THE LANDLOCKED SHANTYMAN
I love to sing the songs of the sea.
As if I could a mariner be.
But I'll never be a whale-fisher-man.
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
I can sing about life out on the trawl.
I can sing all about the heave and the haul.
But I've never caught as much as a cran.
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
I can tell you all about the drunken sailor.
And what life was like on board a whaler.
But I'll never see a sperm whale "span".
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
I've read all about shortening sail
And rounding the Horn in the teeth of a gale.
But I could never face the famous "Stan"
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
I sing of sou'westers and wear them too.
I know the jobs of each of the crew.
But I can't yarn as they all can.
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
Even the youngest jolly jack tar.
That's only sailed once "over the bar"
Knows I'll never be part of the salt sea clan.
'Cos I'm just a landlocked shantyman!
And when at last I hear the Mollymawk cry,
As every Shellback must before they die.
Please bury me at sea if you can …………..,
And I’ll no longer be ….a landlocked shantyman
Author notes
When performed the last line of each verse can be repeated as a refrain although most audience members substitute "he's" for "I'm"
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1 - 6 of 6
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I liked the way ...
you shared your non sea legs and while there were a few expressions I did not know the imagery was there! This reminded me of a W. S. Gilbert writing and was cute! I wonder where you read your poems? joy
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I sing as part of a shanty group called "The Shellback Chorus" http://www.shellbackchorus.com/index.htm and do recitations solo as "The Shantyfreak" so tend to read and here a lot of nautical stuff. Plus I have amassed a rather large collection of poetry through trawling
through old book shops and snapping up interesting volumes.
This particular one, which was written quite quickly for a specific festival, has been set to music by a number of people and it is a strange feeling to hear your own words being sung to an audience. I prefer to recite it and have done so, solo and with the group, at many festivals.
Jim
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Thank you heartofmeena for your nice comments. I hope you managed to understand the references OK. My target audience for this was originally very small.
Jim S -
Impressive and what a wonderful write..enjoyed the read~
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Bugger me Jim, there's quite a bit in here I don't understand, like cran and Stan, but there again, I'm a landlubberman!
Well done.
R. -
Wow, this is a very unique write! Seriously, how many people in today's world write lyrics about the sea and being a seaman?
Thank you for entering the contest and welcome to A Music Group!
Kate
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