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1. |
Dogger Bank
02:44
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Dogger Bank
A maritime-themed song of storied origin
Traditional
Sailing over the Dogger Bank
Now wasn’t it a treat?
The wind was blowing east-nor’east,
We had to give her sheet.
You shoulda see us rally,
The wind a-blowing free,
On the passage from the Dogger Bank
To Great Grimsby.
Chorus (after each verse):
So watch her, twig her,
She’s a proper ju-ber-ju.
Give her the sheet – let her rip,
We’re the boys to pull her through.
You shoulda see us rally,
The wind a-blowing free,
On the passage from the Dogger Bank
To Great Grimsby.
Our captain she’s a shangaroosh
She loves a drop of good ale,
The second mate’s a Ribston Pippin,
He’s been seen in many a jail.
The third mate he’s a bushranger,
The worst in all the crew,
A Liverpool Irish packet rat,
And the son of a buckaroo. (Chorus)
So watch her, twig her,
The powerful way she goes:
With high heels and painted toes,
She is on the show.
She is one of them flash girls,
Ain’t she cut to shine?
She can do the double shuffle
On the Knickerbocker line. (Chorus)
Now, we’re the boys to make a noise,
When we come home from sea,
We get right drunk and full of beer,
And cause a jubilee!
We roam the town from pub to pub,
We stagger from door to door,
And when our money is all spent,
We’ll go to sea once more. (Chorus)
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2. |
Hielan' Laddie
03:39
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Hieland Laddie
Traditional Scottish Song used as a Walkaway or Stamp-and-Go Shanty
Traditional
All- Intro:
There wuz a laddie come from Scotland,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Bonnie laddie from fair Scotland,
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 1:
Where have ye been all the day?
Bonnie Laddie! Hieland laddie!
Where have ye been all the day?
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 1:
I’ve been seeking fortune’s road,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
There’s money at whalin’ so I’ve been told,
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
All-Chorus
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 2:
I did not see you doon the glen,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
I did not see you doon the glen.
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 2:
Nay I joined a ship to go a-sailing’,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
Sailing far nother to go a-whalin’.
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
All-Chorus
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 3:
Will ye go to Inverness,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
There you’ll see the Hieland dress.
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 3:
No I’ll ship far north on a Dundee whaler,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
Ship far north as a whalin’ sailor.
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
All-Chorus
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 4:
When will you come back again,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
You an’ a’ the whalin’ men.
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 4:
Bound away to Iceland cold,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
Found much ice but not much gold.
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
All-Chorus
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 5:
And Greenland is a cold country,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Not a place for you and me.
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 5:
Thought it was a way to fortune,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
Whalin’s not the road to fortune.
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
All-Chorus
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Girls Verse 6:
I’ll be glad when you get hame,
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
You’ll give up this whalin’ game.
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Boys Verse 6:
We’ll soon be homeward bound to Scotland,
Bonnie lassie! Hieland lassie!
Homeward bound to Bonnie Scotland.
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
Final Chorus:
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland laddie O!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Bonnie laddie! Hieland laddie!
Way hay an’ away we go!
Me bonnie Hieland lassie O!
My bonnie Hieland laddie O!
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3. |
Call of the Sea
03:28
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Call of the Sea
Contemporary Maritime Ballad
Words and Music © Dean Calin; arranged for five voices by Jon Krivitzky
When I was a boy, a drayman’s son
I loved a girl so sweet and fair
I had no means to make her my own
And so this vow I did swear:
(Chorus)
I will sail across the sea to raise a fortune for you to wed me.
Sword and shot are nothing, you see, until I come home to thee.
I sailed away, with Drake and my mates,
To give the Spaniard a living hell
A treasure was won, much silver and gold –
But then we sailed around the world!
A portrait of you was locked in my heart,
As we roved past those foreign shores;
Your beautiful eyes, your raven hair –
It was your smile that guided me home.
(Chorus)
I will sail across the sea to raise a fortune for you to wed me.
Wind and wave are nothing, to me, until I come home to thee.
More than three years had finally gone by
When we to England were welcomed home
To my darling I strode, my sea-chest in tow
Our fortune secure, I’ll never more rove.
After two years this woman I loved
Had surely thought that I was done
Then at three years a husband she chose
To be a father to a son.
(Chorus)
I will sail across the sea to raise a fortune for you to wed me.
Time and tide do not affect me, until I come home to thee.
All those long year spent fighting the sea,
Now all my dreams, like mist, are gone.
I bid you great joy with this man that you wed,
But the pain of your loss I cannot bear long.
A purse of gold coins and a single red rose
Is my parting gift to you, from me.
I’ll leave the dry land, a ship owner now:
If I can’t be with you I’ll marry the sea.
(Grand Chorus)
Oh, I sailed around the world to be by your side forever more
Fiddler’s Green is my final shore, my love forever gone.
(Chorus)
I’ll sail across the sea to raise a fortune for you to wed me.
I’ll write you a song to remember me, until I come home to thee.
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4. |
Saltpetre Shanty
02:48
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Saltpetre Shanty
Capstan Shanty
Traditional
To old Cally-oh we are bound to go, (Oh Roll!)
To old Cally-oh we are bound to go, (Oh Roll!)
We’re bound away from Liverpool bay,
To those flash girls of Chile who’ll grab all our pay
(Chorus)
Oh roll, rock your bars,
Heave ‘er away, rock her, oh roll
Ol’ Pedro the crimp, boys, we know him of old, (Oh Roll!)
Ol’ Pedro the crimp, boys, we know him of old, (Oh Roll!)
He’s primin’ his vino, he’s dopin’ his beer,
To the Chinchas he’ll ship us if we don’t steer clear (Chorus)
Those flash girls of Chile they sure treat us nice, (Oh Roll!)
Those flash girls of Chile they sure treat us nice, (Oh Roll!)
They’ll wine us and dine us and treat us so fine,
But we know that they’re robbing us most of the time. (Chorus)
And when it comes time to sail away home, (Oh Roll!)
And when it comes time to sail away home, (Oh Roll!)
From some old seaport town on the west coast of hell,
We’ll sing “Adios” and we’ll bid you farewell (Chorus)
From old Cally-oh we are bound to go, (Oh Roll!)
From old Cally-oh we are bound to go, (Oh Roll!)
We are bound away to Liverpool bay,
From those flash girls of Chile who grabbed all our pay (Chorus)
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5. |
Sloop John B
04:49
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Sloop John B
Bahamian Folk Song
Traditional
We come on the sloop John B.,
My grandfather and me,
Around Nassau town we did roam.
Drinking all night,
Got into a fight,
Well, I feel so break up,
I want to go home.
Chorus
So hoist up the John B’s sails,
See how the mainsail sets,
Call for the Captain ashore,
Let me go home,
Let me go home,
I want to go home, (yeah yeah)
Well, I feel so break up,
I want to go home.
The first mate, he got drunk,
And broke up the people’s trunk,
The Constable had to come and take him away.
Sheriff John Stone,
Why don’t you leave me alone? (yeah yeah)
Well, I feel so break up,
I want to go home. (Chorus)
The poor cook he caught the fits,
And threw away all my grits,
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn.
I wanna go home,
Why don’t they let me go home? (yeah yeah)
Oh, this is the worst trip since I’ve been born. (Chorus)
We said good-bye to the Sloop John B.,
All of my mates and me.
Then we went ashore and waved it away,
I’m so glad I got home,
Oh, I’ll never more roam.
I don’t feel so break up,
I finally got home.
Chorus (x2)
So hoist up the John B’s sails,
See how the mainsail sets,
Call for the Captain ashore,
Let me go home,
Let me go home,
I want to go home, (yeah yeah)
Why don’t you let me go home,
Well, I feel so break up, I want to go home.
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6. |
Day of the Clipper
03:09
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Day of the Clipper
Contemporary Maritime-themed Ballad
Words and Music © Steve Romanoff
You can see the squares of canvas dancing over the horizon,
You can hear the shanty wailing to the heaving of the men,
You can feel the seas up to your knees and you know the sea is risin’
And you know the clipper’s day has come again.
To the men on high the bos’n’s cry commands a killing strain,
‘Til every mother’s son begins to pray.
With a hearty shout she comes about and she heads into the rain,
And the ship has never seen a better day.
(Chorus)
Sailing ships and sailing men will sail the open water,
Where the only thing that matters is the wind inside the main.
So all you loving mothers keep your eyes upon your daughters;
For the sails will mend their tatters and the masts will rise again.
Wooden beams and human dreams are all that make her go;
And the magic of the wind upon her sails.
We’d rather fight the weather than the fishes down below;
God help us if the rigging ever fails.
As the timber creaks the captain speaks above the vessel’s groans
‘Til every soul on board can hear the call.
It’s nothing but the singing of the ship inside her bones,
And this is when she likes it best of all. (Chorus)
Where the current goes the clipper’s nose is plowing fields of green.
Where fortune takes the crews we wish them well.
Where men could be when lost at sea is somewhere in between
The regions of a heaven and a hell.
Well they’re sailing eastern harbors and the California shore;
If you set your mind to see them then you can.
As you count each mast go sailing past you, prouder than before,
Then you’ll know the clipper’s day has come again. (Chorus)
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7. |
Night Watchman's Lament
02:45
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Night Watchman’s Lament
Maritime-themed Song
Lyrics and Music © 2006 Maggie Hannington
Chorus:
Night watchman, night watchman, sing your quiet song,
With the starlight, starlight shining in your eyes;
With the land to the east and the weather to the west,
And your face to the northern skies.
You;ve been sailing such a long time, seems you’ve been at sea for life.
Your thoughts are on the girl at home you’ll ask to be your wife.
It’s been forever since you’ve kissed her, since you’ve seen your home and friends;
You dream about your journey through the darkness to the end.(Chorus)
You spoke in quiet whispers as you said your last goodbye.
Her voice is carried through the wind and reaches through the night:
“Oh have we parted ever, or shall we meet again?”
Will she be waiting on the shore at this long journey’s end? (Chorus)
Her voice has fallen silent and your heart has turned to stone.
You forget the love that warmed you through the endless nights alone.
Your thoughts turn toward the night-watch, and away from dreams of old.
Love falls beneath the northern waves and leaves you still and cold. (Chorus, repeat)
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8. |
Pull Down Below
02:58
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Pull Down Below
Halyard Shanty
Traditional
He went to church, He went to chapel.
Resp: Pull down below!
He went to church, He went to chapel.
Resp: Pull down below!
Chorus
Oh Hielan’ Laddie
Pull down below
Hielan’ Laddie, Bonnie Laddie
Pull down below
Sally lives on an old plantation.
Resp: Pull down below!
She’s the daughter of the wild goose nation.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus)
For seven years he courted Sally.
Resp: Pull down below!
And all he did was dilly-dally.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus)
He bought no gowns, he bought no laces.
Resp: Pull down below!
Didn’t take her out to fancy places.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus)
Sally Brown she loved him dearly.
Resp: Pull down below!
He had her heart so very nearly.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus)
Sally Brown he wouldn’t marry.
Resp: Pull down below!
And she no longer cares to tarry.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus)
This laddie now he took a notion.
Resp: Pull down below!
To sail away across the ocean.
Resp: Pull down below! (Chorus x2)
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9. |
Green Eyed Girl
02:57
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Green Eyed Girl
Maritime Themed Love Song
Words and music © by David Yondorf
Arranged for Bounding Main by Jon Krivitzky
Kiss me sweetly now my love
Hold me tight and hold me long
Though we spend this night together
Know tomorrow I’ll be gone
CHORUS
Fare well, goodbye my Green-Eyed Girl
I bid thee now adieu
To sail my way around the world
But I’m comin’ home to you
I’ll be comin’ home to you
I must sail away my love
And the time to leave draws nigh
Love if I would stay but one more day
I could never summon goodbye
CHORUS
You’re the siren’s song my love
Always tempting me to shore
Would the wind and water will it
I’d be in your arms once more
CHORUS
Be my compass now my love
Guide me straight and hold me true
Though the voyage is long and the gales be strong
Know I’m comin’ home to you
CHORUS
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10. |
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My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
Traditional Scottish Maritime-themed Song
Traditional
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea,
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
(Chorus)
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
[Gina]
Bounding Main sings songs about sailing,
Brigantines and Barques on the sea.
We sing of love, rum and beauty,
But never boring our ballads will be!
(Chorus)
[David]
Our boat bears a big barricuda,
Black & blue like a bruise, only bright.
He bears a big belly like Buddha,
And brings boatloads of bastardly bite.
(Chorus)
[Jon]
I had cream cheese and lox on a pumpernickel,
Plus pancakes to lower my cholesterol.
I had candles and cake on my llama,
I love moonlit walks on the shore.
(Chorus)
[Christie]
Oh, Baggywrinkle, Bulkhead, Ballast,
Bilge, Binnacle, Barge, Bream, Backstay!
Bumpkin, Bowline, Bosun, Brightwork,
Bowsprit, Bunk, Batten, Buoy, Belay!
(BELAY!)
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, oh …
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
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11. |
Barbershop Shanty
04:10
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Barbershop Shanty
A barbershop treatment of a maritime-themed song; a Fo’c’sle Song
Music and Words © Jonathan Krivitzky
[JON SOLO]
I signed up on this ship as the shanty man
But it hadn’t been going as planned
When you stand five foot three
And you look, well, like me
It’s hard to assert your command
I call “T’ME” – the crew barely stirred
I yell “Heave Ho!” – nothing occurred
My voice wasn’t made for
This job I’ve been paid for
And I’m sure that the captain concurred
But one day, as the capstan went ’round
[DAVID JOINS]
The first mate joined in and it sounded profound
[GINA, CHRISTIE JOIN]
Then the cook and the bos’n
Turned us into a foursome
And soon we had found an incredible sound
[SLOW duet with JON/GINA] So we be-
[EVERYONE]
-gan to sing together and it made us smile
To suddenly had found ourselves a brand new style
What’s the point of singing ‘less your chords are ringing?
Singing the barbershop shanty!
We spread the news about the sound we pioneered
But the crew they seemed to find it all a bit too weird
The captain looked kinda pale, leaning over the taffrail
As we were singing the barbershop shanty!
We had this barbarian, just in from Ireland
And we liked to keep him on his toes
When he was stuck on the oars – his least favorite of chores
We’d sing as that Wild Irish rows…
It took a lot of practice – there was so much to learn
We got that vessel ringing from the bow to the stern
It turned out we sounded best
Singing down from the crow’s nest
Singing the barbershop shanty
One day the weather turned stranger
The skies were all brimming with danger
Afraid for their very existence
The crew desperately yearned for assistance
So, we quickly arranged a key change …
And now we’ve be-
-come the most famous shanty singers of all
Our legend has spread to every port of call
Each time we raise the sail, we get four pints of ale
Singing the barbershop shanty
We cast ourselves adrift, around the circle of fifths
We’ve found our new heaven in a dominant seven
We sail the high Cs, along with E flats and Gs
Singing the barbershop
We’ll never ever stop
Singing the barbershop shanty every day …
When the sky’s turning grey
And the ship starts to sway
You’ll hear us say … t’me!
Anchor’s aweigh!
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12. |
Rolling Up, Rolling Down
03:13
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Rolling Up, Rolling Down
AKA Rolling Down the River
Maritime-themed Song
Words and Music © 1982 by Jack Forbes
Chorus:
Rolling up. Rolling down.
We’ll all get drunk in Tilbury town
Twenty-four hours to turn around.
To go rolling down the river.
Call: When first I saw a TEU.
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: I wondered where they stowed the crew
Response: To go rolling down the river. (Chorus)
Call: Well cargo comes in TEUs.
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: A 20-foot box, boys, filled with booze.
Response: To go rolling down the river. (Chorus)
Call: There’s a Tilbury girl called Kettle Jane.
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: First on the boil then off again.
Response: She goes rolling down the river. (Chorus)
Call: She’s got a mate called Teapot Anne.
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: She gets well brewed. She likes a man.
Response: She goes rolling down the river. (Chorus)
Call: Tilbury girls go round in pairs,
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: You’ll never catch them unawares.
Response: To go rolling down the river. (Chorus)
Call: Well, we’re the boys can see her through.
Response: Rolling up, rolling down
Call: To hell with the cargo and the TEUs.
Response: Let’s go down the river. (Chorus)
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13. |
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Le Capitaine de San Malo
French Halyard or Windlass Shanty
French Traditional
Le capitaine de Saint-Malo
Ali alo
Qui fait la pêche au cachalot
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
Il a trois filles qui font la peau
Ali alo
La première à Valparaiso
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
La deuxième à Rio de Janeiro
Ali alo
La troisième à San Francisco
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
Il donne la goutte à ses matelots
Ali alo
A grands coups de barre de guindeau
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
Il mange la viande nous laisse les os
Ali alo
Il boit du vin et toi de l’eau
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
A la manoeuvre le bosco
Ali alo
Te dresse à coups de cabillaud !
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
Le lieutenant t’envoie là-haut
Ali alo
A coup de bottes dans le dos !
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
Et le second qui est le plus beau
Ali alo
Si tu groumes il te fout à l’eau
Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo
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14. |
Strike the Bell
03:01
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Strike the Bell
Pump Shanty
Anonymous
Up on the poop deck and walking about,
There is the second mate so steady and so stout.
What he is a-thinkin’ of he doesn’t want to tell,
We wish that he would hurry up and strike, strike the bell.
Chorus:
Strike the bell second mate, let us go below;
Look ye well to windward you can see it’s going to blow.
Look at the glass you can see that it has fell,
We wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell.
Down on the main deck and workin’ at the pumps,
There is the larboard watch just longing for their bunks;
Look out to windward, you can see a great swell,
We wish that he would hurry up and strike, strike the bell. (Chorus)
Forward on the forecastle head and keepin’ sharp lookout,
There is Johnny standin’, a longin’ fer to shout,
“Lights are burnin’ bright sir and everything is well.”
He’s wishing that the second mate would, strike the bell. (Chorus)
Aft on the wheelhouse old Anderson stands,
Graspin’ at the helm with his frostbitten hands,
Lookin’ at the compass though the course is clear as hell;
He’s wishin’ that the second mate would, strike the bell. (Chorus)
Aft on the quarter deck our gallant captain stands,
Lookin’ out to windward with a spyglass in his hand.
What he is a-thinkin’ of we know very well.
He’s thinking more of shortenin’ sail than striking the bell.
Chorus x2
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15. |
Bounding Hidden Track
06:49
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Good Luck!
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Bounding Main Chicago, Illinois
Bounding Main is a group of vocalists that sing richly harmonic versions of traditional maritime songs. “Beautiful Harmonies with a Maritime Flair!” Their shows are filled with spirit, humor and harmony; their arrangements of traditional nautical music bring the listener into the world of fellowship, adventure and romance. ... more
Bounding Main recommends:
Tom Lewis is one of the living legends in the maritime music genre. Many of his songs are thought of as "traditional." He has a commanding presence on stage and he does justice to this music.
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Whatcha Gonna Do?
by Jay Mollerskov Trio
Jay Mollerskov is a very talented Jazz guitarist. He and his band have created a great collection of Jazz standards and some more rare and interesting pieces. Yes, it is smooth and you'll like it!
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The Toronto-based sextet make moody, cinematic sounding music that blends psych-folk and post-rock.
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Mind, Man, Medicine
by The Secret Sisters
The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation.
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More contemplative folk from the Minnesota singer-songwriter, sustained by raw full-band arrangements and philosophical lyrics.
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Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality.
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