Larry Marr [59-60] (55-56)

One of the most enigmatic chanteys in Hugill's collection, alternate titles of this song for the capstan/pumps are "The Five Gallon Jar" and "Sound the Jubilee." I am not aware of any recordings of it, and it was a bit of struggle to figure how it might go from its odd notation. It goes from 3/4 time to 6/8 time and back again, with various pauses, and its hard to tell what's supposed to be going on with the tempo alone, much less understanding how it would fit the work.

What is more fascinating (weird?) about it is that it seems to juxtapose two totally different songs. The solo verses warn of the infamous crimp of San Francisco, "Larry Marr", who is said to dope the liquor in his bar (served out of a dreaded "five gallon jar") in order to shanghai sailors. It is probably Irish, and Hugill learned from his informant Paddy Delaney that the verses likely derive from a ballad/forebitter (about which I'll say more in another posting). To add weirdness, the solo verses are sung to two different tunes; one of these applies only to verses 1 and 7.

The other part of the juxtaposition is the very rousing chorus, which would seem to be sung from the perspective of Black sailors:
"Hoist up yer flag, long may it wave
Long may it lead us to the glory or the grave
Steady, boys, steady! We'll sound this Jubilee
For Babylon's a-fallen and the niggers are set free."
That this chorus takes a totally different theme (the outlaw of slavery in the U.S. in 1985?) is what makes the overall juxtaposition so harsh. It is no wonder why perhaps no one has recorded this in the folk music revivals.

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

Category:

Music

Tags:

• shanghai
• sailor
• crimp
• abolition
• civil
• war
• shanty
• chantey
• 19th
• century

[hultonclint]

Ah yes, I know that one. Good song. I will eventually do it for sure when I get through all these shanties. I hope to then move on to some of the whaling songs then, and "Bonny Diamond" is one of them. Stay tuned!

[philipsmovies]

You might be close there. You know how in some countries these songs have different titiles! Anyway, i solved it...cho: So it's cheer up my lads, let your hearts never fail,

While the bonny ship, the Diamond, goes a-fishing for the whale.

That song is sung in a similar tune "The Bonny Ship The Diamond. Would like to here you and the guys do it if possible.

[hultonclint]

Are you thinking of "The Greenland Whale Fisheries"?

[philipsmovies]

Excellent. This reminds of a song done by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem called "fishing for the whale" i could be mistaken though of the title and it's origins!