'Here We Come Home in a Leaky Ship!': The Shanty Collection of James Madison Carpenter

In the dying days of commercial sail James Madison Carpenter gathered one of the largest collections of shanties and sailors' songs ever made. This article considers the contributions Carpenter's collection offers students of these genres. Fourteen little-known songs from the collection ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Folk music journal 1998-01, Vol.7 (4), p.471-495
Main Author: Walser, Robert Young
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carpenter, James Madison
Choirs
Collectors
Cylinders
Fenders
Folksongs
Forecastles
Library collections
Music transcriptions
Sea Songs
Shanties
Singers
Songs
Typescripts
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Summary:In the dying days of commercial sail James Madison Carpenter gathered one of the largest collections of shanties and sailors' songs ever made. This article considers the contributions Carpenter's collection offers students of these genres. Fourteen little-known songs from the collection are presented with words and music and the unusual characteristics of these songs are contrasted with those of the best-known shanties. Carpenter's collection provides evidence of the importance of black worksong to the shanty traditions of the age of sail.
ISSN:0531-9684
2056-6166