Sailor Songs

Sea Shanties on Whaling Ships

2012-01-20T12:53:00.001-05:00

Whaling ships!

And sea shanties?
Oh yes indeed they sung 'em.

Any ship that had a crew to do a job of work sang work songs.

They did it to keep themselves coordinated in rhythm so as to maximize the strength of effort at one particular moment.

There is a nice color painting of a whaling ship being loaded in New Bedford that gives us a feeling of what a typical day looked like at the dock when loading a whaler.

Over The River and Through The woods

2011-12-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

I know it isn't a sea shanty but 'round this time of year I like this song and I think you will too...if you remember it..

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go...

Lyrics and chords, just follow the link.

http://www.oldies123.com/over_the_river_and_through_the_woods.html

Barnacle Bill The Sailor

2011-12-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

Sometimes re-written as a nasty song with X-rated lyrics this song has seen many incarnations.

I remember a version of this old chestnut was used in a cartoon back in the 1950's or so.
I recorded a version with Kate Sullivan using somewhat more acceptable lyrics.

Here is a taste of the first verse. The whole shebang with chords for verses and chorus can be seen and heard at the link below.

Who’s that knocking at my door? Who’s that knocking at my door?

D7 G
Who’s that knocking at my door , cried the fair - young maiden

A7 D A7 D
It’s me my love it’s only me cried Barnacle Bill the sailor

D A7 D
It’s me my love it’s only me cried Barnacle Bill the sailor...

http://www.sailorsongs.com/barnacle_bill_the_sailor.html

Pirate Website Ahoy Matey's

2011-11-29T20:28:00.001-05:00

Ahoy!

Ye landlubbers there's a new website on the vast ocean of the internet.

It's only about 6 or 7 pages but it is a bit of fun.

If you like some really easy reading, lots of pictures and even an interactive pirate name generator come for a visit.
http://www.yo-ho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-rum.com/

There is some really good history of the original lyrics for the song for the play "Treasure Island".

It was first called "Derelict".

The first verse was written by Robert Lewis Stevenson.

He had written the original book that the play was based on.

Want to know more about "Talk like a Pirate Day?

These two blokes here started it all.

http://www.yo-ho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-rum.com/talk_like_a_pirate_day.html

Avast mateys! I'm off 'round the horn.

The Yacht Club E-Newsletter Is Spam - Damn!

2011-11-21T19:39:00.001-05:00

The e-newsletter kept not getting to the supposed recipients and the secretary Theobold was peeved to say the least.

He announced our date change for the first group sail by email e-newsletter and when the day came mostly no-one knew about it.

What happened was that it ended up in peoples spam boxes.

So a fella in our club who works at a bank as a marketing guy told him about the program that they use called Aweber.

Aweber is what big and small companies use and the emails look very professional with templates that are the kind you see in emails for banks and such.

Theobold never could figure out how to do that before.

The magic is that Aweber can make sure that the email will go out to everybody before you send it.

The program has a spam test to see if it will be caught by spam filters.

This way you know that it will be OK ahead of time.
The statistics section will tell you who opened the email and who ignored it.

This is just bit of what it can do.

If you are interested I suggest that you click this link here and take a look. Can't hurt.

Insolvent Sailors On The Seashore

2011-11-13T10:14:00.001-05:00

A guy makes his living on the sea as a
fisherman or cargo crew member

or tour boat operator...what ever.

His job falls apart due to the economy.

So he collects unemployment for a while
until the checks stop coming.

He manages to catch a few fish to eat out on the shore
of the polluted harbor. He can't pay his child support.

And really, he is screwed.

He figures that he can "camp out" or live in his old car and save
whatever money he can scrape up to eat.

But the scrapings are thin and he goes hungry and gets sick and
dies in an alley in the back seat of his broken down car like a bum..

Or he gets help and advice from you. Here is what to tell him.

Read this article on how to deal with being homeless.

Buying or Selling a boat? ....................................Whoa! Wait a minute.

2011-11-05T10:55:00.002-04:00

The fall and spring are times that people are most likely to think about buying or selling a boat.

You can read the sad story on www.BillOfSale.biz of the guy that boat a boat with a useless bill

of sale. He most likely ended up standing at the window of the registry with his thumb up....

The point is that if you buy or sell a boat be sure to know what you are doing first.

The proper paperwork is essential to being able to register a boat and put a motor in or on it.

So don't take a chance, use the specific form

for a blank Boat Bill of Sale.

The same goes for a trailer.

To register the trailer you need specifics for the registry.

A trailer doesn't just come along for the paperwork ride with the boat, it has to be registered

separately, so use a blank Boat Trailer Bill of Sale.

Tall Ship Ernestina

2011-10-13T07:34:00.003-04:00

The tall ship "Ernestina" formerly the Effie M. Morrisey was returned from repairs in Fairhaven,

Ma. to her comfy home in New Bedford harbor at the City Pier.

The Ernestina made voyages to the Arctic under Capt Bartlett.

Earlier in her life she operated to and from the Cape Verde Islands.

Sadly the Coast Guard certification to get her up to spec for sailing will cost a lot of money.

One estimate is around $2 million.

It seems that for that kind of money you could buy one heck of a ship in tip top shape.

She is all wood so the labor and materials are not cheap.

Links: www.WhalingCity.net - http://whalingcity.blogspot.com/

Sailing on Buzzards Bay

2011-08-13T11:15:00.002-04:00

Modern sailing is often very much like it was in the old days.

The same when it comes to trimming sail but GPS and fish finders, etc. make it even more fun. More toys = more fun.

My sailing companion on this trip, Capt Scott Dehainaut is at his tiller on his sloop the "Beg to Diffah".

So... you are out in the bay and trying to return to port against a wind that is coming right at you at about 2 knots.

We won't mention tide or the river current that feeds out into the bay from the harbor.

Well there is a huge advantage here that old time sailors didn't have.

Start your motor and cruise on back home in time for a margarita.. Sounds familiar?

The old whaling and merchant ships were heavy cumbersome wooded things.

They had lots of sail but no motor would have had to anchor out in the bay and wait for the wind and tide.

I once spent 2 and a half hours in a sloop trying to tack back about 1 mile into port against wind tide and current.

Hopefully never again. I really like the little outboard.

A final thought.

I wonder if I could talk Capt. Scott into a trip to Nantucket? Hmmmmm.

Across The Western Ocean

2011-04-26T01:12:00.000-04:00

Across The Western Ocean

Pre 1849 English – Irish packet trade - the Western Ocean is the Atlantic - another version came about in 1849 due to the California gold rush

Oh the times are hard and the wages low

A-me-lia where you bound to

The Rock- y mountains is my home

A - cross the western o - cean

The land of promise there you’ll see

A – me - lia where you bound to

I’m bound across the Western sea

A - cross the Western O - cean

I’ll take my way from Liverpool

A-me – lia where you bound to

In Liverpool, that Yankee school

A – cross the Western O – cean

There’s Liverpool Pat in a tarpaulin hat

A – me – lia where you bound to

And Yankee Jack, the packet rat

A – cross the Western O – cean

Be - ware these packet ships I say,

A – me – lia where you bound to

They steal your stores and clothes away

A – cross the Western O - cean

courtesy of www.sailorsongs.com
Hear it as a sample at Roger Chartier's Online Download Store

The Irish Rover - a great drinking song!

2011-04-21T19:11:00.001-04:00

Irish Rover

Lyrics courtesy of www.sailorsongs.com

A D
In the year of Our Lord eighteen hundred and six

A E7
We set sail for the coal quay of Cork

A D
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks

A E7 A
For the grand city hall in New York

A E7
We’d an elegant craft it was rigged fore and aft

A E7
And how the trade winds dro---ove her

A D
She had twenty –three masts and she stood several blasts

A E7 A
And they called her the Irish Ro - ver...

The rest of the song and more lyrics at the SailorSongs website.

I Popped Out

2011-04-09T11:12:00.000-04:00

Check the lyrics for this dandy tune

"I Popped Out"

I have had an inquiry about the
melody and music/chords.

Does anyone out there know the melody?
Let me know if you do.
Here is a copy of the communique:

"Hi Roger,
Thank you for your fantastic website. It is a great resource!

I sing with an all female Shanty group called Queen Anne's Revenge in Northern California. We've fallen in love with the lyrics for I Popped Out, but can't seem to find a recording of it. Do you happen to have either sheet music or a recording of the song that you'd recommend to us so that we can hear it/learn it?

I hope this finds you well!
Cheers,
Tanya"

Not a typical post but...

2011-04-02T01:45:00.000-04:00

This is not a typical post but I want to mention this website because like the www.SailorSongs.com website for sea shanties this one www.oldies123.com covers a lot of different styles of songs from the old days.

Sea Shanties and Irish music and songs are first cousins for sure.
Find them at www.Oldies123.com

Oh! And there is a collection of Stephen Foster Songs

If you like patriotic songs we get em right here.

The www.Oldies123.com site links to www.SailorSongs.com for it's sea shanties.

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum www.SailorSongs.com

2011-03-29T01:25:00.000-04:00

From the CD "Sailing Away" available on www.SailorSongs.com

Roger Chartier sings "The Holy Ground"

2011-03-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

From the CD Sailor Songs - www.Sailorsongs.com
available for download or buy the CD.

The Holy Ground name for an area of the town of Cobh, County Cork,
on the southern coast of Ireland.

The song is named after that area once the town's red-light district in the
19th century when the town was known as Queenstown.

A lot of Sailors stopped there on Transatlantic trips

Old Whaling ship turned in to a brothel and riots ensue.

2011-03-10T09:37:00.000-05:00

In 1826
The Ark was built on the hull of an old whaling ship "Camillus". It rested near the shore in New Bedford, Ma., a Whaling port.

It had a house built on the top of it.

Soon enough it became a brothel and trouble ensued.

There is a great story about this and the second Ark, the riots and hilarious episode with a mob that ensued on the New Bedford, Ma. history website
http://www.whalingcity.net/new_bedford_local_history_1820%20-%201829.html

You have to scroll down on the page to the chronological history date for 1826 and for even more outrageous antics go to the second "Ark" section in 1829

www.WhalingCity.net is a website with a chronological history of the city and also listings for people and places.

Sea Shanty Downloads

2011-03-01T00:28:00.000-05:00

Listen to samples of the songs sung and played by the
World Famous Roger Chartier

Drunken Sailor

2011-02-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

Here is an old sea shanty that was popular aboard ships as a work song.

In later years it became a favorite in Irish pubs as well with musical shows performed by and for maritime history buffs and for sing-a-longs with drunks in bars.

Drunken Sailor lots of verses and the chords to play for the song.

What’ll you do with a drunken sailor
What’ll you do with a drunken sailor
What’ll you do with a drunken sailor early in the morning.

(1) Put him in the longboat till he gets sober (3 times) ….
early in the morning

For more and to hear the song as recorded
click on the link for Drunken Sailor at www.Sailorsongs.com

Chinese sang sea shanties

2011-02-13T12:47:00.000-05:00

A sea shanty or chanty is a work song.

In the same way Chinese coolies had work songs and the way the African slaves of the south had work songs, so too did the sailors and whaling men and dockhands of the era.

Whilst aboard a sampan in China I heard a woman who piloted the boats sing a shanty in Chinese in rhythm with the work of sculling the vessel.

There is a large amount of History available about Sea Shanties or as some call them Sea Chantys.

Check out the website www.SailorSongs.com

If you want to get a feel for what life was like aboard a sailing vessel back in the day read the lyrics at www.SailorSongs.com

New Bedford - Whaling Ships

2011-01-30T12:06:00.000-05:00

The history of New Bedford has to include the sea.

The city would never have become anything without access to the great oceans of the world and a great harbor.

From the very beginning the bulk of the whaling business that began on Nantucket started to leave that small island with a limited harbor and facilities, to transfer operations to the superior harbor of nearby New Bedford on the mainland.

The city could ship the products of it's ocean exploits both by land and by sea.

Here on the website www.WhalingCity.net you can see great old photos and read about the maritime history that made New Bedford a viable whaling, fishing and industrial hub.

Here you can see one page from the website that shows the whaling ships and docks, etc. with explanatory text.

Wooden ships were all that there was as this was before the use of fiberglass and steel hulled whaling or fishing boats.

The business that grew up in the area around the docks were successful in selling to and servicing the industry.

Sea Shanty CD's Thank You Note

2011-01-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

I got this note around the holidays of 2010 from Jason Williams who appreciated my 2 CD's.

This sort of thing happens once in a while and it warms the cockles of my old heart to get such a positive and personal response.

People don't take the time to write by hand and use the US mail for much any more.

This one showed me that somebody out there remembers the old traditional way of letting me know that they liked my Sailor Songs CD's and would appreciate them for years to come.

Thanks Jason, for taking the time to write.
Now, if I could only find his return mailing address...
Roger Chartier

"Down To The Sea In Ships"

2010-12-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

The movie "Down To The Sea In Ships" was filmed primarily in New Bedford, Ma. and the surrounding area.

This is a great piece of maritime history.

Some of the actors and actresses stayed in my great grandmother's ( Audena Audette) boarding house in New Bedford at the time of the filming.

Feel free to read the movie programme from September 25th 1922.

This piece of historical material was donated to be scanned by Marcelle ( Audette) Chartier who owns this original booklet.

New Bedford Massachusetts is the Whaling City due to the history of being the #1 Whaling port in the world at one time
While your at it check out www.WhalingCity.net and www.Sailorsongs.com very interesting historical material.

British Invasion of New Bedford Ma. Sept 5, 1778

2010-03-28T20:33:00.000-04:00

The port of New Bedford, Massachusetts did cater to some privateer ships engaged in fighting against the British and the oppression.

Because of the hospitality that the city offered to these renegades the British were displeased to say the least and came marching in from ships in the harbor of Clark's Cove not far from the old Alm's house.

Check the history of this dark day and the next day.

Although the Brits are our friends now in those days they were considered to be evildoers.

There is a very informative page to see on the website that is written about the history of New Bedford called http://www.whalingcity.net/new_bedford_local_revolutionary_war_1778.html
This makes for some interesting reading.

Whaling History

2010-02-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

New Bedford Mass. was the whaling capital of the world and possibly the richest port in the country in the middle of the 1800's .

You have to love the old whaling era as far as maritime pictures are concerned.

Sea shanties and sailor songs were sung aboard the whaling ships on the multi-year journeys.

Here is a great link to a site that has very photographs , pictures , and sketches from the whaling era in New Bedford, Ma.
http://www.whalingcity.net/pictures_aa_whaling.html

If you like history

2010-01-23T10:37:00.000-05:00

New Bedford is famous for being the Whaling City from the "old days".
The first Europeans to arrive there as far as we know was a Captain Gosnold and his crew who first landed on Cuttyhunk Island in 1602 and traded with the local Indians.
Read about the fascinating adventures of the whaling industry and the development of maritime commerce and fishing with anecdotes and lots of interesting information about the founding families.
Later, fishing and textiles took over from whaling as the main source of income but there was an enormous amount of wealth gleaned from the sea and adventures galore.

It is a chronological presentation. There are are quite a few illustrations. After the mid 1800's there are photographs.
An adventure in history awaits you at www.WhalingCity.net

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! New Sea Shanty Store!

2009-03-20T22:53:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love this duck or is it a goose?
Well, he is flying to the Sea Shanty Store
on www.sailorsongs.com
I created this store so I could sell my
own 2 compact discs of sailor songs
and pirate songs etc., but then I realized
that I should offer more.

Click this link for the new Sea Shanty store on the
"Sailorsongs.com website.
I have chosen to sell a large selection of the best
Sea Shanty CD's in the world.
Take some time to browse and you will be
delighted to find some real gems!
They might light up your life...

Chinese sea shanties

2009-01-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

Chinese sea shanties. Hmmm! well yes the have the same tradition of using song in rhythm with the work on boats and ships. While aboard, I took this photo of Hui-Ping Chen as a passenger on a Chinese sampan.

The woman in the rear was sculling the boat with a single oar called a yuloh.
She sang as she propelled us down a canal and out into a larger body of water... happy as a clam. (we gave her money).

They use this type of boat in the canals of Suzhou, China the same way that Venetians of Italy use boats in their canals for transporting people. They also use them for commerce.
Learn a lot more about sea shanties at www.sailorsongs.com

Maggie May

2008-12-27T07:36:00.000-05:00

It had occurred to me that this song was the same that the Beatles had recorded, although they only recorded a small part of the song.
The song was taught to John by his mother Julia who was a free spirit and played banjo.

Here are the lyrics. I always liked the song and recorded it on my first CD entitled "Sailor Songs".
It's the eighth track on the CD.

You can download it or buy it or just read the original lyrics here.
http://www.sailorsongs.com/maggie_may.html

This was a song that people played in the days of skiffle music with washtub bass and acoustic guitars and banjos. When I was young I always wondered what skiffle
music was. I had never heard the word before. After reading biography of John Lennon, I found out. I love language and I always like to know the meaning of every word. Inevitably I can speak a bit in several languages...but I digress. Hey just follow the link above and read those lyrics from the days of sailing ships coming into Liverpool and the shameless woman from Lime Street.

"A Rolling Down The River" or "Saucy Arabella"

2008-12-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

"A Rollin’ Down the River" also known as "The Saucy Arabella" was a capstan & pumps shanty used on board ships as a work song in the times of sail. It has a nice lilt to it when sung.

Here are the original lyrics http://www.sailorsongs.com/a_rollin_down_the_river.html

Here Is a link to an interesting blog. I'm not sure if the ship "Arabella" is the same one in the song as the one mentioned in the history described in this blog below.
http://carolyncholland.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/in-search-of-the-arabella/
Fair Winds
Roger

Sailor Songs first post

2008-11-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

This is the first post for Sailor Songs, a blog about the website http://www.sailorsongs.com
I have to direct you to a bunch of pages eventually but one that is very cool is this
http://www.sailorsongs.com/lyrics.html You can find hundreds of pages of lyrics to sea shanties and sailor songs here.
The fun thing is the nimbit player where you can hear samples of sea shanty CD's "Sailor Songs" and "Sailing Away". There is one song I love Drunken Sailor but they are all interesting. There are original old sea shanties and fun songs about sailing and drinking.
Here is a recipe for Grog!

Captain Roger's recipe for grog:

1 Cup or mug

2 Shot of rum

3 Teaspoon of powdered sugar

4 Lime juice -

Squeeze a piece of

lime to prevent scurvy.

5 Cinnamon stick.

6 Boiling water (fill 'er up)

Let it cool enough,

then ...Drink Hearty Mates!