Thursday, August 27

Shanties from the Seven Seas

"Shanties from the Seven Seas 
Shipboard work-songs and songs used as work-songs from the great days of sail"
Collected by Stan Hugill 

Reviewed by Jim Apple

First published in 1961, my copy reprinted in 1994

I saw this book mentioned in the footnotes in various places and tracked it down in its present form and hit clicked on the procedure to checkout prompt and received the book on my doorstep after ordering it later in the week, opened it up and spent the next week reading and singing many of my favorite songs (with many new verses that I had never heard) and was led to find songs that had up to this point escaped me. 

My review
1) If you are a lover of the sea and find yourself with nothing new to read, find this book and learn and keep these songs alive for the next generation.

2) This book is a must have for anyone who still sings songs of the seas and wants more....

3) Buy this book, you will thank me later.

So yeah, I liked this book, and I bet you just might too…


2 comments:

  1. My copy is battered and beer soaked from singing at The Wharf Rat in Fells Point. (That den of pirates!)
    The Wharf Rat is an interesting place. You walk in and think "Oh, they're trying to emulate a wharf side dive!" Not too long later you'll realize that they're not TRYING to emulate a wharf side dive, they ARE a wharf side dive!

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  2. This books should come with a WARNING.
    WARNING: These songs are contagious. or
    WARNING: All members of the book owner's household will hear these songs at odd hours. Nightmares may ensue.

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