Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys
Rogue's Gallery

ROGUE’S GALLERY – WILLNER’S NOTE

So first of all a sea chantey (often spelled shanty) is a work song that was sung on the ol’ ships in the day. Rhythmically they matched the activity speed of these men hauling on lines. Many of them are really filthy. Many are very beautiful. They aren’t really sung these days because modern day rigging doesn’t really need a lot of people working in the same rhythm for long periods of time. A sea song is a song about a life at sea from a narrative or personal point of view. A pirate ballad is a song telling a tale of pirates. I knew none of this when Brett Gurewitz and Andy Kaulkin asked me if I wanted to produce an album of sea chanteys for Anti/Epitaph. Without thinking, I immediately said yes - it had instant appeal for me as I knew absolutely nothing about the subject and the potential for failure was huge. Actually, I did have a starting point. And it was “Blood Red Roses”.

As a mere PRAT at age 15 I listened non-stop to the radio station WDAS-FM in Philadelphia. WDAS at the time was an eclectic commercial rock station that played the most adventurous music of the time, like King Crimson, Dr. John, Jimi Hendrix, & Captain Beefheart along with the Firesign Theatre, Orson Welles Radio Shows, Yoko Ono, and Impulse!-type jazz in the late hours. With that type of programming, the station basically appealed to teenage boys with lots of acne and no girlfriends. Anyway, on Sunday nights at 10 PM there was a folk music show hosted by Gene Shay, a music scholar and magician. At the time, folk wasn’t really my kind of music – I liked Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, etc., but that was the extent of it. I listened anyway because if it was on WDAS, then it must be worth listening to (it was the 70s folks!). Shay played the best – Cisco Houston, Dave Van Ronk, Bert Jansch, Sandy Denny, Mississippi John Hurt, and I also remember hearing John Jacob Niles on that show. One particular evening, Shay programmed a whole show of Sea Chanteys. Besides being in some Popeye cartoons, I never heard this type of call & response music and I couldn’t wait until the show was over. But there was one song, “Blood Red Roses,” which was fascinating. Accompanied by the sound of chains, it sounded like a bunch of drunken mental patients singing “Go down ya blood red roses – Go Down!” It was a powerful and endless song and, though it was over 35 years since that night, I was able to sing most of it.

Going backwards a bit – this project was actually born in the mind of film director Gore Verbinski and enhanced by the actor Johnny Depp. They were filming “Pirates of the Caribbean II” and very much ensconced in a lot of pirate culture and songs of the time. Gore is a long-time friend of Brett Gurewitz and they discussed recording a multi-artist record of this stuff. Brett pointed out that sea chanteys were kind of an early form of punk music and would make a great album. Now all they needed was some Bozo to spearhead this. Anyway I got offered the gig and we are caught up now.

Looking at a blank slate, I started by going to a few record stores, spending time on eBay & other online services and started collecting all the relevant recordings I could get my hands on. At first, I was a bit concerned that most of these songs and chants don’t really have song structure as some of us like. Many of these songs are verses over and over again with a one line chorus like “heave ho boys heave away” (hey wasn’t “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” a sea chantey – NOOOOO!!!! – it was actually a railroad chantey). But, as I continued, it occurred to me that with exception of some collectors and scholars, this was a totally unexplored kind of folk music. From the different ports these songs come from – Liverpool, Cape Cod, South Australia, etc., one can hear melodies that later popped up in folk and pop songs and in particular, in Beatles songs – they were from Liverpool where they probably grew up with some of these melodies in their subconscious...seems like a good theory anyway.

I found some amazing recordings, including these Alan Lomax produced chanteys of real old sailors from America and the Caribbean – great traditional ones by Paul Clayton, A.L. Lloyd, Lou Killen, Bob Davenport, Ian Campbell, Oscar Brand, Peter Hawes, Dave Van Ronk, and many others. Also many of these songbooks contained songs that had basic sheet music but no existing recordings, and a few books of sailor lyrics with no melody.

I don’t know why but I had a difficult time actually getting started. I had collected about 400 of these. Then, using my IMPECCABLE taste and INSTINCT (i.e. lazy procrastinating & guesswork), I narrowed them down to 75 songs that I thought would be right for this record… This process took a few months – I kept getting calls about which artists were committed, etc. but I hadn’t figured out whom to contact yet and kept researching.

About two months before the due date, I knew that actual recording had to start. Something about how to interpret the material and make an album of it still eluded me. I talked to my old colleague and friend Bill Frisell about the project. He was spending some time in Seattle and we thought it might be interesting if I just came to Seattle for a few days and we’d “find some people and do some stuff".

So without even a studio booked, up I went. Rachel Fox in New York was frantically trying to find a place to record on 14 hours' notice. Meanwhile Bill and I contacted Robin Holcomb, Wayne Horvitz and Eyvind Kang who were around and got them to come work with us. And it was discovered that the New York-based band Akron/Family were rehearsing for a tour in Seattle. I love all the artists that record for Michael Gira’s “Young God Records” and knew their work. Somehow we reached them and I talked them into joining Bill and Eyvind in becoming the “house band” for the Seattle sessions. Also, it was rumored that the great Baby Gramps lived in the Seattle area. A few phone calls later, we located him, and miraculously, he was in town.

We booked a fantastic studio called Bear Creek and moved in for the next two days. All converged and it became an amazing scene - artists from different worlds - many meeting for the first time, interpreting and discovering this music together. We started with an approach that became the norm for the project – playing a bunch of the sea chanteys – picking one – learning it and recording it all within a few hours. Akron/Family cut the ribbon by trying a chantey and a song. Baby Gramps came in looking like Mr. Natural. He had a great version of “Cape Cod Girls” that he’d been singing for years and also wrote one himself called “Old Man of the Sea”. Robin Holcomb came in prepared as usual with a beautiful arrangement of “Dead Horse”. Frisell did a solo number. There also appeared people in the studio who seemed to wander in, but, if they wanted to sing, so let them…almost everyone there led in a chantey or two…by the end of the second day it seemed like the group had been together for years and it was sad to break it up. I left Seattle with nine songs.

This became the approach for the whole record – get a starting point with a few artists, show up in town, see who’s around and record for a few days. In London it started with Bryan Ferry & Nick Cave with Kate St. John and Warren Ellis wrangling the band together, Gavin Friday in Dublin, Joan as Policewoman in New York, & the great Jack Shit trio in Los Angeles. Basically there was hardly a plan when going to a town and the same thing happened – I left with a whole bunch of great tracks – and it was always a drag to break up the musicians assembled.

This project pushed the envelope for the go-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, figure-it-out-when-you-get-there approach more than any project I’ve ever done, and there has been quite a few done in this direction. It was liberating, fun, and enlightening, and all learned a lot…. In fact enough for almost 4 cd’s were recorded. On one occasion, we recorded 8 songs with 8 different artists with the same band all in one day; two of the artists didn’t even know about the project until an hour before getting called to come over NOW! – for example, in the case of White Magic, Jim White told me about them while we were listening to a playback and I asked him to call and invite them over – two hours later they appeared, went in the backroom with a cd of some chanteys while we were recording other tracks, then came out a few hours later, and we cut “Long Time Ago” with some of the house band.

Considering how this was all recorded, I don’t think it sounds at all un-together or sloppy. Maybe the extensive research helped, maybe the nature of the material lent itself to it, but whatever - it came out pretty cool…..and it actually got done.

Many many thanks to Andy Kaulkin, Brett Gurewitz, Captain Jack, Gore V. Rachel Fox, Jeff Abarta, Pamela Esterson, Martin Brumbach, Eric Liljestrand, Deidre at Westlake, Liz Devlin, Howard Wuelfing, Edward Helmore, Kathy Schenker, Joe Boyd, Frank Callari, and all the other bully boys and girls who will be saved from the plank on Volume 2 in 2007 – Michel Gira, Marc Almond, Robyn Hitchcock, Philip Morgan, Wayne Horvitz, Jessica Kenny, Stephan Smith, Jon Brion, Kembra Phaler, and an extra thanks for Jenni Muldaur for being our “Wild Goose” and for her invaluable help in the UK and New York.


I’ll be seeing you.

Xx,

H


CD 1
Cape Cod Girls
Baby Gramps – guitar, vocal; Philip Morgan – banjo; Bill Frisell – guitar; Eyvind Kang – flute, violin; Akron/Family: Seth Olinsky, Ryan Vanderhoof, Dana Janssen, Miles Seaton – bkg vocals
Recorded in Seattle at Bear Creek Studios – Engineered by Ryan Hadlock, assisted by Joe Hadlock & Lucas Carlyle
A very popular New England chantey, probably originating with Cape Cod whalers bound for The Great Southern Ocean. At one time there were undoubtedly obscene verses, but many such chantey verses were lost to Victorian sensibilities, and never written down.

Mingulay Boat Song
Richard Thompson – vocals, guitar; Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar; Pete Thomas - drums; Davey Fallagher – bass; also… Richard Greene violin; Michael Thompson – accordion; Debra Dobkin – percussion; Doug Pettibone – guitar
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Dave Rideau, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This haunting song was composed by Hugh Richardson (1874-1952) of Glasgow in 1938 as a choral work. It commemorates the people and lost culture of the Island of Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides off northwest Scotland. Mingulay has been uninhabited since 1912.

My Son John
John C. Reilly – vocal; Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar, bkg vocals; Pete Thomas – drums, bkg vocals; Davey Fallagher – bass, bkg vocals; also… Loudon Wainwright III – harmony vocals; Richard Greene – violin; Neil Larsen – accordion
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This song is closely related to another famous ballad from the Napoleonic wars, Mrs. Magrath. Other verses tell how the young man is lured to sea by Marine recruiters, hoping to find glory and his fortune, only to lose his legs. The theme is no less current today.

Fire Down Below
Nick Cave – vocal; Kate St. John – accordion ; Rory McFarlane – bass, bkg vocals; Warren Ellis – strings; Leo Abrahams – guitar, bkg vocals; Andy Newmark – drums, bkg vocals; Martyn Barker - percussion, bkg vocals; Hal Willner, Martin Brumbach, Mocean Worker (Adam Dorn), Vera Beren, Lee Ann Brown, Tony Torn – bkg vocals
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
A popular pumping chantey, this was actually the last chantey sung aboard a commercial British square-rigger, by Stan Hugill in 1929, as the barque Garthpool was pumped out for the last time. There are a number of versions, and in some the “fire down below” is more explicitly a reference to venereal disease.

Turkish Revelry
Loudon Wainwright III – guitar, vocal; Richard Greene – violin
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This song appears to date back to a 17th century ballad concerning Sir Walter Raleigh, a noted early sea dog, and by many accounts, a real bastard. Many versions exist under various titles, including a capstan chantey. The moral character of the story is clear as the poor cabin boy fulfills his part in good faith, but cannot enforce the bargain.

Bully in the Alley
Three Pruned Men: Dave Id Busarus – lead vocal; Guggi – bkg vocal; Gavin Friday – bkg vocal; also… Maurice Seezer – accordion; Robbie Cesserly – drums & percussion; Anto Drennan – guitar; Tony Molloy – bass; Zoe Conway – strings
Recorded in Dublin, Ireland at Westland Studio – Engineered by Dave Slevin, assisted by Amy Connolly
A venerable halyard chantey, probably of West Indies origin. “Bully” in this context actually means extremely drunk. Hence, the usual chorus, “Help me Bob, I’m bully in the alley,” means essentially, “I’m too drunk to get back to the ship under my own power.”

The Cruel Ship’s Captain
Bryan Ferry – vocals, piano; Warren Ellis – violin; Kate St. John – oboe; Rory McFarlane – bass; Peter Stanley – banjo; Martyn Barker – percussion; Andy Newmark – drums
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
This song was probably first published as a broadside ballad in the mid 19th century. Many such songs were a form of popular protest against the cruelty and injustice of the times. Copies of the song, in sheet music, were sold on the street. They were often written anonymously. At sea, the captain was the absolute authority, with little or no restraints. A cruel captain could subject his crew to tortures we can hardly imagine today.

Dead Horse
Robin Holcomb – vocals, piano; Bill Frisell – guitar; Wayne Horvitz – keyboards; Eyvind Kang – violin; Akron/Family: Seth Olinsky – guitar; Miles Seaton – guitar; Dana Janssen – bass; Ryan Vanderhoof – drums
Recorded in Seattle at Bear Creek Studios – Engineered by Ryan Hadlock, assisted by Joe Hadlock & Lucas Carlyle
A highly revered tradition on early sailing ships was the ceremony of “paying off the dead horse.” Merchant sailors typically received their first month’s pay in advance. Thus, it was not until after the first 30 days of a voyage that new wages were being earned. A canvas horse effigy was dragged across the deck, hoisted to the main yardarm to this chantey, and dropped into the sea.

Spanish Ladies
Bill Frisell – guitar; Hal Willner – 3 Buddha Machines (ambient loops)
Recorded in Seattle at Bear Creek Studios – Engineered by Ryan Hadlock, assisted by Joe Hadlock & Lucas Carlyle
Music has always been a traditional diversion on ship. In the early evening dog watch sailors might gather on the fo’c’sle to sing, dance, and share tunes such as this.

Coast of High Barbary
Joseph Arthur – vocal; Joan as Policewoman – violin, bkg vocals; Jim White - drums, bkg vocals; Arthur Baron - trombone, bkg vocals; Rainy Orteca - guitar, bkg vocals; Dom Richards - bass, bkg vocals; Ed Pastorini – keyboards, bkg vocals
Recorded in New York at Sear Sound – Engineered by Martin Brumbach, assisted by T.J. Doherty and Ethan Donaldson
High Barbary was the romantic name of the once highly dangerous Riff Coast of North Africa, home of the dreaded Barbary Pirates. Also known as Corsairs, these often state sponsored pirates preyed on European shipping for over 300 years. This song, sometimes used as a chantey, has many versions. All of them end with the pirates’ demise.

Haul Away Joe
Mark Anthony Thompson – vocal; Joan as Policewoman – strings ; Jim White – drums; Arthur Baron – tin whistle, didgeridoo; Rainy Orteca – guitar; Dom Richards – bass; Ed Pastorini – harmonium
Recorded in New York at Sear Sound – Engineered by Martin Brumbach, assisted by T.J. Doherty and Ethan Donaldson
This famous tack and sheet chantey has several tunes but today the minor version is most often sung. The vigorous unison hauling involved comes on the word “Joe!”

Dan Dan
David Thomas – vocal; Keith Moliné – guitar; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion; Rory McFarlane – bass; Warren Ellis – strings; Leo Abrahams – guitar; Andy Newmark – drums
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
A West Indian work chant which was first used ashore and later taken to sea as a simple halyard chantey.

Blood Red Roses
Sting – vocal; Richard Greene – violin; Michael Thompson – accordion; Pete Thomas – drums, bkg vocals; Val McCallum, Doug Pettibone, Davey Fallagher, Debra Dobkin, Greg Prestopino –
bkg vocals
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Dave Rideau, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This halyard chantey was popular in Cape Horn ships out of Liverpool. It is most probably based on a family of Irish and English folk songs concerning the Napoleonic Wars. The “blood red roses” may be a reference to British redcoat soldiers, or it may be the capitol cities of Europe, referred to as the “bonnie bunch of roses” that Napoleon tried to gather and lost, in an Irish song of that name.

Sally Brown
Teddy Thompson – vocal & guitar
Recorded in New York at John Kilgore Sound & Recording – Engineered by Martin Brumbach and John Kilgore assisted by Soichiro Migita
Sally Brown, along with Ranzo Ray and Old Stormalong, is one of the mysterious people that are featured in numerous chanteys. Chanteys involving Sally Brown always have versions with obscene lyrics. Was she a real person? We’ll never know. This West Indian capstan chantey probably dates from the 1830’s and never lost its popularity.

Lowlands Away
Rufus Wainwright – vocal; Kate McGarrigle – vocals, guitar; Joan as Policewoman – violin; Ed Pastorini – harmonium
Recorded in New York at Sear Sound – Engineered by Martin Brumbach, assisted by T.J. Doherty and Ethan Donaldson
Originally a pumping chantey, later used for capstan and windlass, this ghost story is based on a Scottish theme. The dead lover, lost at sea appears to meet for one last time with his true love, and tell her of his fate.

Baltimore Whores
Gavin Friday – vocals; Maurice Seezer – accordion, piano; Robbie Cesserly – drums & percussion; Anto Drennan – guitar; Tony Molloy – bass; Zoe Conway – strings
Recorded in Dublin, Ireland at Westland Studio - Engineered by Dave Slevin, assisted by Amy Connolly
Here is an example of the kind of lyrics used in some sea chanteys in their original context. Most of the verses of this sort were edited out of printed collections. The origin of this song is unclear, but I doubt that the author will come forward.

Rolling Sea
Eliza Carthy – violin, vocal; Tim van Eyken – accordion, bkg vocals; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion; Rory McFarlane – bass, bkg vocals; Warren Ellis – strings, bkg vocals; Leo Abrahams – guitar, bkg vocals; Andy Newmark – drums, bkg vocals; Martyn Barker – percussion, bkg vocals; Ralph Steadman, Robyn Hitchcock, Ed Harcourt – bkg vocals
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
This song is from the perspective of a woman ashore, waiting for her sailor (or any sailor) to return home (with prize money). The lyrics are from the Napoleonic period. Some verses are the voice of a wife or sweetheart. The verse that compares sailors and soldiers is a well known whore’s ditty of the time.

The Mermaid
Martin Carthy & The UK Group: Martin Carthy; Norma Waterson; Eliza Carthy; also… Tim van Eyken; Jenni Muldaur; Kate St. John; Rory McFarlane; Warren Ellis; Leo Abrahams; Andy Newmark; Martyn Barker – vocals
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
A traditional ballad that illustrates the deeply superstitious nature of sailors. In the old days, the sighting of a mermaid could foretell certain doom for the ship.

Haul On the Bowline
Bob Neuwirth – vocal; Pete Thomas – drums; Richard Greene – violin; Michael Thompson – accordion
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Dave Rideau, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This may be one of the oldest chanteys known. The bowline was an important rope in sailing vessels dating back to the middle ages. After the 1500’s, with the advent of stays'ls, the bowline diminished in importance and this chantey was used at tacks and sheets.

A Dying Sailor to His Shipmates
Bono – vocal; Maurice Seezer – accordion
Recorded in Dublin, Ireland at Westland Studio – Engineered by Dave Slevin, assisted by Amy Connolly
Jenny Scheinman – violin, string arrangement; Johnny Gandelsman – violin; Nicholas Cords – viola; Eric Jacobsen – cello
Strings recorded in New York at John Kilgore Sound & Recording. Engineered by Martin Brumbach and John Kilgore assisted by Soichiro Migita
A haunting ballad of the 19th century whaling ships. As well as being musical, sailors often displayed great poetic ability, as in the lyrics of this powerful song.

Bonnie Portmore
Lucinda Williams – vocals, guitar
Recorded in Los Angeles at The Village – Engineered by Vanessa Parr
Rory McFarlane – bass; David Coulter – fiddle; Terry Edwards – flugelhorn
The following musicians were overdubbed at NRG in Los Angeles – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Dave Colvin
This Celtic song mourns the destruction of the hardwood forests of Ireland, primarily for English military and shipbuilding purposes. The Great Oak of Portmore stood near Portmore castle on the shores of Lough Beg.

Shenandoah
Richard Greene – violin; Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar; Pete Thomas – drums; Davey Fallagher – bass; also… Neil Larsen – accordion
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
This beautiful American song was originally used by river boatmen and voyageurs on the Ohio and Missouri rivers. It became a popular capstan chantey among deep water sailors. Shenandoah is said to have been a chief of the Oneida tribe.

The Cry of Man
Mary Margaret O’Hara – vocal; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion, English horn; Rory McFarlane – bass; David Coulter – saw; Terry Edwards – flugelhorn; Joe Berardi – percussion; Pietra Wextun – piano; Stan Ridgway – harmonica
Recorded in Los Angeles at NRG – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Dave Colvin.
Here is a musical setting of a poem by Harry Kemp (1883-1960). Kemp was famous (or infamous) as a bohemian and boxcar poet. He lived much of his life in Greenwich Village. He also lived in shacks, rode freight cars, and as a young man, ran away to sea.

CD 2
Boney Was a Warrior
Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar, vocals; Pete Thomas – drums; Davey Fallagher – bass, vocals; also… Neil Larson – accordion
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
Boney is, of course, Napoleon Bonaparte, whose exploits are recounted in much abbreviated, but fairly accurate fashion in this halyard or fore-sheet chantey. The chantey probably originated from a street ballad of the times.

Good Ship Venus
Loudon Wainwright III – guitar, vocal; Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar; Pete Thomas – drums; Davey Fallagher – bass; also… Neil Larson – accordion; Richard Greene – violin
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
Among the filthiest series of limericks ever collected and written down, this gem was first put to paper by Christopher Logue in Count Palmiro Vicarion’s Book of Bawdy Ballads, courageously published by the notorious Olympia Press (Maurice Girodias) in 1956. Maurice was a much persecuted man. He also published Lolita and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Old time sailors would surely have been proud.

Long Time Ago
White Magic: Mira Billotte – vocals; Douglas Shaw - vocals; also… Joan as Policewoman – violin; Ed Pastorini – harmonium; Art Baron – trombone
Recorded in New York at Sear Sound – Engineered by Martin Brumbach, assisted by T.J. Doherty and Ethan Donaldson
By the 1890’s this is said to have been the most popular halyard chantey of all. Probably African American in origin, there are versions in German and Norwegian.

Pinery Boy
Nick Cave – vocals, piano; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion; Rory McFarlane – bass; Warren Ellis – strings; Leo Abrahams – guitar; Andy Newmark – drums; Martyn Barker – percussion
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
An early American folk ballad which tells of a young woman’s desperate search for her timber raftsman lover on the Wisconsin river. She takes to a raft herself to find him, but alas, he has drowned. This is the American version of an older British song, A Sailor’s Life.

Lowlands Low
Bryan Ferry – vocal; Antony – vocal; Kate St. John – oboe; Warren Ellis – violin; Peter Stanley – banjo; Rory McFarlane – bass; Andy Newmark – drums; Martyn Barker – percussion
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
This is a classic halyard chantey once popular in the West Indies. Many of the verses are direct references to getting the sails aloft. The “lowlands” was originally a reference to the Netherlands.

One Spring Morning
Akron/Family: Seth Olinsky – guitar, vocals; Miles Seaton – bass, vocals; Dana Janssen – drums/percussion, banjo, vocals; Ryan Vanderhoof – guitar, vocals; also… Eyvind Kang – violin; Bill Frisell – guitar
Recorded in Seattle at Bear Creek Studios – Engineered by Ryan Hadlock, assisted by Joe Hadlock & Lucas Carlyle
Whenever sailors go to sea, they risk the loss of everything left behind. Those left onshore wait with the uncertainty of when or whether the sailor will return. Sometimes, as in this British Isles ballad, they don’t wait.

Hog-Eye Man
Martin Carthy – vocal; Norma Waterson – vocal; Eliza Carthy – violin, vocal; Tim van Eyken – accordion; Martyn Barker – percussion; Andy Newmark – drums
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
A hog-eye was apparently a type of barge used in the canals and rivers of America from the 1850’s onward. Thus, “hog-eye man” was used in derogation by the deep water sailors who used this chantey at the capstan. Many of the original verses to this chantey were far too obscene to have ever found their way into print.

The Fiddler / Roll the Old Chariot
Ricky Jay – voice, story of the fiddler; Richard Greene – violin, melody of A Drop of Nelson’s Blood
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
One of the realities of shipboard life is being cooped up in a small space with the same people day after day. This fiddler is playing “Roll the Old Chariot.” Perhaps he’s playing it over and over and over. Murders have been committed for less.

Caroline & Her Young Sailor Bold
Andrea Corr – vocal; Zoe Conway – bkg vocal
Recorded in Dublin, Ireland at Westland Studio – Engineered by Dave Slevin, assisted by Amy Connolly
A 19th century Irish folk ballad, probably first recorded by Joe Heaney in the early 1960’s. This is the classic story of a young woman in love with a sailor who follows him to sea, dressed as a man. The unusual twist is that it all ends so happily.

Fathom the Bowl
John C. Reilly – vocal; Jack Shit: Pete Thomas – drums, bkg vocals; Davey Fallagher – bass, bkg vocals; Val McCallum – guitar, bkg vocals; also… Neil Larsen – accordion; Richard Greene – violin; Loudon Wainwright III – bkg vocals
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Erich Talaba.
A classic drinking song from Colonial times. To “fathom” here means to test the depth. “Punch” was once synonymous with the modern “mixed drink.” Sailors used to view it as an absolute daily entitlement. The grog ration in Nelson’s time contained nearly 12 ounces of rum by modern measure, daily.

What Do We Do With a Drunken Sailor
Dave Thomas – vocal, melodeon; Kate St. John – sax; Rory McFarlane – bass; Warren Ellis – strings; Leo Abrahams – guitar; Andy Newmark – drums; Martyn Barker – percussion
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
This stamp-and-go chantey is one of the best known and also quite old. A printed version from the 1830’s differs little from the modern one.

Farewell Nancy
Ed Harcourt – vocals, piano; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion; Rory McFarlane – bass
Warren Ellis – strings; Leo Abrahams – guitar; Andy Newmark – drums; Martyn Barker – percussion
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
This ballad was published in Joyce's Ancient Irish Music (1873). There are published versions of closely related songs going back to at least 1810. In some versions of the story Nancy does indeed dress in men’s clothing and follow William to sea. In a related song, Jack Monroe, Nancy’s sailor is wounded and she saves him.

Hanging Johnny
Stan Ridgway – vocals, guitar; Kate St. John – English horn; Rory McFarlane – bass; David Coulter – violin; Terry Edwards – flugelhorn; Joe Berardi – drums; Pietra Wextun – piano; Mary Margaret O’Hara – bkg vocals; Mocean Worker – percussion
Recorded in Los Angeles at NRG – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Dave Colvin.
A maneuver called “swigging” was sometimes used to give a last strong tightening pull on a halyard. This essentially involved one or more sailors reaching high and “hanging” on the line with their full weight…hence, the association with hanging at the halyards where this chantey was used.

Old Man of the Sea
Baby Gramps – vocals, guitar; Philip Morgan – Irish whistle; Bill Frisell – guitar; Eyvind Kang – flute, violin
Recorded in Seattle at Bear Creek Studios – Engineered by Ryan Hadlock, assisted by Joe Hadlock & Lucas Carlyle
Sailors often attributed human qualities and consciousness to many aspects of their watery environs. Belief in mermaids, the Old Man of the Sea, malicious winds, and the like persist to this day.

Greenland Whaling Fisheries
Van Dyke Parks – piano, vocals, arrangement; Jack Shit: Val McCallum – guitar, bkg vocals; Pete Thomas – drums, bkg vocals; Davey Fallagher – bass, bkg vocals; also… Doug Pettibone – guitar, bkg vocals; Michael Thompson – accordion, bkg vocals; Neil Larson – accordion, bkg vocals; Richard Greene – fiddle, bkg vocals; Steve Berlin – baritone sax, bkg vocals; Greg Prestopino – bkg vocals
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Dave Rideau, assisted by Erich Talaba.
An American whaling song sometimes used as a capstan chantey. This song vividly captures both the thrill and danger of whaling in the 19th century. In some versions the captain is more grieved at the loss of his men, but this version, where he’s more grieved by the loss of the whale, was perhaps more likely.

Shallow Brown
Sting – vocals; Mocean Worker – keyboards, electronics, Debra Dobkin, Val McCallum, Davey Fallagher, Greg Prestopino – bkg vocals
Recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Studios – Engineered by Dave Rideau, assisted by Erich Talaba.
The word “shallow” here is probably derived from “challo,” a West Indian word meaning “half-caste.” This beautiful sentimental song was first used for the pumps and later as a halyard chantey.

The Grey Funnel Line
Jolie Holland – vocals; Kate St. John – oboe, accordion, English horn; Rory McFarlane – bass; David Coulter – fiddle, banjo, mandolin, ukulele; Terry Edwards – flugelhorn; Joe Berardi – drums; Richard Strange, Mary Margaret O’Hara – bkg vocals
Recorded in Los Angeles at NRG – Engineered by Eric Liljestrand, assisted by Dave Colvin.
This song was written by Cyril Tawney (1930-2005), one of Britain’s greatest songwriters and traditional folk singers. Cyril also served for over 12 years in the Royal Navy, and this song is based on those experiences. The Grey Funnel Line is a nickname for the modern Royal Navy.

A Drop of Nelson’s Blood
Jarvis Cocker - vocals, vocoder, guitar; Richard Hawley – guitar; Steve Mackey – bass; Ross Orton – drums
Produced by Graham Sutton & Jarvis Cocker – Recorded at Yellow Arch, Sheffield and Les Studios De La Seine, Paris
– Engineered and mixed by Graham Sutton, assisted by Colin Elliott & Robbie Nelson
Sometimes called “Roll the Old Chariot” this chantey was originally based on a Salvation Army revival song. “Nelson’s blood” is British sailors’ slang for rum. Lord Nelson’s body was placed in a cask of rum (or brandy by some accounts) to preserve it for burial after he was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar. According to tradition, when the cask was opened, Nelson was there but the alcohol was gone.

Leave Her Johnny
Lou Reed – guitar, vocals; Antony – bkg vocals; Jane Scarpantoni – cello
Recorded at John Kilgore Sound & Recording – Engineered by John Kilgore, assisted by Patrick Ford.
Rob Wasserman – bass
Recorded at Prairie Sun Studios, Cotati, CA
This chantey traditionally allowed for the airing of grievances at the end of a voyage and was used at the capstan while warping her in, or in the final session at the pumps. Very obscene verses were sometimes sung.

Little Boy Billee
Ralph Steadman – vocals; Robyn Hitchcock – vocals, guitar; Jenni Muldaur – bkg vocals; Ed Harcourt – vocals, piano; Kate St. John - oboe, accordion; Rory McFarlane – bass, bkg vocals; Warren Ellis – strings, bkg vocals; Leo Abrahams – guitar, bkg vocals; Andy Newmark – drums, bkg vocals; Martyn Barker – percussion, bkg vocals
Recorded in London at Sanctuary / Town House Studios – Engineered by Tim Roe, assisted by Tom Hough
A humorous fo’c’sle song of obscure origin. There was actually a time, before 1885, when eating the cabin boy in an emergency was an accepted part of the “custom of the sea.” In 1885, legal precedent was set when three shipwrecked British sailors were convicted of murder for eating their 17 year old cabin boy, Richard Parker, before their rescue. Life was imitating art in the spookiest of ways. In 1837, Edgar Allen Poe published a story in which three shipwrecked sailors ate their cabin boy. His name in Poe’s story: Richard Parker.

Annotated notes by Philip Morgan: Knowledge comes from many sources, but for much of the information contained in many of these notes, I am indebted to Stan Hugill (1906-1992) author of Shanties from the Seven Seas, and perhaps the last shantyman under commercial sail.


Produced by Hal Willner

Executive Producers: Johnny Depp & Gore Verbinski

Mixed by Martin Brumbach at House of Knuck, NY
Except:
“Bonnie Portmore” mixed by Eric Liljestrand
“A Drop of Nelson’s Blood” mixed by Graham Sutton
“Leave Her Johnny” mixed by Fernando Saunders

All songs are Traditional, except “Old Man of the Sea”, written by Baby Gramps (insert pub info here)
and “The Grey Funnel Line”, written by Cyril Tawney - © Gwyneth Music, Ltd.

Music Directors:
Bill Frisell - Seattle
Jack Shit - Los Angeles 1
Kate St. John - Los Angeles 2
Warren Ellis & Kate St. John - London
Gavin Friday - Dublin
Joan as Policewoman - New York

Bizness & Project Manager: Rachel Fox

Invaluable Angel: Pamela Esterson

Courtesy Credits:

Akron/Family appears courtesy of Young God Records
Antony appears courtesy of Secretly Canadian Records
Joseph Arthur appears courtesy of Real World Records
Bono appears courtesy of Interscope Records
Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy & Norma Waterson, - ???
Nick Cave appears courtesy of Mute Records
Andrea Corr appears courtesy of EMI Records
Bryan Ferry appears courtesy of Virgin Records
Bill Frisell appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records,
Ed Harcourt appears courtesy of Heavenly Recordings / EMI Records
Robin Holcomb appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records,
Sting appears courtesy of Interscope Records
Teddy Thompson appears courtesy of Verve Records
Rufus Wainwright appears courtesy of Geffen Records
Lucinda Williams appears courtesy of Lost Highway Records