A Sailing Tradition

My husband and I are preparing for our sailing vacation to the British Virgin Islands.  As we prepare, one part of the long list of things to make sure we bring are my husband's long list of Sea Shanties.  Do you know about Sea Shanties?  I didn't until I met my husband; yet, as I discovered, I've known some Shanties all of my life!  Remember "Farewell Spanish Ladies"?  it was sung in the move "JAWS" - right before all hell broke loose! How about "Blow the Man Down"?  In this small post, I thought I'd share some interesting facts about Sea Shanties.
First, there are several types of shantys.  There are the Folksol, Capstan, Short Haul, Long Haul and Halyard.  They were rhythm songs used by sailors where work required not one bulked-up sailor turning a wench, but several men pulling lines to hoist the sails, bring in the anchor, or whatever was needed, to synchronize the movements of the shipworkers or to sooth long bouts at sea - when there was no satalite radio.  Also called the "call and response" songs.  Singing the Shanty was the "Shantyman". ** Interesting fact here is the last known true Shantyman died in 1992. His name was Stan Hugill 1906 - 1992.Stan Hugill 
The name Shanty derived from the French word "chanter", "to sing".  These songs were very popular from the fifteenth century through the days of steam ships in the first half of the 20th century.  When the Shantyman would sing a line of song, the sailors would bellow the response - sort of like a military march drill with the sargent calling out to keep the soldiers in rhythm.  The Short Haul Shanty was for quick pulls over a short period of time; when working in rough weather and seas, these songs kept the sailors in rhythm to get the job done quickly and safely. Long Haul or Halyard were for work that required more lapsed time between the next pull.  Used for heavy labor that went on for a while, like raising or lowering a heavy sail....which gave them time to take a breath and regrip for the next pull.  Capstan or 'windlass' shanties were used for long, repetitive tasks like raising or lowering anchor.The Capstan bars were like a giant wheel on its side and the sailors would walk around and around pushing the bars of the wheel to hoist up or lower the anchor.

When my husband is into anything, he learns all of the history, interesting quips of information and anything else he can possibly learn about an item, idea, part, etc. One thing I found interesting, is that in the song "Blow the Man Down", the lyrics talk about being on the Black Ball liner.  There's another song "The Black Ball Line"  and so we wondered what this was.  Was it a slave ship that carried slaves chained up with literally the ball and chain?  Was it a war ship with cannons?  Well - it was neither of those things. The Black Ball Liner was a fleet of ships that sailed beginning around 1817 out of New York piers with the packet ship James Monroe.  The Black Ball Line was initially known for textile importer Benjamin Marshall's revolutionary idea for prompt, reliable service that departed and arrived on a schedule.  From the 1820s to the 1840s, regular transatlantic passages were run year round from New York's South Street pier to Liverpool, England and back.  It took it's name from its flag - which was a black ball on a red background.  Thanks to this innovative idea and the Black Ball Line's innovation, New York became a top-notch port, outshining Boston and Philadelphia. !!  How about that?  Pretty cool.  A link here for those of you interested in reading more about the first ships to carry passengers and cargo and the Black Ball Line in general, click the link The Black Ball Line and The Pacific Northwest  

So would you like to hear some shanties?  The Smithsonian Institute has a rare collection of shanty recordings.  They offer them for purchase.  You can click this link to listen to some. Smithsonian Folkways - Reuben Ranzo - The X Seamen's Institute  
The Reuben Ranzo song is one song I like.  The traditional story is that Reuben Ranzo was a Boston tailor who was shanghaied aboard a whaling vessel.  Remember that whaling vessels often stayed out at sea for YEARS before coming back.  Anyway, he was subjected, as the song states, to the hardships and indignities of life at sea on a long voyage sustaining 20 and 30 lashes at a time for being dirty from the captain, when the daughter of the skipper intercedes for him, and gives him an education and taught him navigation - he becomes a good sailor, and marries her becoming the skipper of his own whaling vessel and becomes "the toughest bastard on the go."   
One great sad song is "No use for the Shanty Man" - reiterating the time when steam ships were putting so many sailing ships out of business because obviously, it could sail is half the time. 
My husband and I plan on sharing our treasure trove of shanties with the 2 other couples going with us on this trip.  We'll be sailing the oceans for 2 weeks.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Although we'll have all of the modern comforts, we'll still be working the sails ourselves and I can promise you I'll be thinking about those sailors so long ago, so far away from home on an endless sea; and listening for 'that ghostly sound on quiet night air' as was sung in the song "No Use for The Shanty Man"......I'm sure those sailors had no idea at the time just how valuable their work songs would be; and that some middle-aged woman would be sailing along in 2010 - humming their shanties as if singing to their ghostly echos - - still sailing the seas.