Main Page: Sea Songs

Overview

"Mostly at Sea" more-or-less wraps up my life, a subject on which I have waxed lyrically enough on my same-named CD and requires no further elaboration here. It is odd to relate however, that on leaving the Royal Navy I never, ever again sang those ribald songs learned over some dozen years. It was only as a civilian in more normal circles that I became interested in and indeed enchanted by that vast body of songs and outpourings of sea-going folk over the centuries. I have delved deeply into many songbooks in acquiring a more general repertoire, my absolute favourites being Sea Songs Ships and Shanties by Master Mariner W.B. Whall, The Oxford Book of Sea Songs and The Valiant Sailor, both by Roy Palmer and Grey Funnel Lines by Cyril Tawney. Whilst folk singing in general continues its decline which started with industrialisation, it is a somewhat amazing that sea songs continue to generate interest even in this 21st century.

Geoff Grainger, Bremen-Vegesack, 11th March, 2007

MIDIs

	Title	Composer	Sequencer


	A-Roving		Frank Petersohn
	All Things Are Quite Silent		Unknown
	Banks of Sacramento, The		Frank Petersohn
	Banks of the Nile		Frank Petersohn
	Blow the Man Down		Unknown
	Farewell to Tarwathie		Frank Petersohn
	Irish Rover, The		Frank Petersohn
	John's Gone to Hilo		Frank Petersohn
	Leave her, Johnny		Frank Petersohn
	Leaving of Liverpool, The		Frank Petersohn
	My Bonnie lies over the ocean		Frank Petersohn
	Paddy lay back		Unknown
	What shall we do with a drunken sailor		Frank Petersohn

Samples

	Title (Release Year)	Composer	Performers	Instruments


Banks of the Nile, The		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Blow the Man Down		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Bound for the Rio Grande		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Fareweel to Tarwathie		Steffi Lubrich (perf.)	Voice
Fiddler's Green	J. Conolly	Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Fire Down Below		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Holy Ground, The		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Guitars, Banjo, Chorus
Hullabaloo Belay		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina, Chorus
Johnny Todd		Brian Kelly (perf.)	Voice, Guitars, Banjo, Chorus
Off to Sea Once More		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
Sally Brown		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina, Chorus
Whaling in Greenland		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Concertina
What shall we do with a drunken sailor		The Herminas (perf.)	Vocal Trio
⇑Yellow Girls		Geoff Grainger (perf.)	Voice, Chorus

Books

CDs

	Title	Attribution	Instruments	Source	Remarks


	Castle Hill Anthem (?)	Traditional (w&m)	Score, Voice	York Garland
	Three Score and Ten (1889)	W. Delf (w&m)	Score, Voice	York Garland

Performers

Song Table

	Title	Audio Files	Remarks


	A-Roving
	Advertised in Boston
	All Clouds the Sky
	All Things Are Quite Silent
	Ballad of Sammy's Bar, The
	Banks of Newfoundland, The
	Banks of the Nile, The
	Banks of the Sacramento, The
	Barrat's Privateers
	Bergen, The
	Blow the Candles Out
	Blow the Man Down
	Blow, Boys, Blow
	Blow, Ye Winds
	Bold Fisherman, The
	⇑Bold Shantymen, The
	Boston
	Bound for the Rio Grande
	Britons Strike Home
	Candlelight Fisherman, The
	Captain's Apprentice, The
	Chase, The
	Chicken on a Raft
	Chinee Bum Boatman, The
	Christmas at Sea
	Crossing the Bar
	Davy Lowston
	Deep Blue Sea
	Diesel and Shale
	Drummer and the Cook, The
	Eyemouth Disaster, The
	⇑Fareweel to Tarwathie
	Farewell to Grog
	Fiddler's Green
	Final Trawl, The
	Fire Down Below
	First Trip, The
	Fisher
	General Taylor
	Greenland Whale Fishery
	Grey Funnel Line, The
	Hailey Go Bailey Go
	Handsome Cabin Boy, The
	Handy Me Boys So Handy
	Hanging Johnny
	Haul Away Joe
	Haul in the Long Line
	⇑Herrin' and potatoes
	Hills of Isle au Haut
	Hilo Somebody
	Holy Ground, The
	Homeward Bound
	Hullabaloo Belay
	Humber Belle, The
	Hundred and Fifty Days Out From Vancouver, A
	Hundred years ago, A
	Irish Rover, The
	Jeannie C.
	John Kanaka
	John's Gone to Hilo
	Johnny Todd
	Leave her, Johnny
	Leaving of Liverpool, The
	⇑Let There Be a Tower of Refuge
	Little Boy Billee
	Lowlands Away
	Maggie May
	Marching Inland
	Mary Ellen Carter, The
	Matelot Came to Our House Once, A
	Mermaid (Rule Britannia), The
	Mother Carey
	My Bonnie lies over the ocean
	New York Girls
	No More Fish No More Fishermen
	Noah's Ark Shanty, The
	North Sea Holes
	Off to Sea Once More
	Old Moke Pickin' on the Banjo
	⇑Old Sailors Never Die
	On a British Submarine
	One More Day
	Paddy Doyle's Boots
	Paddy Lay Back
	Paddy West
	Paddy Works on the Railway
	Pirate Smith of Bristol
	Plains of Mexico, The
	Pleasant and Delightful
	Press Gang, The
	Randy Dandy
	Reuben James
	Rodney so Bold
	Roll Alabama Roll
	Roll the Old Chariot Along
	⇑Roll the Woodpile Down
	Rollin Down to Old Mauii
	Rollin' Down to Rio
	Rolling Home
	Roseabella
	Round the Bay of Mexico
	Sailing
	Sailor Likes His Bottle Oh, The
	Sailor's Return, The
	Sailors' Wives, The
	Sally Brown
	Sally Free and Easy
	Shallow Brown
	Shellback's Song, The
	Shenandoah
	Shoals of Herring, The
	⇑Stormalong
	Stormy Weather Boys
	Stormy Winds do Blow
	Strike the Bell
	Tackuanna
	Three Score and Ten
	Titanic, The
	To all you Ladies
	Tom's Gone to Hilo
	Topman and the Afterguard
	Trawling Trade, The
	We're all Bound to Go
	Weary Cutters, The
	Whaling in Greenland
	What shall we do with a drunken sailor
	Whiskey Johnny
	⇑Wife's in Dry Dock
	Windy Old Weather
	Wreck of the Nancy Lee
	Yellow Girls

Song Index

Videos

	Title	Performer	Composer


	The Ballad of Sammy's Bar (4:21)	Cyril Tawney
	Barrett's Privateers (4:20)	Stan Rogers
	BIE DAIP 2010 - (Mainstage) (2:44)	Act of Mutiny
	Blow the Candles Out (2:37)	The Kingston Trio
	Christmas at Sea (5:59)	B. Graham
	Deep Blue Sea (2:24)	The Weavers
	Fareweel to Tarwathie (5:44)	Judy Collins
	Festival Maritim / Bremen Vegesack / Feuerwerk 2013 (8:43)	FeuerwerkPyro
	Festival Maritim 2013 (9:32)	Jürgen Vogeley
	⇑Festival Maritim Bremen-Vegesack 2008 (1:43)	Documentary
	Festival Maritim Vegesack Finale 1 2007 (4:59)	Norbert Schröder
	Festival Maritim Vegesack Finale 2 2007 (3:24)	Norbert Schröder
	Four 'n' Aft Festival Maritim Vegesack Balkon (5:17)	Four 'n' Aft
	Geoff sings with concertina (4:43)	Geoff Grainger
	Grey Funnel Line (5:38)	Barry Dransfield
	He Played his Ukulele as the Ship Went Down - Leslie Sarony (5:28)	Lesley Sarony
	He Played his Ukulele as the Ship Went Down - Ramond Crooke (6:24)	Raymond Crooke
	The Holy Ground (2:07)	The Dubliners
	Impressionen 1 Tag Festival Maritim 2013 (1:33)	Matthias Sabelhaus
	⇑Internationales Festival Maritim Bremen 2013 . (4:32)	Matthias Sabelhaus
	The Irish Rover (3:31)	B. Graham
	Jeanie C. (5:50)	Stan Rogers
	Johnny Todd (1:21)	Bob Roberts
	Lowlands by Four 'n Aft (1:45)	Four 'n' Aft
	Maggie May (2:36)	The Spinners
	Mermaid (3:16)	Barry Dransfield
	My Bonnie lies over the ocean (4:06)	Laura Wright
	Pirate Smith of Bristol (2:32)	The Dubliners
	Rolling Home (3:06)	Shanty Chor Bremerhaven
	⇑Sally Brown - Planxty 1980 Abbey Tavern (3:00)	Planxty
	Tackuanna (3:19)	Emily Standish & Bill Galbraith
	The Mary Ellen Carter (4:57)	Stan Rogers
	The Mermaid (3:42)	Clerestory
	The Mermaid (Rule Britannia) (4:14)	To the King Male Chorus
	The Mermaid (Traditional) (3:56)	Southampton University Singers
	The Oggie Man (3:09)	Cyril Tawney
	Three Score and Ten (4:23)	The Dubliners
	Trim RIg And A Doxy: Perform at the Ellesmere Port, Shanty Festival 2011 (1 of2) (3:47)	Trim Rig and a. Doxy
	Trim RIg And A Doxy: Perform at the Ellesmere Port, Shanty Festival 2011 (2 of2) (3:33)	Trim Rig and a. Doxy
	⇑What shall we do with a drunken sailor (2:38)	The Irish Rovers
	Whiskey Johnny (1:20)	Michiel Schrey, Sean Dagher, Nils Brown