Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision- Nov. 12, 2021- Title Change
This is Part III of three part pancocojams series on the word "sambo".
This post showcases two Caribbean Mento songs that include the word "sambo". In those songs "sambo" means "a person who is mixed racial".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-origin-meanings-of-word-sambo-means.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents excerpts of quotes about the origins and meanings of the word (including the name) "sambo".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/sambo-in-examples-of-songs-from-thomas.html for Part II of this series. Part II presents examples of the name "Sambo" in songs/rhymes that are featured in Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers and the collectors of this song and other Caribbean songs with the same theme. Thanks also all those who are quoted in this post, thanks to the group that is showcased in this featured sound file, and thanks to the publisher of that sound file on YouTube.
****
LYRICS: BIG BIG SAMBO GYAL
Verse 1
Big big Sambo gyal and she cyaan do a ting.
Big big Sambo gyal and she cyaan do a ting.
Chorus
Sen' she back to she mumma, O!
Sen' she back to she puppa, O!
Di gyal cyaan wash an di gyaal cyaan cook,
Sen she back to she mumma.
Gyal yu waa fi come kill me fi dundas,
Gyal yu waa fi come kill me O,
She tek ackee bwile soup, she tek 'natta color i'.
Gyal yu waa fi come kill mi.
2. Han' full a ring an' she cyaan do a ting.
Han' full a ring an' she cyaan do a ting.
Chorus.
(from "Mango Time: Folk Songs of Jamaica" collected by Noel Dexter and Geoffrey Taylor)
-snip-
These lyrics were posted by MorwenEdhelwen1 in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138244 Date: 01 Jun 11 - 01:46 AM
-snip-
My explanations of certain terms in this song:
Sambo- a person who is mixed racial
gyal = girl
cyaan = can't
ting = thing
dundas =This line uses the word "dundas" meaning "albino" to refer to the woman's mixed racial ancestry: "Gyal yu waa fi come kill me fi dundas" means "Gal, you trying to kill me, you albino".
"She tek ackee bwile soup, she tek 'natta color i'." = "She takes ackee to boil it and make soup but she takes another [?] color [ackee that wasn't ripe] Read this article about the dangers of eating unriped ackee fruit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackee
"Han' full a ring an' she cyaan do a ting" = "Hands full of rings and she can't do a thing
-snip-
An excerpt of a Turks & Caicos song that is obviously adapted from "Big Big Sambo Gyal" can be found in an online article about the music of that Caribbean nation: http://www.timespub.tc/2002/06/rediscovering-the-hidden-culture-folk-songs/
SEND HER HOME
Big, big sambo gal
She can’t wash, she can’t cook
Send her home to her mama gal
The gal can’t wash and the gal can’t cook
Send her home to her mama
-snip-
Here's a sound file of the song "Big Big Sambo Gal" as performed by Lord Fly + Dan Williams & his orchestra
Elenpoika Published on Jul 31, 2010
album: Mento Madness: Motta's Jamaican Mento 1951-1956
-snip-
The Jamaican song "Pack She Back To She Ma" (also known as "Jessie Mahon") has the same theme as "Big Big Sambo Gyal".
"Pack She Back to She Ma" was copyright in 1943, Massie Patterson and Lionel Belasco, copyright M. Baron Co., New York.
Massie Patterson, the singer, may have recorded the song.
Re-printed by permission in Jim Morse, Folk songs of the Caribbean, 1958, Bantam Books." posted in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138244 by Q: "Lyr Add: Big Big Sambo Gyal (jamaica)", Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:37 PM
-snip-
The Jamaican Mento song "Angelique-O" written by William Attaway and Irving Burgie and sung by Harry Belafonte is also clearly patterned after "Big Big Sambo Gyal". Click http://www.metrolyrics.com/angeliqueo-lyrics-harry-belafonte.html for the complete lyrics to that song.
****
SONG: SAMBO LADY
"In notes with another "Sambo" song, Walter Jekyll, 1904, remarks: "A Sambo is the child of a brown mother and a black father, being a cross between black and white. The Sambo lady, very proud of the strain of white in her blood, turns up her nose at the black man. She wants a white man for a husband. Failing to find one, she will not marry at all."
Reposted from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138244 by Q: "Lyr Add: Big Big Sambo Gyal (jamaica)", Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:37 PM
LYRICS: SAMBO LADY
Digging-Sing
Sambo lady ho! Sambo, Sambo lady ho!
Sambo, Sambo no like black man,
Sambo, Sambo, want white man,
Sambo, Sambo, no get white man,
Sambo, Sambo, no want man again,
Sambo, Sambo lady, oh!
Sambo.
With musical score, LXXVI.
Walter Jekyll, 1904, Jamaican Song and Story, Dover reprints.
Reposted from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138244 by Q: "Lyr Add: Big Big Sambo Gyal (jamaica)", Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:37 PM
****
RELATED LINKS
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/more-work-for-undertaker-song-sound.html for a pancocojams post on the British music hall song "More Work For The Undertaker". That song was composed in 1895 and early versions featured a boy named “Sambo”.
Click http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR4181&chapterID=GR4181-5570&path=encyclopedias/greenwood "The Jim Crow Encyclopedia: Racial Stereotypes" for information about the Sambo caricature.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Caribbean folk songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caribbean folk songs. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
LaBega Carousel - St. Croix ,Virgin Islands Quelbe Song (information, example, & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a sound file of the St. Croix, Virgin Island Quelbe song "La Bega Carousel". This post also includes information about Quelbe music (also known as "scratch music" and Quadrille music) and information about that featured song. The lyrics to "LaBega Carousel" is also included in this post. A video of a Jazz rendition of "La Bega Carousel" is showcased in the Addendum to this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to all of the artists who are featured in this sound file. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound file and thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT QUELBE MUSIC & ABOUT THE SONG "LA BEGA CAROUSEL"
From http://www.jamesieproject.com/history.html
"Quelbe, also known as Scratch Band Music or Quadrille, is an indigenous, grass-roots form of folk music which originated in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has spread to other parts of the Caribbean.
A form of oral history, its lyrics are used to immortalize significant historical events, spread “rude” gossip about one's neighbors, and relay the day to day trials and tribulations of life on a island.
Scratch bands musicians play homemade instruments one can “scratch up.” For example, one man might be blowing with all of his might through a car-muffler pipe, another scratching a hollowed-out gourd with his hair pick, and yet another picking at a banjo made from a sardine can, a piece of wood and strings. …In 2004 the Virgin Islands legislature passed a bill making Quelbe the official music of the Virgin Islands...
The way in which quelbe lyrics were used to convey historical events is evident in a song entitled LaBega Carousel . By the early 1900s slavery had long since ended on St. Croix and jobs were scarce. The economy had drastically declined and living conditions were poor. The very popular song bears witness to the resulting labor unrest. The song proposes the boycott of a popular carousel owned by a man named LaBega, who said that laborers were not worthy of a pay raise. This song is still quite popular today.
A strong Crucian spirit is apparent in the lyrics."
****
LYRICS FOR "LA BEGA CAROUSEL"
(traditional - St. Croix, Virgin Islands)
I rather walk and drink rum whole night
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
I rather walk, man, and drink rum whole night
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
You no hear what LaBega say
"The people no worth more than fifteen cent a day"
You no hear what LaBega say, man
"The people no worth more than half cent a day"
I am walking, I am looking, I am begging
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
I am walking, I am looking, I am begging
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnbULfZrCc [summary statement* for the video "Joe Parris and the Hotshots -LaBega Carousel"
*reformatted for this post]
***
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Joe Parris and the Hotshots - LaBega Carousel
Donald Turnbull, Uploaded on Dec 27, 2010
****
ADDENDUM - La Bega Carousel - The Virgin Islands Rhythm Section
modstx Uploaded on May 27, 2009
[Instrumental Jazz rendition of this song]
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post showcases a sound file of the St. Croix, Virgin Island Quelbe song "La Bega Carousel". This post also includes information about Quelbe music (also known as "scratch music" and Quadrille music) and information about that featured song. The lyrics to "LaBega Carousel" is also included in this post. A video of a Jazz rendition of "La Bega Carousel" is showcased in the Addendum to this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to all of the artists who are featured in this sound file. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound file and thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT QUELBE MUSIC & ABOUT THE SONG "LA BEGA CAROUSEL"
From http://www.jamesieproject.com/history.html
"Quelbe, also known as Scratch Band Music or Quadrille, is an indigenous, grass-roots form of folk music which originated in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has spread to other parts of the Caribbean.
A form of oral history, its lyrics are used to immortalize significant historical events, spread “rude” gossip about one's neighbors, and relay the day to day trials and tribulations of life on a island.
Scratch bands musicians play homemade instruments one can “scratch up.” For example, one man might be blowing with all of his might through a car-muffler pipe, another scratching a hollowed-out gourd with his hair pick, and yet another picking at a banjo made from a sardine can, a piece of wood and strings. …In 2004 the Virgin Islands legislature passed a bill making Quelbe the official music of the Virgin Islands...
The way in which quelbe lyrics were used to convey historical events is evident in a song entitled LaBega Carousel . By the early 1900s slavery had long since ended on St. Croix and jobs were scarce. The economy had drastically declined and living conditions were poor. The very popular song bears witness to the resulting labor unrest. The song proposes the boycott of a popular carousel owned by a man named LaBega, who said that laborers were not worthy of a pay raise. This song is still quite popular today.
A strong Crucian spirit is apparent in the lyrics."
****
LYRICS FOR "LA BEGA CAROUSEL"
(traditional - St. Croix, Virgin Islands)
I rather walk and drink rum whole night
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
I rather walk, man, and drink rum whole night
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
You no hear what LaBega say
"The people no worth more than fifteen cent a day"
You no hear what LaBega say, man
"The people no worth more than half cent a day"
I am walking, I am looking, I am begging
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
I am walking, I am looking, I am begging
Before me go ride on LaBega Carousel
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnbULfZrCc [summary statement* for the video "Joe Parris and the Hotshots -LaBega Carousel"
*reformatted for this post]
***
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Joe Parris and the Hotshots - LaBega Carousel
Donald Turnbull, Uploaded on Dec 27, 2010
****
ADDENDUM - La Bega Carousel - The Virgin Islands Rhythm Section
modstx Uploaded on May 27, 2009
[Instrumental Jazz rendition of this song]
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
The Black Roots Of The Song "Shenandoah", Part III (Caribbean songs "This World Of Misery"; "Solid Fas")
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the titles "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather", and probably other titles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-folk-song-oh.html for Part I of this series.
Part I provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part.html for Part II of this series.
Part II two provides transcripts of two 1930 "Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor about that song. I am assuming that "the Times" here means the London Times (newspaper).
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
SOUND FILE AND LYRICS TO "THIS WORLD OF MISERY"
muisire, Published on Jun 10, 2013
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter,
O roll, ye rolling river.
O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,
And I'm bound,
I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
O misery,
The Captain cry out,
O roll, ye rolling river,
O Shenandoah
The boatmen answer,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
For seven years
I courted Sally
O roll, ye rolling river,
I courted her
On foolscap paper,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
For seven years
I toiled the ocean
O roll, ye rolling river.
For seven years
I never saw her,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
Nobody knows
About my toiling,
O roll ye rolling river.
Nobody knows
About my danger,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
And Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
O roll, ye rolling river.
O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
****************
SHENANDOAH is a West Indian version of the well-known American song, and was found by Jack Stanesco in Barrouallie, St. Vincent, a small fishing town. It is a whaling song and a work song, although quite different from the usual shanty. This is due to the fact that, until recently, the men of the area used only small oar-driven boats and hand-held harpoons so they did not have to do the chores from which the other shanties originated. However, until automation rendered manpower and work songs largely obsolete, there was still a need to keep rhythm while pulling oars, hauling tow lines, or dragging boats ashore for repairs. Even now the song can be heard on the boats, for it is traditionally sung if a catch has been made. The gunner begins singing about half a mile out, then the other whalers pick up the refrain, and they can be heard over the water as they head for shore. It is possible that this song travelled to the West Indies via American whaling ships in the last century en route to the South Atlantic, which stopped there to collect crew members. The Indian Maiden of the other version has here been changed to a "white mulatta" and the Wide Missouri has become "this world of misery", by which name the song is also known.
************
From the LP 'Roundtower', Dingle's Records, Edgeware, Middlesex, 1979.
Recording Engineer: Allan Morrow
-snip-
A "white mulatta" is probably a referent for a very light complexioned woman of Black/non-Black (probably White) ancestry.
****
COMMENTS ABOUT CARIBBEAN VERSIONS OF "SHENANDOAH" FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"
From: Abby Sale
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 11:46 AM
"...The Caribbean rowing songs are generally 1) derived from tall ship sailors 2) derived from, based on or in the style of known chanteys & 3) used to set time at sea. But the really important part of this (regardless of definitions) is the image/reality of a boatload of rowers on the open sea & going after large fish and even regularly after whale. These were gutsy guys...
They are still known and used in building construction!
OH MY ROLLING RIVER
All through the rain and squally weather
Oh, my rolling river
All through the rain and squally weather
We are bound away from this world of misery
Misery, I come to tell you
All through this rain and wind all squally
Salambo, I love your daughter
Salambo, this white mulatta
Seven long years we toiled the ocean
Seven long years I never wrote her
All through the rain and squally weather
All through this rain and windy squally
Misery, my captain cry out
Solid fas', my bowman cry out
I courted Sally, no pen no paper
I courted Sally with foolscap paper
From Roger Abrahams's Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore."
****
LYRICS TO "SOLID FAS'"
From http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5435
Solid fas', I come to tell you
HURRAH, MY ROLLING RIVER
"Solid fas'," our captain cry out
WE ARE BOUND AWAY FROM THIS WORLD OF MISERY
Nobody knows about our toilin'
Only God Almighty knows about our danger
"Whale ahead," my little gunman cry out
"Solid fas'," my little captain answer
And on our way, she roll and shiver
Down in our way, she spout dirty water
"Make her so bold," my strokeman cry out
"Haul and gi' me," my centerman cry out
Nobody knows about our hardship
Our shipowner, she don't know our hardship
Misery into the ocean
Misery in the deep wide ocean
Recorded by the Boarding Party
(rowing shanty from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent,
derived from "Shenandoah")
-snip-
These lyrics are presented as they are found on that page.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "SOLID FAS'" ("SOLID FAST") FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"
From: GUEST,Barry Finn
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 09:36 AM
"Solid Fas' is a (west Indian) term to mean the Blackfish is caught fast to the line ("solid fas? Yes, she's solid fas")....
Solid Fas' is also known as "World Of Misery".
Hugill says that Shenandoah this was one of the most popular shanties at capstan & windlass
****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 09 Aug 00 - 10:03 PM
"One more thing. I went back to Deep the Water today to look up the song. The several pages before it give a fascinating, frightening and detailed account of going after whale (Blackfish) in just a long boat with 6 men. Couple of small details in the account:
The "All through the rain & squally weather" words are sung while rowing out after the whale but the "Solid fas'" words (still the same tune) are sung "after a long rowin' or coming home late at night and we must pull hard." The source explains that "Solid fas'" is said when you strike the "fish." Usually by the captain but maybe by the bowman first. "
****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 10:40 AM
"By the way, the St. Vincent tunes used for "Solid Fas'" and for "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather" are about the same to my ear. But it is a significant (but easily recognizable) variation on the usual tune. The slow rhythm also makes it a good rowing chantey. Sorry to reopen this old thread...the St. Vincent song captivates me.
****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 07:31 PM
"...Closely related is the song "Solid Fas'," as recorded by The Boarding Party on their album " 'Tis Our Sailing Time" (Folk-Legacy CD-97). This version was collected by Roger Abrahams in Barouallie on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use there as a rowing shanty. It appears in Abrahams' wonderful but out-of-print book, "Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore." In this version, all reference to the Missouri and Shenandoah have disappeared, but the tune is the same, and it contains the refrain line, "We are bound away from this world of misery." Jonathan Eberhart of The Boarding Party agreed with the theory outlined above by EBarnacle on the "Missouri/Misery" connection. Abrahams was kind enough to send Jonathan a copy of his original field recording, and the BP guys fell in love with its unusual harmonies, which they reproduce in their own version.
It's a beautiful song, in any of its many variants."
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=32666 "Land of Misery (Shenandoah):
toadfrog
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 06:13 PM
"This is a version of Shenandoah heard on Prairie Home Companion (maybe) 12 years ago.... Does anyone know who sang it and whether it is available as a recording.?
LAND OF MISERY
(Traditional)
Oh Shenandoah I love your daughter.
Chorus:
Hurrah, my rolling river.
Shenandoah, the white Mulatta
Chorus:
We are bound away
From this land of misery.
Verses:
I courted Sally, no pen, no paper.
I courted Sally with foolscap paper.
For seven long years I sailed the ocean.
For seven long years I never wrote her.
Misery! my captain cried out.
Sally forth, my bowman answered.
Nobody knows about my sorrow.
Nobody cares about my danger."
****
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 07:09 PM
..."It's "World of Misery," sung by Jack Stanesco and the whole Golden Ring group. Jack learned it from whale fishermen on St. Vincent's Island while doing his Peace Corp work there. It's on Five Days Singing, the New Golden Ring - CD-41 - from Folk-Legacy."
****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 09:10 PM
"...This song is clearly related to "Solid Fas'," recorded by The Boarding Party on another fine Folk-Legacy recording, "'Tis Our Sailing Time," (CD-97, or, in some circles, BP1). It's in the DT.* It was collected by Roger Abrahams in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use as a rowing shanty. The album notes discuss its relationship to the Stanesco version."
-snip-
The "DT" is the Digital Tradition, a collection housed at Mudcat of lyrics to various folk songs.
****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
I wonder if "across the wide Missouri" isn't a folk etymology form of "in this world of misery" instead of vice versa.
Besides, there's this comment from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread which I quoted in Part II of this series:
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 12:00 AM
"I went to a house concert abt 10 years ago where a man and wife named Nash sang songs of the sea. He was retired Navy, and they've been collecting for years. He sang a version of Shenandoah which he got from a sailor over 90 years old, and the sailor's last line went:
away, I'm bound away, across this wide world of mis'ry.
Makes more sense than the Missouri any day.
Hey, I live on the Missouri, and I know that going across it doesn't get you anywhere but Kansas, the beginning of the Great American Desert."
-snip-
The Shenandoah River is located in the states of Virginia and West Virginia (USA). The Missouri River is nowhere near the Shenandoah River.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River
"The Missouri River is the longest river in North America,[11] longest tributary in the United States and a major waterway of the central United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km)[7] before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system."
****
This concludes Part III of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the singers and musicians featured in this sound file, and thanks to the publisher of that sound file.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part III of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the titles "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather", and probably other titles.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-folk-song-oh.html for Part I of this series.
Part I provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part.html for Part II of this series.
Part II two provides transcripts of two 1930 "Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor about that song. I am assuming that "the Times" here means the London Times (newspaper).
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
SOUND FILE AND LYRICS TO "THIS WORLD OF MISERY"
muisire, Published on Jun 10, 2013
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter,
O roll, ye rolling river.
O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,
And I'm bound,
I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
O misery,
The Captain cry out,
O roll, ye rolling river,
O Shenandoah
The boatmen answer,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
For seven years
I courted Sally
O roll, ye rolling river,
I courted her
On foolscap paper,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
For seven years
I toiled the ocean
O roll, ye rolling river.
For seven years
I never saw her,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
Nobody knows
About my toiling,
O roll ye rolling river.
Nobody knows
About my danger,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
And Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
O roll, ye rolling river.
O Shenandoah
The white Mulatta,
And I'm bound, I'm bound to leave,
For to leave this world of misery.
****************
SHENANDOAH is a West Indian version of the well-known American song, and was found by Jack Stanesco in Barrouallie, St. Vincent, a small fishing town. It is a whaling song and a work song, although quite different from the usual shanty. This is due to the fact that, until recently, the men of the area used only small oar-driven boats and hand-held harpoons so they did not have to do the chores from which the other shanties originated. However, until automation rendered manpower and work songs largely obsolete, there was still a need to keep rhythm while pulling oars, hauling tow lines, or dragging boats ashore for repairs. Even now the song can be heard on the boats, for it is traditionally sung if a catch has been made. The gunner begins singing about half a mile out, then the other whalers pick up the refrain, and they can be heard over the water as they head for shore. It is possible that this song travelled to the West Indies via American whaling ships in the last century en route to the South Atlantic, which stopped there to collect crew members. The Indian Maiden of the other version has here been changed to a "white mulatta" and the Wide Missouri has become "this world of misery", by which name the song is also known.
************
From the LP 'Roundtower', Dingle's Records, Edgeware, Middlesex, 1979.
Recording Engineer: Allan Morrow
-snip-
A "white mulatta" is probably a referent for a very light complexioned woman of Black/non-Black (probably White) ancestry.
****
COMMENTS ABOUT CARIBBEAN VERSIONS OF "SHENANDOAH" FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"
From: Abby Sale
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 11:46 AM
"...The Caribbean rowing songs are generally 1) derived from tall ship sailors 2) derived from, based on or in the style of known chanteys & 3) used to set time at sea. But the really important part of this (regardless of definitions) is the image/reality of a boatload of rowers on the open sea & going after large fish and even regularly after whale. These were gutsy guys...
They are still known and used in building construction!
OH MY ROLLING RIVER
All through the rain and squally weather
Oh, my rolling river
All through the rain and squally weather
We are bound away from this world of misery
Misery, I come to tell you
All through this rain and wind all squally
Salambo, I love your daughter
Salambo, this white mulatta
Seven long years we toiled the ocean
Seven long years I never wrote her
All through the rain and squally weather
All through this rain and windy squally
Misery, my captain cry out
Solid fas', my bowman cry out
I courted Sally, no pen no paper
I courted Sally with foolscap paper
From Roger Abrahams's Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore."
****
LYRICS TO "SOLID FAS'"
From http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5435
Solid fas', I come to tell you
HURRAH, MY ROLLING RIVER
"Solid fas'," our captain cry out
WE ARE BOUND AWAY FROM THIS WORLD OF MISERY
Nobody knows about our toilin'
Only God Almighty knows about our danger
"Whale ahead," my little gunman cry out
"Solid fas'," my little captain answer
And on our way, she roll and shiver
Down in our way, she spout dirty water
"Make her so bold," my strokeman cry out
"Haul and gi' me," my centerman cry out
Nobody knows about our hardship
Our shipowner, she don't know our hardship
Misery into the ocean
Misery in the deep wide ocean
Recorded by the Boarding Party
(rowing shanty from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent,
derived from "Shenandoah")
-snip-
These lyrics are presented as they are found on that page.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "SOLID FAS'" ("SOLID FAST") FROM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4257 "Origins: Shenandoah"
From: GUEST,Barry Finn
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 09:36 AM
"Solid Fas' is a (west Indian) term to mean the Blackfish is caught fast to the line ("solid fas? Yes, she's solid fas")....
Solid Fas' is also known as "World Of Misery".
Hugill says that Shenandoah this was one of the most popular shanties at capstan & windlass
****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 09 Aug 00 - 10:03 PM
"One more thing. I went back to Deep the Water today to look up the song. The several pages before it give a fascinating, frightening and detailed account of going after whale (Blackfish) in just a long boat with 6 men. Couple of small details in the account:
The "All through the rain & squally weather" words are sung while rowing out after the whale but the "Solid fas'" words (still the same tune) are sung "after a long rowin' or coming home late at night and we must pull hard." The source explains that "Solid fas'" is said when you strike the "fish." Usually by the captain but maybe by the bowman first. "
****
From: Abby Sale
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 10:40 AM
"By the way, the St. Vincent tunes used for "Solid Fas'" and for "All Through The Cold & Squally Weather" are about the same to my ear. But it is a significant (but easily recognizable) variation on the usual tune. The slow rhythm also makes it a good rowing chantey. Sorry to reopen this old thread...the St. Vincent song captivates me.
****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 07:31 PM
"...Closely related is the song "Solid Fas'," as recorded by The Boarding Party on their album " 'Tis Our Sailing Time" (Folk-Legacy CD-97). This version was collected by Roger Abrahams in Barouallie on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use there as a rowing shanty. It appears in Abrahams' wonderful but out-of-print book, "Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore." In this version, all reference to the Missouri and Shenandoah have disappeared, but the tune is the same, and it contains the refrain line, "We are bound away from this world of misery." Jonathan Eberhart of The Boarding Party agreed with the theory outlined above by EBarnacle on the "Missouri/Misery" connection. Abrahams was kind enough to send Jonathan a copy of his original field recording, and the BP guys fell in love with its unusual harmonies, which they reproduce in their own version.
It's a beautiful song, in any of its many variants."
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=32666 "Land of Misery (Shenandoah):
toadfrog
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 06:13 PM
"This is a version of Shenandoah heard on Prairie Home Companion (maybe) 12 years ago.... Does anyone know who sang it and whether it is available as a recording.?
LAND OF MISERY
(Traditional)
Oh Shenandoah I love your daughter.
Chorus:
Hurrah, my rolling river.
Shenandoah, the white Mulatta
Chorus:
We are bound away
From this land of misery.
Verses:
I courted Sally, no pen, no paper.
I courted Sally with foolscap paper.
For seven long years I sailed the ocean.
For seven long years I never wrote her.
Misery! my captain cried out.
Sally forth, my bowman answered.
Nobody knows about my sorrow.
Nobody cares about my danger."
****
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 07:09 PM
..."It's "World of Misery," sung by Jack Stanesco and the whole Golden Ring group. Jack learned it from whale fishermen on St. Vincent's Island while doing his Peace Corp work there. It's on Five Days Singing, the New Golden Ring - CD-41 - from Folk-Legacy."
****
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Apr 01 - 09:10 PM
"...This song is clearly related to "Solid Fas'," recorded by The Boarding Party on another fine Folk-Legacy recording, "'Tis Our Sailing Time," (CD-97, or, in some circles, BP1). It's in the DT.* It was collected by Roger Abrahams in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1966, still in use as a rowing shanty. The album notes discuss its relationship to the Stanesco version."
-snip-
The "DT" is the Digital Tradition, a collection housed at Mudcat of lyrics to various folk songs.
****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
I wonder if "across the wide Missouri" isn't a folk etymology form of "in this world of misery" instead of vice versa.
Besides, there's this comment from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread which I quoted in Part II of this series:
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 12:00 AM
"I went to a house concert abt 10 years ago where a man and wife named Nash sang songs of the sea. He was retired Navy, and they've been collecting for years. He sang a version of Shenandoah which he got from a sailor over 90 years old, and the sailor's last line went:
away, I'm bound away, across this wide world of mis'ry.
Makes more sense than the Missouri any day.
Hey, I live on the Missouri, and I know that going across it doesn't get you anywhere but Kansas, the beginning of the Great American Desert."
-snip-
The Shenandoah River is located in the states of Virginia and West Virginia (USA). The Missouri River is nowhere near the Shenandoah River.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River
"The Missouri River is the longest river in North America,[11] longest tributary in the United States and a major waterway of the central United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km)[7] before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system."
****
This concludes Part III of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the singers and musicians featured in this sound file, and thanks to the publisher of that sound file.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Black Roots Of The Song "Shenandoah", Part II (1930s New York Times Letters)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". This post provides transcripts of two 1930 "Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor about that song. I am assuming that "the Times" here means the London Times (newspaper).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-folk-song-oh.html for Part I of this series.
Part I provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part_18.html for Part III of this series.
Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the title "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), and other titles.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
TRANSCRIPTS & SUMMARY OF LETTERS ABOUT THE SONG "SHENANDOAH"
Editor: Hat tip to slam2011, a retired librarian from the United Kingdom for sending me files of three 1930 letters that were published in the Times. These letters are part of what that retired UK librarian described as a "debate on the song "Shenandoah". In addition to sending me the files of these letters, slam2011 also summarized their content, and provided information about their writers. Here's slam2011's information about these letter writers:
Regarding Rev. A. A. Brockington: "He was an English clergyman who seems to have had an interest in folk songs generally and shanties in particular... He had an American friend in San Francisco, a former sailor called J.E. Laidlaw, who'd often heard 'Shenandoah' sung at sea... The Brockington letter was published in ''The Times'' on September 12 1930, on page 8.
Regarding R. L. Andrewes: "He'd sailed aboard the clipper ships in the Australian wool trade in the 1880s, which is where he heard 'Shenandoah'. His letter was published in ''The Times'' on September 19, 1930 (page 6).
Regarding Clive Carey (1883-1968): [He was a] "Concert singer, folk-song collector and writer, opera director etc., but not by any means a sailor. "Carey's letter was the very last in the sequence, and was published October 1, 1930, on page 8."
-snip-
slam2011 also wrote "I left out some letters from various others who got into the debate, because only Brockington, Andrewes and Carey really knew what they were talking about. The other correspondents were suggesting silly things, such as that it was all corrupted Latin plainsong."
****
Letter #1: A. A. Brockington letter
“Shenandoah”
Origin In A Negro Spiritual?
Editors of The Times:
Sir: Unless the interest in this famous sea chanty “Shenandoah” is exhausted, you may be willing to give publicity to some further details. The new information is mainly gathered out of letters sent to me in connexion with the recent correspondence in the Times.
The Rec. J. W. Eisdell heard many chanteys during voyages to Australia in the eighties, none more frequently than “Shenandoah”, and he agrees that ”Shanadar” was the regular pronunciation. Mr. J. E. Laidlaw, of San Francisco heard the following: ”Shanadar” , “Challingor”, “Shanabar”, and “Trannabar”. He had no doubt, however, that the name referred was the river “Shenandoah”. Here are the words to the chanty as sung in 1894 by a Barbados negro in the Glasgo ship Harland: -
I.
“Oh Shenandoah, I hear you calling!
Away, you rolling river!
Yes, far away I hear you calling.
Ha, Ha, I’m bound away across the wide Missouri
II.
My girl, she’s gone far from the river
Away, you rolling river!
I ain’t gonna see her never
I’m bound away, &c
Mr Laidlaw spent some times in sailing ships, nearly all of them British, in the nineties, and there were many surviving chantymen. He made several voyages with “chequer-board” crews- one “watch” white” and the other negro”-and “Shenandoah” was a favorite chantey, “in spite, he says, “of its lack of the usual rhythm of a capstan song”. I have to defer to the opinion of so experienced a voyager, but I remember Mr. John Short, of Watchet, who sang the song for Cecil Sharp, was emphatic in calling it a good capstan chantey. Perhaps he himself, an old chanteyman, had successfully adapted the tune for his proper purpose. In that case, the Cecil Sharp version ought to be received as authoritative. Of course, rhythm is everything, or nearly everything.
As to the origin of the tune, Mr. Laidlaw believes that some sailor heard it sung presumably by an American or West Indian negro, in a cotton port, and appropriated it as a sea-song. This sea-going adventure happened to “John Brown’s Body”, and “Bonnie Laddie”, as well as to the most ancient negro hymn now known as “Leave her, Johnny, leave her.”
Shenandoah has had other adventures. It is the traditional song of the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments of the United States Army. These are negro regiments, officered by “whites”. Mr. Laidlaw heard it sung, almost word for word as the sailor of Harland sung it by a captain in the 9th U.S. Calvary in 1926 at Monterey Presidio.
I suggest, therefore, that the title and tune belonged to the negro spiritual, “Shenandoah” becoming a local symbol for the river of life. Negro spirituals abound in references to the mysterious life-stream. Nor are English folk songs lacking in such references. One of the most beautiful is “Waly Waly”, beginning: ”The water is wide, I cannot get o’er. The tune of “Waly Waly” has a certain affinity to “Shenandoah”.
Yours, &c;,
A.A. Brockington
87 Canning-street, Liverpool"
****
Letter #2: R. L. Andrewes letter
“Shenandoah
To the Editor of the Times
Sir,-The revival of this subject in your columns prompts me to offer van explanation of the variation in the title such as your correspondent, Mr. A. A. Brockington suggests- naming “Shanadar”, “Callingor”, “Shanabar”, “Tanabar”. I also heard “Shallow Bar” used.
This chantey is obviously of American origin, whether it is a spiritual or not is difficult to say, but as nearly all work done in the old slave days by the negro population had a tendency that way, and wherever possible had music introduced, it might quite reasonably be concluded that the chanteys originated in America were spirituals.
“Shenandoah” was more a wool and cotton chantey than a capstan chantey. I have had many times heard it sung down the hold of the wool screws by the Sydney waterside workers, who were always old deep-water men, and many were full-blood negroes, who were undoubtedly brought these chanteys off the cotton ships. The reason the names varies so much is because it has been used by men of so many different nationalities. I’ve heard it sung by certainly English, Scots, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Dutch, and negroes. These men were all uneducated, had music in them, but lacked accuracy in pronunciation.
With regard to the words, these vary according to the taste of the chantey man in the first and third line of each verse, there being no effort called for on these two lines but the second and fourth lines were always the same, these being the rhythm lines on which the weight was used.
When I was in the wool trade in the eighties, in both the Tweed and Cutty Sark this chantey was daily used on the wool screw. There are many chanteys of English origin, but they could never be termed spirituals. I don’t know if they were used on American ships, but undoubtedly there were many of American origin on the great soft wood clippers of that country which did originate as spirituals.
Yours, &c.
R. L. Andrewes
Coombs, Oxon, Sept. 13. "
****
Letter #3: Clive Carey Letter [Summary by slam2011]
...”there's another letter from the same series attached. It's arguing for the 'voyageurs' origin, and puts some fair points, like querying Brockington's assumption that all African American songs were originally spirituals. On the other hand, the writer is basing his argument on a version of the lyrics printed in 1910. This is pretty late! By that time not only other, non-American shantymen might have added their input, but sea-shanties were becoming a musical art form. So there was opportunity for the original lyrics to become corrupted, and then elaborated into something of a parlour ballad for the benefit of the song's new audience.
That's just my hunch.”
****
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
The word "negro" used above is an outdated referent for people of Black African descent in the United States -and/or in this context-in the Caribbean (West Indies). Prior to it being replaced by the term "black [or "Black"] people", for contemporaneous usages of the referent "Negro", the first letter of that referent was and is spelled with a capital letter.
Rather than being categorized as a religious song [a spiritual], "Oh Shenandoah" is now categorized as a folk song that probably came from either a land based work song or a maritime work song [shanty/chantey].
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty
"A shanty (also spelled "chantey," "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels...
Capstan shanty:[26]
Raising the anchor on a ship involved winding its rope around a capstan, a sort of giant winch, turned by sailors heaving wooden bars while walking around it. Other heavy tasks might also be assisted by using a capstan. Being a continuous action, shanties sung to accompany these tasks might have longer solo verses and, frequently, a "grand chorus," in addition to the call-and-response form. Examples: "Santianna", "Paddy Lay Back," "Rio Grande," "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run," "Shenandoah", and "John Brown's Body." "
****
This concludes Part II of this series.
Thanks to the writers of this comments for helping to document the history of the song "Oh Shenandoah". Thanks also to slam2011 for alerting me to these letters and sending me files of these letters.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part II of a three part series on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah". This post provides transcripts of two 1930 "Times" letters to the editor about "Oh Shenandoah" and one synopsis of another 1930 "Times" letter to the editor about that song. I am assuming that "the Times" here means the London Times (newspaper).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-folk-song-oh.html for Part I of this series.
Part I provides information about the origin of this song and a sound file of Paul Robinson singing that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-black-roots-of-song-shenandoah-part_18.html for Part III of this series.
Part III provides comments about and lyrics to Caribbean songs that are derived from "Oh Shenandoah". These songs are known by the title "This World Of Misery", "Oh My Rolling River", "Solid Fas'" ("Solid Fast'), and other titles.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
TRANSCRIPTS & SUMMARY OF LETTERS ABOUT THE SONG "SHENANDOAH"
Editor: Hat tip to slam2011, a retired librarian from the United Kingdom for sending me files of three 1930 letters that were published in the Times. These letters are part of what that retired UK librarian described as a "debate on the song "Shenandoah". In addition to sending me the files of these letters, slam2011 also summarized their content, and provided information about their writers. Here's slam2011's information about these letter writers:
Regarding Rev. A. A. Brockington: "He was an English clergyman who seems to have had an interest in folk songs generally and shanties in particular... He had an American friend in San Francisco, a former sailor called J.E. Laidlaw, who'd often heard 'Shenandoah' sung at sea... The Brockington letter was published in ''The Times'' on September 12 1930, on page 8.
Regarding R. L. Andrewes: "He'd sailed aboard the clipper ships in the Australian wool trade in the 1880s, which is where he heard 'Shenandoah'. His letter was published in ''The Times'' on September 19, 1930 (page 6).
Regarding Clive Carey (1883-1968): [He was a] "Concert singer, folk-song collector and writer, opera director etc., but not by any means a sailor. "Carey's letter was the very last in the sequence, and was published October 1, 1930, on page 8."
-snip-
slam2011 also wrote "I left out some letters from various others who got into the debate, because only Brockington, Andrewes and Carey really knew what they were talking about. The other correspondents were suggesting silly things, such as that it was all corrupted Latin plainsong."
****
Letter #1: A. A. Brockington letter
“Shenandoah”
Origin In A Negro Spiritual?
Editors of The Times:
Sir: Unless the interest in this famous sea chanty “Shenandoah” is exhausted, you may be willing to give publicity to some further details. The new information is mainly gathered out of letters sent to me in connexion with the recent correspondence in the Times.
The Rec. J. W. Eisdell heard many chanteys during voyages to Australia in the eighties, none more frequently than “Shenandoah”, and he agrees that ”Shanadar” was the regular pronunciation. Mr. J. E. Laidlaw, of San Francisco heard the following: ”Shanadar” , “Challingor”, “Shanabar”, and “Trannabar”. He had no doubt, however, that the name referred was the river “Shenandoah”. Here are the words to the chanty as sung in 1894 by a Barbados negro in the Glasgo ship Harland: -
I.
“Oh Shenandoah, I hear you calling!
Away, you rolling river!
Yes, far away I hear you calling.
Ha, Ha, I’m bound away across the wide Missouri
II.
My girl, she’s gone far from the river
Away, you rolling river!
I ain’t gonna see her never
I’m bound away, &c
Mr Laidlaw spent some times in sailing ships, nearly all of them British, in the nineties, and there were many surviving chantymen. He made several voyages with “chequer-board” crews- one “watch” white” and the other negro”-and “Shenandoah” was a favorite chantey, “in spite, he says, “of its lack of the usual rhythm of a capstan song”. I have to defer to the opinion of so experienced a voyager, but I remember Mr. John Short, of Watchet, who sang the song for Cecil Sharp, was emphatic in calling it a good capstan chantey. Perhaps he himself, an old chanteyman, had successfully adapted the tune for his proper purpose. In that case, the Cecil Sharp version ought to be received as authoritative. Of course, rhythm is everything, or nearly everything.
As to the origin of the tune, Mr. Laidlaw believes that some sailor heard it sung presumably by an American or West Indian negro, in a cotton port, and appropriated it as a sea-song. This sea-going adventure happened to “John Brown’s Body”, and “Bonnie Laddie”, as well as to the most ancient negro hymn now known as “Leave her, Johnny, leave her.”
Shenandoah has had other adventures. It is the traditional song of the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments of the United States Army. These are negro regiments, officered by “whites”. Mr. Laidlaw heard it sung, almost word for word as the sailor of Harland sung it by a captain in the 9th U.S. Calvary in 1926 at Monterey Presidio.
I suggest, therefore, that the title and tune belonged to the negro spiritual, “Shenandoah” becoming a local symbol for the river of life. Negro spirituals abound in references to the mysterious life-stream. Nor are English folk songs lacking in such references. One of the most beautiful is “Waly Waly”, beginning: ”The water is wide, I cannot get o’er. The tune of “Waly Waly” has a certain affinity to “Shenandoah”.
Yours, &c;,
A.A. Brockington
87 Canning-street, Liverpool"
****
Letter #2: R. L. Andrewes letter
“Shenandoah
To the Editor of the Times
Sir,-The revival of this subject in your columns prompts me to offer van explanation of the variation in the title such as your correspondent, Mr. A. A. Brockington suggests- naming “Shanadar”, “Callingor”, “Shanabar”, “Tanabar”. I also heard “Shallow Bar” used.
This chantey is obviously of American origin, whether it is a spiritual or not is difficult to say, but as nearly all work done in the old slave days by the negro population had a tendency that way, and wherever possible had music introduced, it might quite reasonably be concluded that the chanteys originated in America were spirituals.
“Shenandoah” was more a wool and cotton chantey than a capstan chantey. I have had many times heard it sung down the hold of the wool screws by the Sydney waterside workers, who were always old deep-water men, and many were full-blood negroes, who were undoubtedly brought these chanteys off the cotton ships. The reason the names varies so much is because it has been used by men of so many different nationalities. I’ve heard it sung by certainly English, Scots, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Dutch, and negroes. These men were all uneducated, had music in them, but lacked accuracy in pronunciation.
With regard to the words, these vary according to the taste of the chantey man in the first and third line of each verse, there being no effort called for on these two lines but the second and fourth lines were always the same, these being the rhythm lines on which the weight was used.
When I was in the wool trade in the eighties, in both the Tweed and Cutty Sark this chantey was daily used on the wool screw. There are many chanteys of English origin, but they could never be termed spirituals. I don’t know if they were used on American ships, but undoubtedly there were many of American origin on the great soft wood clippers of that country which did originate as spirituals.
Yours, &c.
R. L. Andrewes
Coombs, Oxon, Sept. 13. "
****
Letter #3: Clive Carey Letter [Summary by slam2011]
...”there's another letter from the same series attached. It's arguing for the 'voyageurs' origin, and puts some fair points, like querying Brockington's assumption that all African American songs were originally spirituals. On the other hand, the writer is basing his argument on a version of the lyrics printed in 1910. This is pretty late! By that time not only other, non-American shantymen might have added their input, but sea-shanties were becoming a musical art form. So there was opportunity for the original lyrics to become corrupted, and then elaborated into something of a parlour ballad for the benefit of the song's new audience.
That's just my hunch.”
****
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
The word "negro" used above is an outdated referent for people of Black African descent in the United States -and/or in this context-in the Caribbean (West Indies). Prior to it being replaced by the term "black [or "Black"] people", for contemporaneous usages of the referent "Negro", the first letter of that referent was and is spelled with a capital letter.
Rather than being categorized as a religious song [a spiritual], "Oh Shenandoah" is now categorized as a folk song that probably came from either a land based work song or a maritime work song [shanty/chantey].
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty
"A shanty (also spelled "chantey," "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels...
Capstan shanty:[26]
Raising the anchor on a ship involved winding its rope around a capstan, a sort of giant winch, turned by sailors heaving wooden bars while walking around it. Other heavy tasks might also be assisted by using a capstan. Being a continuous action, shanties sung to accompany these tasks might have longer solo verses and, frequently, a "grand chorus," in addition to the call-and-response form. Examples: "Santianna", "Paddy Lay Back," "Rio Grande," "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run," "Shenandoah", and "John Brown's Body." "
****
This concludes Part II of this series.
Thanks to the writers of this comments for helping to document the history of the song "Oh Shenandoah". Thanks also to slam2011 for alerting me to these letters and sending me files of these letters.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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