 2'35"

6. BLOW HIGH, BLOW LOW George Simpson, Dundee - 0'58"

7. BLOW THE MAN DOWN (a) Jimmy Cronin, London (b) James Moncrieff, Dundee - 1'58"

8. THE BOLD PRINCESS ROYAL Thomas Moore, South Shields, Durham - 2'10"

9. BONEY James Forman - 1'25"

10. THE BOTTLE-O James Wright, Leith - 0'24"

11. BULLY IN THE ALLEY James Forman, Leith - 0'39"

12. CAN'T YOU DANCE THE POLKA J.S.Scott, London (with cry at end) - 1'21"

13. CHEER UP, Mrs. RILEY Andrew Salters, Greenock, Renfrewsh - 2'21"

14. CHEERILY MEN Edward Robinson, Sunderland, Durham - 0'28"

15. THE CUMBERLAND'S CREW James Henderson, Dundee - 0'26"

16. DOWN IN THOSE VALLEYS DOWN BELOW William Fender, Barry, S.Wales - 1'31"

17. THE DRUNKEN SAILOR (a) John Macpherson, S. Shields (b) George Simpson, Dundee (c) James Dwyer, Glasgow - 1'13"

18. THE FEMALE CABIN-BOY (a) James Forman, Leith (b) Jimmy Cronin, London (2v each) - 1'35"

19. FIRE DOWN BELOW (a) Alex Blue, Greenock (b) James Wright, Leith (c) Jack Murray, Aberdeen (d) William Rennie, S.Shields (e) Edward Robinson, Sunderland, Durham (f) William Fender, Barry, S.Wales - 2'48"

20. THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE DRESS ON James Wright, Leith - 0'55"

21. GO TO SEA ONCE MORE John Vass, Shandwick, Invergordon, E. Ross - 0'44"

22. THE GOLDEN VANITY (a) George Simpson, Dundee (b) James Forman, Leith - 2'36"

23. GOODBYE John Macpherson, S.Shields - 0'25"

24. GOODBYE, FARE YOU WELL Jack Murray, Aberdeen - 0'42"

25. HANDY, ME BOYS, SO HANDY John Middleton, Leith - 0'29"

26. HANGING JOHNNY Andrew Salters, Greenock, Renfrewsh - 0'34"

27. HAUL AWAY, JOE (a) William Fender, Barry (b) Jimmy Cronin, London (c) Rees Baldwin, Barry - 2'47"

28. HAUL AWAY, ROSIE Rees Baldwin, Barry - 1'04"

29. HAUL ON THE BOWLIN' William Fender, Barry - 0'28"

30. HIGHLAND LADDIE/ LASSIE (1v each) (a) James Dwyer, Glasgow (b) Andrew Salters, Greenock, Renfrewsh (c) H.J.Hammond, Sunderland (d) Thomas Carfrae (e) John Macpherson, S.Shields (cry at end) - 2'07"

31. HILLY HALLY HO John Middleton, Leith - 1'52"

32. HILO MAN William Fender, Barry - 0'59"

33. THE HOGS-EYE MAN (a) Mark Page, Sunderland (b) Edward Robinson, Sunderland (c) Rees Baldwin, Barry - 1'24"

34. HOIST HER UP FROM DOWN BELOW J.S.Scott, London - 0'49"

35. HUMBALINA Robert Yeaman - 0'18"

36. A HUNDRED YEARS AGO (a) Edward Robinson, Sunderland (b) William Fender, Barry - 0'57"

37. JAMBOREE (a) Jack Murray, Aberdeen (b) Rees Baldwin, Barry (c) Jimmy Cronin, London - 0'58"

38. JOHNNY BOWKER (a) Alex Blue, Greenock (b) George Simpson, Dundee - 0'52"

39. JOHNNY COME DOWN TO HILO Rees Baldwin, Barry - 0'52"

40. JOHN'S (TOM'S) GONE TO HILO (a) Rees Baldwin, Barry (b) Alex Henderson, Dundee (c) J.S.Scott, London (cry at end) - 1'51"

41. JOHNNY HALL (recitation - version of SAM HALL) John Macpherson - 0'53"

42. JUBER, MIND THE BEE Andrew Salters, Greenock, Renfrewsh - 0'58"

43. JULIE (a) John Macpherson, Sunderland (b) Alex Blue, Greenock - 1'06"

44. THE LEAKY SHIP William Fender, Barry - 0'30"

45. LEAVE HER, JOHNNY (a) Jack Murray, Aberdeen (b) Mark Page, Sunderland - 1'30"

46. (A) LONG TIME AGO Andrew Salters, Greenock, Renfrewsh (cry at end) - 1'59"

Recorded by James Carpenter in 1928-9. Edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax Cassettes 1980.

FTX-035 RATCLIFFE HIGHWAY - Shanties of the Seven Seas. Stan Hugill, shantyman, with the crew of "The York and Albany" & Geoff Rose on accordion. Foremost authority on maritime music singing 20 shanties, with spoken introductions. Of special interest are the hitherto unrecorded "Sing-outs" which are improvised shouts or chants.

FTX-205: BLOW, BOYS, BLOW Commander R.F.P.Halliday and Captain A.H.Rasmussen both sailed square-riggers before joining the Navy. 15 shanties and forebitters as well as some good yarns.

FTX-206: MAINSAIL HAUL West Country sailor, Paddy Walsh, with 17 songs, shanties and yarns, recorded by Cyril Tawney in 1960.

FTX-207: MISTER SHELLBACK Bristol shantyman, Stanley Slade, recorded in 1950, shortly before his death. 11 shanties sung unaccompanied and 10 with chorus. 8 are sung with accordion.