A taste of the past - a shanty

Thanks to the Old Salt Blog for pointing out a traditional sea shanty, sung the way they should be, by the Hardtackers, the official shanty crew for the replica of the Columbus’ Santa Maria. You can find their official website at hardtackers.wetpaint.com/. More are available on their video channel.

For more of the same, search youtube for Fishermens Friends. This one is quite fun:

Tri Yann, a Breton group, sing Rio Grand in French. I wish I could find it online to share with you...

I don't speak French so don't know what they are singing about, but this one sounds a bit shanty-ish so probably gives an idea?

That is, indeed, a sailor song, but it is more associated with guest star Hugues Aufray, who made a hit of it in the 1970's, than with Tri Yann. It is a French/Breton adaptation of an English song. The original was a capstan shanty celebrating Mexican president Santa Anna. Here are the French lyrics, followed by the English. As you can see it was much modified as it passed into French:

Dave Fisher / Jacques Plante / Hugues Aufray
1
C'est un fameux trois-mâts, fin comme un oiseau,
Hisse et ho, Santiano
Dix-huits noeuds, quatre cents tonneaux,
Je suis fier d'y être matelot.
R
Tiens bon la barre et tiens bon le vent,
Hisse et ho, Sant
iano
Si Dieu veut, toujours droit devant,
Nous irons jusqu'à San Francisco.
2
Je pars pour de longs mois en laissant Margot
Hisse et ho, Santiano
D'y penser, j'avais le coeur gros
En doublant les feux de Saint Malo.
3
On prétend que là-bas, l'argent
coule à flots
Hisse et ho, Santiano
On trouve l'or au fond des ruisseaux,
J'en rapporterai plusieurs lingots.
4
Un jour je reviendrai, chargé de cadeaux
Hisse et ho, Santiano
Au pays, j'irai voir Margot,
À son doigt, je passerai l'anneau.
R'
Tiens
bon la barre et tiens bon le vent,
Hisse et ho, Santiano
Sur la mer qui fait le gros dos
Nous irons jusqu'à San Francisco.

-----------------------------------------------------------

O! Santianna fought for fame!
Away Santianna!
And Santianna gained a name
All on the plains of Mexico!
Mexico, Mexico,
Away Santianno!
Mexico is a place I know!
All on the plains of Mexico!

O! Santianna had a wooden leg
Heave away, Santianna!
He used it for a cribbage peg
All on the plains of Mexico!

Chorus:

Heave her up, and away we'll go
Heave away, Santianna!
Heave her up, and away we'll go
All on the plains of Mexico

O! Santianna fought for his gold
Heave away, Santianna!
The deeds he did have oft been told
All on the plains of Mexico

Chorus

O! Santianna gain'd the day,
Heave away, Santianna!
He gain'd the day at Molly-Del-Rey*.
All on the plains of Mexico

Chorus

He won the day at Molly-Del-Rey,
Heave away, Santianna!
And General Taylor he ran away.
All on the plains of Mexico

Chorus

O! Santianna fought for his life,
Heave away, Santianna!
He gained his way in the terrible strife.
All on the plains of Mexico

Chorus

O! Santianna's men were brave,
Heave away, Santianna!
Many found a hero's grave.
All on the plains of Mexico!

Chorus

O! Santianna's day is o'er,
Heave away, Santianna!
Santianna will fight no more.
All on the plains of Mexico!

Chorus

O! Santianna's day is gorn,
Heave away, Santianna!
We left him buried off Cape Horn.
All on the plains of Mexico!

Chorus

We dug his grave with a golden spade,
Heave away, Santianna!
And marked the spot where he was laid.
All on the plains of Mexico

Santiano achieved hit status again in France in 2005, when is was covered by the cast of the mega talent show Star Academy 5. They made a wonderfully silly video.

Joe Cook of The Hard Tackers made a film when he sailed aboard the Pride Of Baltimore II as a crew member and overlaid an audio track of one of their shanties.

Very Nice.

They do bring distant visions of the past to life.

Up here in "the great NW" we have our own "Shanty" singers. This is a group of "middlen to old geezers" from over on Whidby Island (one short ferry ride across Admiralty Inlet). They sing every day of our annual 3 day "Wooden Boat Festival" here in Port Townsend (in the beer garden) and were over here last week for our " sea santy circle" which is a monthly community sing down at the Northwesst Maritime Heritage Center.

http://www.shiftysailors.net/