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| A Hundred Years Ago (Songs from the Tall Ships) ~ Warp Four Warp Four: Pat Sheridan (Vocals, Bodhrán, Didgeridoo), Niall Fennell (Vocals), Jack Harrison (Vocals, Fiddle, Guitar) and Sean Laffey (Vocals)
Recorded & mixed at Ring Recording Studio, Ring, County Waterford, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0)58 46178
CD manufactured at Tocano, Cork
Asgard, according to Norse tradition, was the kingdom of the northern Gods and said to be at the centre of the universe. It had to be reached by a rainbow bridge and contained many regions including Valhalla (the Norse Heaven); what an appropriate vision for a tall ship.
Many thanks to Gabriel Bradley at Coiste an Asgard for permission to feature Asgard II on our cover, and to Captain McAllister & Bosun Tom who were so helpful and tolerant with Pat trying to get the cover shot for this CD.
Special thanks to our families whose support was appreciated, the Clancy household for making us feel at home and Robbie O'Connell likewise and Mooney's Pub in Ring for their patience when we took a break in the snug and sang practically nothing but shanties.
© Helvic Music 1998. All rights reserved. A Hundred Years Ago (Songs from the Tall Ships) Song List
1. A Hundred Years Ago 2. Rio Grande Jack - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This was an outward bound shanty, sung at capstan or windlass. The original shanty men would warble or even yodel parts of the chorus. African sailors would include yelps and hitches or hitchies which marked the sport for the sailors to haul, jerk or pull to tighten sail. These singing styles were picked up and utilised by any shanty man who could copy what they heard. 3.The Girls of Dublin Town Pat- Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four A popular capstan shanty. During the 1860s Captain Jim Murphy of The Shenandoah flew the harp without the crown below the stars and stripes. The air to the verse is the 'Wearing of the Green', the chorus related to 'The Bonnie Blue Flag', an American civil war marching song. This version is from the singing of Stan Hugill, a Liverpool man who had many Irish shipmates. He managed to capture the sentiments in his excellent rendition of this song. (Ref. La Discotheque du Chasse Maree Anthologie Des Chanson de Mer. Vol 3. Recorded live at the Fête de Chants des Marins, Brittany). 4. The Banks of Newfoundland Seán- Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four To the air of 'The Star of the County Down'. A tune wghich was revitalised in Ireland in 1997. Newfoundland has one of the oldest Irish communities in North America, having been settled by Munster emigrants a hundred years before the famine. This song dates from the 1850s and the 'Western Packet Ships'. It is a fairly accurate look at life aboard one of these Yankee hell ships. Sam Henry collected a variant in 1934 in Ballycastle in which the unfortunate vessel is wrecked. Here we try to create an atmosphere which would reflect the obvious unpleasantness of this voyage. 5. The Wild Goose Shanty Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four Sailors often said they belonged to the 'Wild Goose Nation', whether this meant they were inveterate nomads or were the Wild Geese who left Ireland to seek refuge in France and elsewhere following their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne is still an open question. The shanty was used for nearly every job aboard ship, from windlass to capstan, pumps to halyards. 6. The Bold Fisherman Pat & Niall - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four There are a number of different opinions on the meaning behind this traditional song. One is simply a boy meets girl which has a happy fairytale ending. Another interpretation suggests that the fisherman represents God rescuing a lost soul. Sung during the 1970s and 1980s by 'The Press Gang' and 'Garland', two Dublin-based a cappella groups, one straggler from each, Niall and Pat, have collaborated here to sing this version. 7. The Johnson Girls Seán- Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This is a mixture of tow shanties, both African-American. A clear demonstration of the evolution from work song to jazz within the African-American culture. We learnt 'The Johnson Girls' or 'Walk Her Round Honey' from the Connecticut group 'Forebitter' and got most of the words over the internet thanks to Geoff and Craig at Mystic Maritime Museum. We liked it so much more so there's a few verses of 'Lynchburg Town' which seemed appropriate to the general aspirations of the song. The original 'The Johnson Girls' was unearthed by Bob Walser in the Library of Congress. 8. Fire Maringo Jack - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four Charles Nordoff (1857) in 'The Merchant Vessel' recalled hearing this as a boy sailor in the 1840s. Unfortunately he didn't take down the tune so the air was developed later. Irish crews often deserted 'Western Packet Ships' as Winter approached and headed south to work in the cotton ports of Mobile and New Orleans. The original shanty was sung when heaving on the arms of the jack screws to pack the cotton into the ship's hold. Maringo could be a corruption of 'Marengo', Napoleon's horse. 9. George's Quay Pat- Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This is song #89 in Colm O'Lochlan's 'More Irish Street Ballads' and Frank Harte's 'Songs of Dublin'. The words were written by James Montgomery, the first Irish Film Censor. The song couldn't be more Dublin in style, imagery and dialect. Fir the uninitiated, the Carlisle Bridge is now, of course, O'Connell Bridge. Singing this one brought back happy memories of 'The Press Gang' and Dave Smith's rendering in the Tradition Club in Slattery's of Capel Street back in the 1960s and 1970s. 10. Lowlands Low Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This version of lowlands from the West Indies was used as a halyards shanty although the tune resembles the English 'Miller of Dee'. It was used when a ship docked in port and the sails were set and left hanging loosely on the spars to dry. If the work was done too quickly a disreputable sight would grace the port, spar set at all angles with the yards unintentionally cocked up. Hence sailor jargon 'a cock up' applied to a half-finished job. Although, on other occasions, it was necessary to deliberately 'cock bill' the yard arms to avoid yard arm to yard arm collision in port. 11. Shallow Brown Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four A plaintive black American slave song used for cotton stowing which eventually migrated to sea as a capstan shanty, particularly for shipping anchor. Here is a song with a complex history. One the surface it would appear that our unlucky slave has been sold down the river and will ship aboard a whaler for at least two years. Hugill considered that this song started life as a West Indian pumping shanty, 'challo' being a phrase used by Jamaican sailors to indicate a half-caste. This version dates from the cotton stowing gangs of Mobile around 1870 and may embrace two different stories. 12. Essiqibo River Seán - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four The river is ins Venezuela, though this song comes form Guiana where I was used as a stowing and moving shanty. It is one of the earliest examples of African rhythms entering the sailor's song store. Later it would be adapted by chequer-boarders as a halyard on board Yankee and Blue Nose (Nova Scotian) vessels. 13. Cheerily Man Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four One of the oldest shanties on record, the word cheerily means quickly and it is used by Shakespeare in the opening act of 'The Tempest'. This shanty may date from the late eighteenth century. Being so old, it has many variants, our version is close to that of R.H. Dana Jr. (1840) as sung on the American brig, 'Pilgirm'. 14. The Weary Whaling Grounds Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four An icy cold, grey and frightening look at life at sea aboard a whaler with 'Sailor jack' longing for home as he reflects on what must have been a visual nightmare fraught with danger and little reward after a four year voyage. This is similar to A.L. Lloyd's version. 'Mystic Seaport's Forebitter' version, 'If I had the Wings of a Goney', has minor differences. 15. Hog Eyed Man Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four Stan Hugill freely admitted to cleaning up the words of this song. Originally from the Southern states of the US, before the Confederacy broke free of the Union, it probably began as a riverboat song on the Missouri. When it finally got salt water under its keel, in the 1850s, the words had degenerated to a point where contemporary collectors thought them unprintable. 16. Billy Riley Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four A song popular in Green's 'Blackwall' ships which sailed from London in the 1850s. It started life as a cotton hoosier chant and is obviously African-American in origin. It later went to sea and became one of the most popular halyard shanties of the day. 17. Bring 'em Down Pat - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This shanty, a 'Short Haul', was used for sweating-up braces, bunting or tightening sails and probably any short haul job requiring a quick succession of sharp pulls or jerks. Verses were added s the need arose or when events were significant enough for the Shantymen to include them. Consequently some had disassociated verses, the only requirement being that it entertained while getting the work done. We have honoured this tradition in this shanty, taking liberties with time and geography. We mention Admiral Brown in this version. From Foxford, County Mayo, Admiral William Brown (1777-1857) as responsible for setting up the Argentinean Navy and from 1814 - 1819 played a leading role in Argentina's fight for independence. He is so highly regarded in Argentina that streets, squares and other memorials are dedicated to his name. Because of his ancestry, the Argentinean government in 1919 was one of the first of the International Community to recognise the Irish Free State. There is a bust of Admiral Brown in Merrion Square, Dublin. We understand he is being honoured in Foxford, Co. Mayo during 1998. 18. Fire Down Below Niall - Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four A number of songs with this title were used for pumps and halyard, including the last shanty ever sung for real on board ship (Garthpool, October 1929). Our version comes from Captain Whall. It was popular as a 'radio shanty' in the 1930s. The Garthpool's 'Fire Down Below' can be heard on 'Clear the Track' by Jenkin's Ear. 19. Roll Down Jack - Warp Four Copyright P. Bellamy. Arranged by Warp Four A modern shanty written by Peter Bellamy for his folk play 'The Transports' which follows the voyage of two unfortunate children being transported to Van Diemens Land for petty theft. Peter was also a singer of note with 'The Young Tradition' who were prominent in the 1960s. 20. Leave Her Johnny Liam Clancy, Robbie O'Connell, Donal Clancy and Warp Four Trad. arranged / adapted by Warp Four This song started life in the 1840s aboard emigrant ships as 'Across the Rockies' evolved into 'Across the Western Ocean' and by the last days of sails was a fully fledged sailors' shanty. A popular song for pumps or halyards. It was often sung as the ship was warped to the dock at the end of the voyage. The words changed according to the humour of the crew, a favourable passage and something like our version would be heard. It was alleged that the caption, bosun and other officers turned a blind eye to the abuse directed at them by the crew. This version is sung more in a Folks'il or Forebitter style which referred to the sailors' off-duty meeting sport at the front end of the ship, also called the bitter end for obvious reasons. Hence the name 'forebitter'. This was where songs were sung, tobacco smoked and stories told. Most shantymen like to end a session with this one. This is from our guest Liam Clancy and is supported by Robbie O'Connell, Donal Clancy and Warp Four. It is evocative of a late Saturday night, or the early hours of Sunday morning, 10th July 1994 at the end of a very exciting shanty singing weekend in Galway when the concept of integrating some of the maritime songs and shanty collections of Warp Four and Clancy, O'Connell, Clancy on CD was developed, agreed and sworn to by the groups. There was such a range of interesting maritime material one CD was not sufficient and we have now completed two sister CDs, one prominently featuring Warp Four, the other featuring Clancy, O'Connell and Clancy. The sister album is called 'The Wild and Wasteful Ocean'.
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