Trapper

Actually, mate, the song was originally written by Don Freed, and the lyrics you're interested in were written by Tom Lewis. He has asked that any requests for lyrics be made to him personally, as he has registered them, and has given permission to a scant few people to perform them...Sir Nigel being one o' the favoured few. Myself bein' another. Tom's email address is seadog@netidea.com Fair winds, Trapper

Thank ye for the good thoughts, Coastie! I agree that she's worth a visit. Unfortunately, if we don't get more volunteers and money, we may lose her. The local Parks Department thinks she's not "pretty" enough to be here, so wants to give her the boot. I've got another benefit planned for after the first of the year, and I'm hoping that we can get some media attention for her plight. That, and raising even a bit of cash to continue the ongoing repairs and restoration will help her looks. Pretty sad state of affairs when the first ship ever to make the National List of Historic Sites falls on hard times like this. So, if anyone out there knows of someone with disposable income that would like to help restore the very last piece of Northwest Maritime History that remains, all donations are gratefully accepted. Fair winds, Trapper

I be forwarding this for the tall ship Wawona, S. end of Lake Union in Seattle, WA.. --Trapper-- Calling all hands for an important work party on Wawona! It’s time to cover Wawona to protect her from the winter rains. This Saturday, October 16th, we will be erecting the support frame for the winter cover on the Wawona. We need a strong showing by our dedicated volunteers to make the job go easily and quickly. We will be lifting the support frames out of the hold, organizing them, and then connecting and raising them to form the backbone of the plastic that will be added later. We will begin at 10 am. Bring work gloves, ratchets and wrenches, portable drills with screw drives and ratchet drives if you have them. 1/2" and 7/16" are the most common size nuts and bolts that we will be assembling. Right now there is a chance for showers on Saturday, so dress appropriately. If you don’t have tools, please come anyway. We will need lots of hands, and there are a few work gloves on site. Bring a friend and check out the near complete work painting the cap rail. If you have questions about the work or what equipment to bring, call Wayne Palsson at 206-412-4736 or wpalsson@aol.com Julie suggested that we have tacos for lunch, that way, a number of people could help provide lunch. If you would like to bring a taco component, please let me know. We will need a crock pot, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatos, taco shells, salsa, etc. If you think you might come to the work party, please let me know so we can get an approximate count for lunch. Thanks, Alice Winship 206-448-0707 walice1@qwest.net

We could p'r'aps be of more assistance, lass, if ye'd tell us wher ye be. I know of shantey sings in Seattle. Fair winds, Trapper

Oh, an' if'n ye be on the West Coast, me band, Coventry, does a fine acapella version of it. Trapper

If'n ye goes t' the mp3 section o' the sea shanty forum, ye can find an mp3 o' me band's song, "Boozin'", a good ol' drinkin' song. In the meantime, here are the words to The Old Dun Cow--and if ye wants the tune, I can probably turn a recording of me band's version into an mp3 an' upload it here. THE OLD DUN COW Some friends and I in a public house, were playin' dominoes one night, When all of a sudden, in the pubman rushed, his face a chalkey white! "What's up?" says Brown. "Have ye seen a ghost? Have ye seen yer Aunt Maria?" "Well me Aunt Maria be buggered!" says he. "This bleedin' pub's on fire!" (ch) Oh, there was Brown, upside down, moppin up the whiskey on the floor. Booze! Booze! the firemen cried as they came knockin' at the door. Don't let 'em in 'til it's all mopped up! Somebody shouted, "MacIntyre!" (MacIntyre!) And we all got blueblind paralytic drunk when the Old Dun Cow caught fire. "On fire," says Brown, "What a bit of luck! What a bit of luck!" cried he. "For down in the cellar if the door ain't locked we can have a hell of a spree." So we all went down with good old Brown, and the beer we could not miss. And we hadn't been there ten minutes or more, before we all got pissed (drunk). ch MacPherson went to the port wine tub and gave it just a few hard knocks. He started in takin' off his pantaloons, likewise his boots and socks. "Hold on," says Brown, "if ye want t' wash yer feet, we've a bucket of fourale here. "Don't go washin' yer trotters in the port wine tub when we've got so much stale beer (or Rainier)." ch All of a sudden came an awful crash! Half the bloody roof gave way. We was half drowned in the firemens' hose, but still we all was gay. So we got some sacks and some old tin tacks and we bunged ourselves inside. And we started in drinkin' that good old scotch 'til we was bleary-eyed. ch

If'n ye goes t' the mp3 section o' the sea shanty forum, ye can find an mp3 o' me band's song, "Boozin'", a good ol' drinkin' song. In the meantime, here are the words to The Old Dun Cow--and if ye wants the tune, I can probably turn a recording of me band's version into an mp3 an' upload it here. THE OLD DUN COW Some friends and I in a public house, were playin' dominoes one night, When all of a sudden, in the pubman rushed, his face a chalkey white! "What's up?" says Brown. "Have ye seen a ghost? Have ye seen yer Aunt Maria?" "Well me Aunt Maria be buggered!" says he. "This bleedin' pub's on fire!" (ch) Oh, there was Brown, upside down, moppin up the whiskey on the floor. Booze! Booze! the firemen cried as they came knockin' at the door. Don't let 'em in 'til it's all mopped up! Somebody shouted, "MacIntyre!" (MacIntyre!) And we all got blueblind paralytic drunk when the Old Dun Cow caught fire. "On fire," says Brown, "What a bit of luck! What a bit of luck!" cried he. "For down in the cellar if the door ain't locked we can have a hell of a spree." So we all went down with good old Brown, and the beer we could not miss. And we hadn't been there ten minutes or more, before we all got pissed (drunk). ch MacPherson went to the port wine tub and gave it just a few hard knocks. He started in takin' off his pantaloons, likewise his boots and socks. "Hold on," says Brown, "if ye want t' wash yer feet, we've a bucket of fourale here. "Don't go washin' yer trotters in the port wine tub when we've got so much stale beer (or Rainier)." ch All of a sudden came an awful crash! Half the bloody roof gave way. We was half drowned in the firemens' hose, but still we all was gay. So we got some sacks and some old tin tacks and we bunged ourselves inside. And we started in drinkin' that good old scotch 'til we was bleary-eyed. ch

From the 1979 "Dracula" with Frank Langella: Lucy: Oh, I love to be frightened. Dracula: (With great interest and upraised eyebrow) Do you?

Pity yer not out here in Seattle, mate! We could use some more voices at our monthly chantey sing on the Wawona. Trapper

Oh, and as a by the way, I've posted two from my band's cd in the mp3 section to be downloaded: Boozin' and Roseabella. Feel free to download an' sing t' yer heart's content. Trapper

I'd suggest the following, available from various sites, including www.pintndale.com (check out the songs page), or Stan Hughill's "Songs of the Seven Seas". If you want CDs, try Pint and Dale, Broadside or Victory Sings at Sea. South Australia Bully in the Alley Cheerily Man Bring 'em Down Yellow Girls Eagle Alley Highland Laddie Fire Marengo If you want the lyrics to any of the above, let me know and I'll email 'em to ye. Trapper

'Tis my singular pleasure, sir. An' when I checks me Bible, Satn Hughill's "Songs of the Seven Seas", I might 'ave a few more for ye. Fair winds, Trapper

Well, there's "Pique La Balene", a French whaleboat rowing shanty, and there's "Mingulay Boat Song", a Scottish rowing song. The first can be found on Pint and Dale's cd, "White Horses" (a wonderful album, available at www.pintndale.com), and Mingulay can be found in instrumental form on Steve Lalor's cd, "Airs on the Acoustic Guitar", available at www.cdbaby.com Trapper

Oh, an' one last thing: if anyone wants t' be watchin the fireworks from the Wawona, they should be contactin' Alice at walice1@qwest.net. She be organizin' it, an' needs the names t' give t' security. Fair winds, Trapper

This weekend, July 2-5, at the South Lake Union Maritime Park, the Wooden Boat Festival will take over the area. There'll be maritime demonstrations, including sailwork, carving and shipwright work, lots of sea chanteys all weekend (yer all welcome t' come down an' be pressed inta service singin'), a great concert with Crooked Mile and Teresa Morgan (twas supposed to be Hank Cramer, but he's been shipped off to Afghanistan) on Saturday night, and to start things off right, a FREE showing of "Moby Dick" with Gregory Peck and Orson Welles on the Wawona. So come down, ye scurvy dogs an' lets us see if'n ye have the pipes t' be the nightingale. Fair winds, Trapper

Nope, it's traditional. You might check the "mudcat" site www.mudcat.org as some of their lyric pages come with midi files of the tune. Not the greatest renditions, mind, but enough that you can figure it out. Fair winds, Trapper

And I also wanted to mention that not only is there a rip-roarin' chantey sing tonight on the festival grounds, there's a singers' party at McHugh's on Mercer from 9 'til whenever on Sunday. Whee! Trapper

Just wanted to let anyone on this coast, or anyone who's planning on being here over the long weekend, know that the NW Folklife Festival will be having its usual sea music concert this Saturday, May 29th, from 2-6 at the NW Court Stage (aka "The Beer Stage"). Many fine chantey singers will be there, including Pint and Dale, Broadside, The Cutters and Victory Sings at Sea. We love to have people sing along, so come on out and join the party. Chances are decent for a Wawona party later on in the evening... And if ye wants a bit o' celtic rock, come by the same stage on Monday and see Coventry at 1:40. Fair winds and full tankards, Trapper

Just a wee reminder of the NW Folklife Festival, held in Seattle each Memorial Day weekend, the largest FREE folk festival in the world. There's plenty of sea music all weekend, and parties to go with it, but the best chance to hear a lot o' music in one place will be the sea chantey concert. It'll be Saturday, May 29,from 2:00 to 6:00, and will include such greats as "Pint and Dale", "The Cutters", "Constellation's Crew", "Broadside" and "Shanghaied on the Willamette", to name but a few. Come limber up them rusty pipes an' join us in some fine song an' fine fellowship. Fair winds and full tankards, Trapper

Aye, I agree. And yes, there is an Australian version. The chorus starts, "We'll rant and we'll roar, like true Queensland drovers". As far as age, the Oxford Collection dates mention of "Spanish Ladies" to 1796. I always liked Bob Kotta's version of it (which is the one I quoted), because it flowed well and was easy for people to sing along with. Fair winds and full tankards, Trapper

Dinna' worry, lad. There are those of us that'll be happy t' remind everyone when yer birfday be. Trapper

Gaelic Storm, eh? Sounds interesting. I'll have t' check 'em out. Have ye ever heard "Howling Gael"? They were an absolutely brilliant band out of Portland. None better. Trapper

So which one were ye? I was the one in riding boots an' spurs, singin' "It's All Part o' Bein' a Pirate". If ye can't find "White Stocking Day" (and it's been sold out forever), let me know and I'll copy it to a CD for ye. I've had a hankerin' t' use the new recorder I've got. It's supposed to record from LP and tape both onto CD, so we'll see. This weekend, it's Victory Sings at Sea, and don't forget the NW Folklife Festival! Saturday, from 2-6, is the sea chantey concert. Should be an absolute blast, with Pint and Dale, Broadside, the Cutters and lots more. June's going to be a great month for concerts! Tom Lewis will be playing on June 19th. for more info: www.nwseaport.org, www.nwfolklife.org Fair winds, Trapper

Ah, yes, St. Elmo's Choir. Unfortunately, one of the members owned the name, and when she blew up the band, we had to come up with something else. We toyed with "Grace Darlings" for awhile, but everyone thought we were saying "Gray Starlings", and well, let's not advertise that we're all getting older, eh? ;-) There were 2 St. Elmo's tapes, "Syrens" and "White Stocking Day". Yep, I was at the sing on Friday, since Broadside was leading it. There were only two of us Broads to lead, but we made up for it in sheer volume. And yes, we were on the Lady for our pictures. Carol, on the left (aka Queen of Puget Sound) was married on her. Oh, and if you like the Polish "NW Passage", you might pick up "Poles Apart". Tom does shanteys, including that one, with a Polish shantey group, and it's a fantastic CD. Fair winds, Trapper

Jes' wanted t' wish Sir Nigel an 'appy birthday, wi' as much rum and womens as he can handle. Fair winds and full tankards, Trapper