High O, Come Roll Me Over! [168-169] (136)

Hugill's notes about this are very brief. He got it from Harding, and most interestingly that Barbadian claimed at the time (1932) that it was still being used in the West Indies for "rolling logs." There is only one "pull" per chorus, and I suspect this is why Hugill also states he thought it would have been good for tacks/sheets -- though Harding and Masefield both ascribed it to halyards. Shay also had a version in one of his collections (oddly, Hugill mentions that "I have seen another version in print" but does not mention Shay by name).

Jim Mageean was probably first to record a version of this, on the 1978 album "The Capstan Bar" . His is at a quick tempo, and formed into a 2/4 (or otherwise duple) meter....whereas the notation in Hugill sets it in 3/4. Melodically, too, it differs quite a bit from what Hugill put down.

The notation of Hugill is irregular in its rhythm. This is one of those cases where I'd suspect there is something funky that goes on that his basic notation is not able to capture well. Either the song was indeed not in strict meter (think of the breath-like rhythm of slow chanteys like the menhaden ones) or there was some overlapping of soloist and chorus that, when rendered by a singer without chorus, or notated on a single staff, does not come out quite right. I decided to imagine it in the slower, breath-like rhythmic style.

See the whole "Shanties from the Seven Seas" project, here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=58B55DD66F22060C

Category:

Music

Tags:

• sea
• shanties
• chanteys
• west
• indies
• barbados
• rolling
• wood
• logs

[StatenIslandFolkie]

Excellent as always.

[hultonclint]

Thanks, I'm back to my car recording a few during lunch breaks...Big Y parking lot, ha

[hultonclint]

@chanteysing Much appreciated! Thanks for your kind comment.