After more research on songs British sailors sing, PG is convinced that Sea Shanty is probably more accurate than Sea Chanty, although sailors often went to sea when they were age 10-12, sometimes younger (Admiral Lord Nelson went to sea at age 12 and two of Jane Austen’s brothers attended the Portsmouth Naval Academy and went to sea when they were slightly older), so instruction in spelling could be a bit sparse.
Speaking of shanties, here is David Coffin leading a rousing version of “Roll the Old Chariot” at the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Portsmouth is home of an historic seaport on the Piscataqua River, a tidal estuary on the Atlantic.
The name, Portsmouth, was chosen in honor of the colony’s founder, John Mason. Mason had been captain of the port of Portsmouth, England, in the county of Hampshire, for which New Hampshire is named. Portsmouth was one of the busiest ports in the United States during much of the 19th century.
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Speaking of Lord Nelson (Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté), he was, of course, the leader of the victorious British Royal Navy in what was probably its greatest battle.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the French Army was a large and much-feared fighting force on land. The Royal Navy was a well-respected naval force, but Napoleon spent a great deal of money building up the French Navy. The Royal Navy was the principal force preventing Napolean from invading Britain.
In 1805, 33 ships in the combined fleets of the French and Spanish navies met 27 ships of the Royal Navy under Nelson’s command in the Atlantic off the Southwest coast of Spain near Cape Trafalgar. A huge battle ensued.
After the battle was finished, the Franco-Spanish fleet had lost 22 ships. The Royal Navy, departing from conventional naval tactics, lost no ships in the battle. Lord Nelson was shot by a French sharpshooter and died shortly after his greatest victory.
Visitors to London will frequently go to Trafalgar Square, in Central London where they can find Nelson’s Column, a memorial to one of Britain’s greatest military heroes.
The great admiral is related to the Sea Shanty inserted higher up in this post. One of the verses that wasn’t sung in the video is, “Well, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm, o, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm.”
Since Trafalgar, British sailors have referred to drinking a wide variety of wines and other alcoholic beverages as partaking of a drop of Nelson’s blood.
“Since Trafalgar, British sailors have referred to drinking a wide variety of wines and other alcoholic beverages as partaking of a drop of Nelson’s blood.”
PG, I was surprised you didn’t mention why. When Nelson died the ships’s surgeon put his body in a cask of brandy to preserve it, (which didn’t entirely work).
Legend has it that there was rather less liquid in the cask at the end of the trip than at the beginning.
Impressive. Singing outdoors often sounds weak, but this performance.
Weak singing outdoors sounds weak. But I’ve heard so many strong voices singing outside that I just can’t relate to your comment in the slightest. I’ve heard stronger outdoors performances than this guy.
Odd, isn’t it, how experiences lead to such different understandings of the world?
That was fun, thank you. “What do you do with a drunken sailor” is still my favorite.
You’re welcome, Stephen.
My favorite part of Assasins Creed IV: Black Flag, was the sea shanties.
Eh. As a fan of shanties first, Assassin’s Creed second, I was underwhelmed.
“One of the verses that wasn’t sung …”
And politically correctness steals away yet another sliver of history.
It wouldn’t have anything to do with political correctness. This is a sea shanty, they all have more verses than anyone can sing in one sitting, and the tradition is to make up new ones whenever the singer feels like it. This version, the singer made up a verse about festivals because that’s where he is, and I’d bet money that there are other verses to that song he didn’t sing, that are perfectly innocuous.
When shanty singers are deciding what verses to include, they pick based on the feel they want for that particular performance at that time. Another time they might pick a completely different set of verses.
True, true … 😛