Heave Away, Me Johnnies (A) [302-306] (221-228)

This is an outward bound chantey sung at the windlass, especially in the packet ships. Hugill deems it "...Irish to its very bones and the tune is reminiscent of a jig." He identifies a cluster of songs with a similar theme, about an Irish emigrant getting passage to the New World. Tapscott is an infamous shipping agent who ran a line of "hell ships," packets with an emphasis on speed at all costs.

Doerflinger explains that the content of the solo verses is largely derivative of a comic music-hall type song, sung in Irish dialect/accent, called "Yellow Meal." This low-cost "meal" was the promised mass ration to emigrant steerage passengers; the dialect pronunciation of the word as "mail" was used to comedic effect in that it made the packet ship sound like an important one carrying official postage.

The voice is erratic, in that sometimes it is the emigrant lass talking, sometimes the sailors.

Scenes are from the port of Savannah, Georgia.

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

Category:

Music

Tags:

• hannah
• montana
• savannah
• shanty
• chantey
• irish
• sea
• song
• windlass

[45coppertop]

Love it..Thank you, for sharing very soothing to listen too!

[hultonclint]

@45coppertop My pleasure, thank you!!

[salparadise63]

Bro you are outstanding. Thanks.

[hultonclint]

@salparadise63 Many thanks for listening and your gracious comment!

[Shantyman47]

Meel, as in yeller meel.

Corn flour, which was the usual fodder for making bread aboard these immigrant ships.

As opposed to wheat flour I guess :-)

[hultonclint]

Yeah, "corn meal" is what we call it in the states. I understand it was supposed to be a comic song where "mail" was pronounced as "meal"/"meel" in Irish accent...but I didnt feel like doing a fake accent, so I guess I just did it straight

[hultonclint]

thank you dear!!!

[Judeldidu]

sooooooooooo coooooool!!!!!!!!!!!<3