I like the historical narrative songs, sung authentically.
A few more from Jerry Bryant and the Starboard Mess.
The Battle of the Nile 1798.
The story of the Lichfield, wrecked on the coast of Morocco in 1758, and the surviving crew enslaved.
Americans may not like to be reminded of the Shannon and the Chesapeake. 
The full album is on YouTube here.
South Australia is good one.
Okay, I’ll stop!
But first here’s a very traditional capstan shanty from Nelson’s time, Hanging Johnny.
As a sailor, I just love the idea that “drunken sailors early in the morning” are such a problem that people sing about what to do with 'em.
It’s a song for weighing anchor, and the drunken sailor is just back from shore leave.
I’m suddenly remembering an episode of the '80s sitcom “Anything But Love,” with Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis. In the opening, they’re talking about “Drunken Sailor,” and the exchange was something like this:
Lewis: “I don’t understand why they’d shave his belly with a rusty razor? Why would they do that?”
Curtis: “I think that ‘belly’ is a euphamism for something else.”
Lewis: “Oh. Ohhhhhh…” looks horrified
Fair winds and following seas, y’all.
While searching for this clip from the mini-series Shogun,
I ran across this song from a guy who does a weekly video
One of the best parts of “Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag” was that you could collect sea shanties and have your crew sing them as you sailed through the Caribbean. I never even used the fast travel feature because it was more fun to listen to the shanties instead.
Is that a tarot deck? omg I love it, what is it called?
On the left there is what looks like Death, covering a card I cannot see, on top of which is the “Last Judgment” (it says jüngstes Gericht), then Love (die Liebe), and finally “The Strays” (die Streuner), which you might notice appears modified since the box at the bottom is bigger than on the other cards and is written in red ink. Note that Death has an “X…” at the top, which makes sense since it is trump number XIII in many tarot decks. So the evidence does suggest they may have modified a real playing card (The Fool, no Roman numeral) and written their group’s name on it, in which case it stands to reason there is a whole deck.
Surely someone familiar with tarot decks should be able to identify it quickly…
It may not be a traditional sea shanty, but it sounds like one.
Bink’s Sake from One Piece.
I learned all I know about sea shanties (which ain’t much) from Sheldon Cooper, so I’ll have to second Blow the Man Down
And of course, the song from The Pirates of the Caribbean ride (YoHo).
It does not sound at all like a shanty, though?
But the ultimate fictional sea song, certainly a shanty since they use it at the capstan, is
Fifteen men on the dead man's chest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!Here’s a wonderful description of sailors singing a shanty, from Captain Marryat’s Diary in America (1839).
He’s embarking for America at Portsmouth, in the good ship Quebec, and he gives a vivid description of the lively scene of hauling up the anchor and getting under way.
The shanty is “Sally Brown”, but it seems to sung to the tune we know as “Shallow Brown”, with different words from either of those two.
10 a.m.—“All hands up anchor.”
…
I could not imagine what the seamen were about; they appeared to be pumping , instead of heaving, at the windlass. I forced my way through the heterogeneous mixture of human beings, animals, and baggage which crowded the decks, and discovered that they were working a patent windlass, by Dobbinson—a very ingenious and superior invention. The seamen, as usual, lightened their labour with the song and chorus, forbidden by the etiquette of a man-of-war. The one they sung was peculiarly musical, although not refined; and the chorus of “Oh! Sally Brown,” was given with great emphasis by the whole crew between every line of the song, sung by an athletic young third mate. I took my seat on the knight-heads—turned my face aft—looked and listened.
“Heave away there, forward.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“‘Sally Brown—oh! my dear Sally.’” (Single voice).
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’” (Chorus).
“‘Sally Brown, of Buble Al-ly.’” (Single voice).
“‘Oh! Sal-ly Brown,’” (Chorus).
“Avast heaving there; send all aft to clear the boat.”
“Aye, aye, sir. Where are we to stow these casks, Mr Fisher?”
“Stow them! Heaven knows; get them in, at all events.”
“Captain H—! Captain H—! there’s my piano still on deck; it will be quite spoiled—indeed it will.”
“Don’t be alarmed, ma’am; as soon as we’re under weigh we’ll hoist the cow up, and get the piano down.”
“What! under the cow?”
“No, ma’am; but the cow’s over the hatchway.”
“Now, then, my lads, forward to the windlass.”
“‘I went to town to get some toddy.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘T’wasn’t fit for any body.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“Out there, and clear away the jib.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“Mr Fisher, how much cable is there out?”
“Plenty yet, sir.—Heave away, my lads.”
“‘Sally is a bright mulattar.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘Pretty girl, but can’t get at her.’”
“Avast heaving; send the men aft to whip the ladies in.—Now, miss, only sit down and don’t be afraid, and you’ll be in, in no time.—Whip away, my lads, handsomely; steady her with the guy; lower away.—There, miss, now you’re safely landed .”
“Landed am I? I thought I was shipped .”
“Very good, indeed—very good, miss; you’ll make an excellent sailor, I see.”
“I should make a better sailor’s wife , I expect, Captain H—.”
“Excellent! Allow me to hand you aft; you’ll excuse me.—Forward now, my men; heave away!”
“‘Seven years I courted Sally.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘Seven more of shilley-shally.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘She won’t wed—’”
“Avast heaving. Up there, and loose the topsails; stretch along the topsail-sheets.—Upon my soul, half these children will be killed.—Whose child are you?”
“I—don’t—know.”
“Go and find out, that’s a dear.—Let fall; sheet home; belay starboard sheet; clap on the larboard; belay all that.—Now, then, Mr Fisher.”
“Aye, aye, sir.—Heave away, my lads.”
“‘She won’t wed a Yankee sailor.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘For she’s in love with the nigger tailor.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“Heave away, my men; heave, and in sight. Hurrah! my lads.”
“‘Sally Brown—oh! my dear Sally!’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown!’”
“‘Sally Brown, of Buble Alley.’”
“‘Oh! Sally Brown.’”
“‘Sally has a cross old granny.’”
“‘Oh—!’”
“Heave and fall—jib-halyards—hoist away.”
“Oh! dear—oh! dear.”
“The clumsy brute has half-killed the girl!—Don’t cry, my dear.”
“Pick up the child, Tom, and shove it out of the way.”
“Where shall I put her?”
“Oh, any where just now; put her on the turkey-coop.”
“Starboard!”
“I say, clap on, some of you he chaps, or else get out of the way.”
“Sailor, mind my band-box.”
“Starboard!”
“Starboard it is; steady so.”
Thus, with the trifling matter of maiming half-a-dozen children, upsetting two or three women, smashing the lids of a few trunks, and crushing some band-boxes as flat as a muffin, the good ship Quebec was at last fairly under weigh, and standing out for St. Helen’s.
3 p.m.—Off St. Helen’s; ship steady; little wind; water smooth; passengers sure they won’t be sick.
3:20.—Apologies from the captain for a cold dinner on this day.
4 o’clock.—Dinner over; every body pulls out a number of “Pickwick;” every body talks and reads Pickwick; weather getting up squally; passengers not quite so sure they won’t be seasick.
Who can tell what the morrow may bring forth? It brought forth a heavy sea, and the passengers were quite sure that they were seasick. Only six out of thirty-eight made their appearance at the breakfast-table; and, for many days afterwards, there were Pickwicks in plenty strewed all over the cabin, but passengers were very scarce.
But we had more than sea-sickness to contend with—the influenza broke out and raged. Does not this prove that it is contagious, and not dependant on the atmosphere? It was hard, after having sniffled with it for six weeks on shore, that I should have another month of it on board. But who can control destiny? The ship was like a hospital; an elderly woman was the first victim—then a boy of twelve years of age. Fortunately, there were no more deaths.
But I have said enough of the passage. On the 4th of May, in the year of our Lord 1837, I found myself walking up Broadway, among the free and enlightened citizens of New York.
Shallow Brown
Sally Brown
Sally Brown is one I’ve sung the chorus to. But I can’t say I know the words.
We wanted to make a boat video with an old nautical theme so we used Drunken Sailor. Having the tape for years we wondered if it was possible to send it to Youtube when the internet was “invented”. It was filmed in the early 90’s using a full size RCA VHS camcorder, copied to DVD-R, uploaded to a PC then uploaded to You-Tube. The music was on a cassette. The Quality is bad but it was a very amateur effort.
