Well, never thought I’d be writing a sea shanty, for sure! And I don’t think this is my forte! Here’s an excerpt from the prompt for Day 3: write a sea shanty (or shantey, or chanty, or chantey — there’s a good deal of disagreement regarding the spelling!). Anyway, these are poems in the forms of songs, strongly rhymed and rhythmic, that sailors might sing while hauling on ropes and performing other sea-going labors. Probably the two most famous sea shanties are What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor? and Blow the Man Down. And what should your poem be about? Well, I suppose it could be about anything, although some nautical phrases tossed into the chorus would be good for keeping the sea in your shanty. Haul away, boys, haul away!  And here’s the link so you can see all the info: http://www.napowrimo.net/

English: Simplified (one voice) music score for the traditional sea shanty “Drunken Sailor”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MY ATTEMPT:

Sail Away Shanty

A capstan crew would chant a particular type of shanty in order to coordinate their movements (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cast off the rope lads, and pull up the anchor
Yo ho and sail away now
Come every fellow and fancy-vest banker
Yo ho and sail away now

Bound for the Indies, southward we go
Yo ho and sail away now
Gone for the winter, back in the snow
Yo ho and sail away now

we’ll look for palm trees on far away shores
Yo ho and sail away now
We’ll land in Haiti or isles of Azores
Yo ho and sail away now

Sail away laddies, ye all sail away
Yo ho and sail away now
See you in winter, when we get our pay
Yo ho and sail away now.

Carol A. Stephen
April 3, 2013

English: Sea shanty choir Rolling Home of Åland från Åland demonstrating the original use of shanties aboard Sigyn. The shanty man is standing in the middle. A capstan has been moved to where the performance is easier to see. Svenska: Den åländska Shanty-kören Rolling Home of Aland sjunger och demonstrarar användningen av shantyn ombord på Sigyn under sång- och musikfesten “Ta i ton” 2011. Shantymannen i mitten. Ett gångspel har flyttats till en för förevisningen lämplig plats. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• NaPoWriMo 2013 – Day 3 (2voices1song.com)
• Sea Chantey (NaPoWriMo #3) (michelledevilliersart.wordpress.com)