When the editor suggested I should write about Songs of the Sea, my
mind went into a fog. I'm not really a water person - more of a Little
Old Wine Drinker - and the only song which immediately came into my
head was the above, although it's not really a sailing song.
Then I recalled those glorious sea shanties we all used to sing at
school - that's something else modern kids are missing out on. My
favourite was "A-Roving", and little did I know then how true were
the words, "Since roving's been my ruin, I'll go no more a-roving
with you fair maid."
Another favourite was "The Mermaid" - a rousing shanty of
roaring, raging seas, sailor boys aloft and landlubbers lying down
below. Many years later I was to recall the words of "The Bay
of Biscay" as the ferry on which I was travelling from northern
Spain to Plymouth was forced to lay anchor during the mother and
father of all storms.
More recently, I was talking to my window cleaner who happened to
be a member of a group of singers who performed folk songs and shanties
around local pubs and clubs here in Plymouth. He told me there was
to be a concert up on The Hoe the following Sunday lunchtime, so
along
I went. It was a memorable experience, with an audience mainly comprised
of obviously nautical elderly men, sitting in a large tent and singing "What
Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor?" Many bottles of wine - and
maybe rum - were being passed amongst them during the singing, which
added considerably to the atmosphere.
All of these songs were, of course, traditional, handed down over
the years. I was surprised to discover that "trad" was the composer
of a song, which I had always regarded as modern. "The Sloop John
B" was a big hit for The Beach Boys in the 1960's and I assumed
it was written about that time. I discovered my error while visiting
an intriguing site on the Internet to research this article. The
site - scubamom.com - contains a wealth of material covering matters
nautical,
including a library of songs.
It's neatly divided into categories to suit all tastes. For example
there's "For Romantic Sailors" which includes, somewhat surprisingly,
the Rod Stewart popular hit "Sailing". "For Junior Sailors" features "Michael
Rowed the Boat Ashore" and Shirley Temple's "The Good Ship
Lollipop". Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song" makes
an appearance as does the song from the German war film "Das Boot".
I was drawn, for some reason, to a song entitled, "Boat Drinks".
It turned out to be modern folk and contains the lyrics:
" Waitress, I need two more boat drinks
Before I go where it's warm;
I Gotta go where it's warm."
Reading this, I was suddenly transported back in time to sunny Algarve,
where I spent many rest days, for more than twenty happy years, just
messing about on boats.
by Mike Johnson