Sailors' Songs and Sea Shanties Quiz

Answer: The Golden Vanity

There are endless variations of this song, which is sometimes called "The Golden Willow Tree," or "The Sweet Trinity." A version first appeared in print in 1635, but it is probably much older. Most versions tell the same story: an English ship is attacked by a Turkish (sometimes Spanish) ship, and the captain fears he will be taken.

He offers a reward to any member of his crew who will help him sink the enemy. A young sailor volunteers to swim to the enemy ship and sink her by boring holes in her hull below the waterline.

When he has done so, the cruel captain refuses to take him back on board, and sails away, leaving the brave sailor to drown. Some sources name Sir Walter Raleigh as the captain, but there is no historical evidence to support this theory.

Answer: I'll Go No More A-Roving

"A-roving, a-roving, since roving's been my ruin/I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid." A version of this song can be heard in the 1956 movie "Moby Dick." It tells the story of a sailor who meets up with a lady of easy virtue ashore, with predictable consequences: "When I got back on board my ship, mark well what I do say/When I got back on board my ship, my watch, my ring, my money I missed/I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid."

Answer: Farewell to Tarwathie

Tarwathie was a farm near the village of Strichen in Aberdeenshire. This lovely song was written by a man named George Scroggie (born March 18, 1826). It was first published in 1857. Scroggie worked as a miller, but like many poor Scots he may have supplemented his income by working as a whaler when times were hard and work was scarce.

It became popular when Judy Collins included it on one of her early albums, "Whales and Nightingales." It contains the lines: "The cold coast of Greenland my love will not chill/And the longer my absence, more loving she'll feel," proving that while Mr. Scroggie may have had some knowledge about whales, he knew little or nothing about women.

Answer: Row, Bullies, Row

This song appears to have been written by Irish sailors during the days of the California gold rush. The both titles come from the song's chorus: "And it's row, row, bullies, row/Them Liverpool Judies have got us in tow." Ewan McColl's version of this song can be heard on the album "Sailors' Songs and Sea Shanties," whose title I borrowed for this quiz. One thing sailors like to do is complain (I excelled at this, which sometimes brought me to attention of my superiors).

Their complaints were seldom directed at the Captain; it was usually the junior officers who were the objects of their wrath: "Good luck to our Captain, where e'er he may be/He's a friend to the sailors on shore and at sea/But as for the First Mate, the dirty old brute/I hope when he dies, straight to Hell he'll skyhoot."

Answer: What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?

"Wey, hey, and up she rises/Wey, hey and up she rises/Wey, hey and up she rises/Early in the morning." There are dozens of verses to this popular song, some of them quite bawdy. The song was first recorded in 1841, but is probably much older than that.

It was a song the crew would sing while hoisting the sails, or raising the anchor, which is what the "up she rises" refers to. Wikipedia says the melody derives from the Irish song "Oro, Se do Bheatha Bhaile." I admit to having a tin ear, but the songs sound nothing alike to me. I read somewhere that during the Falklands War, British sailors introduced a verse that went "Throw him in bed with Maggie Thatcher."

Answer: New York Girls

"And away, Santy, my dear Auntie/Oh, oh, you New York girls/Can you dance the polka?" In the 19th century, sailors were very well-paid compared to other trades, and when they came ashore with six months or a year's wages in their pockets, there were plenty of young women waiting to separate them from their money.

This song tells the story of a sailor who is drugged and robbed by an innocent appearing young girl, who even takes his clothes! Nowadays, of course, things are much different. Nothing like this ever happened to me. Well, there was that girl at the Lollipop Club in Honolulu. And the time some of my mates and I went on a spree in Naples. And it is true that I got thrown in jail once in Benidorm, Spain, but that was all due to a misunderstanding and . . . well, never mind. Steeleye Span recorded this song on their album "Commoner's Crown," with Peter Sellers playing the ukulele.

Answer: The Constitution and the Guerriere

On August 19, 1812 the United States frigate "Constitution," commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, encountered the British frigate "Guerriere," under the command of Captain James Dacres. The ships were about equally matched on paper, but superior American seamanship and gunnery soon reduced the Guerriere to a mastless hulk.

Many of the shots from the Brirish cannon bounced harmlessly off the Constitution's thick hull, earning the ship its enduring nickname, "Old Ironsides." The American suffered seven killed and seven wounded in the battle, while British casualties numbered almost 100.

The victory did much to raise American morale during the early days of the War of 1812. And the victory was no fluke; a few months later the Constitution fought and defeated another British frigate, HMS Java. Whereas the War of 1812 was a disaster on land for the United States, her fledgling Navy was able to more than hold its own against the British when fighting on anything like equal terms.

Answer: The Leaving of Liverpool

"So fare thee well, my own true love/And when I return united we will be/It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me/But my Darling, when I think of thee." Life was rough for sailors during the age of sail. A voyage might last anywhere from six months to three years or more.

There was little opportunity to communicate with friends or family. There are many songs like this one about parting from loved ones. This song has been recorded by many artists, but I prefer the version by the Clancy Brothers.

Answer: Lady Franklin's Lament

"Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew." Sir John Franklin was born April 16, 1786 in Spilsby, Lincolnshire. He enlisted in the Royal Navy at age 14, and in 1818 participated in Captain David Buchan's Arctic expedition. Franklin led Arctic expeditions of his own in 1819 and 1822. In 1836 he was named Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania, and was recalled from that post in 1843.

In 1845 the British government decided to sponsor an expedition to seek the fabled Northwest Passage, a sea route to Asia around the North Pole. With two ships, HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, and 134 officers and men, Franklin sailed from Greenhithe, England on May 19, 1845. His ships were last seen in August, 1845 by a whaler in Baffin Bay. Neither Franklin nor any of his men were ever seen again.

In 1848 the government offered a reward 20,000 pounds to any person who could discover the fate of of the Franklin expedition. In April, 1859 a message was found that said both of Franklin's ships had become trapped in the ice near King William Island. It said that Franklin had died on June 11, 1847, and that survivors were planning to strike out southward on foot.

To this day, no one really knows what happened to the members of the Franklin expedition. One theory is that they contracted lead poisoning from poorly soldered cans that held their food supplies. Despite his failure, Sir John Franklin is regarded as a hero, and many songs have been written about him. This particular song is sung to the tune of an Irish song called "The Croppy Boy."

Answer: Blow the Man Down

"To me way-aye, blow the man down." The Black Ball line was founded by a group of New York Quakers in 1817. Its fleet was composed of so-called "packet ships," fast sailing vessels that could complete the voyage between England and America in less than four weeks.

The faster the crossing, the higher the profit. As a result, Black Ball captains worked their crews to the limit, and conditions on these ships were very harsh. To "blow a man down" meant to knock him down; sometimes with a fist, sometimes with a marlinespike or belaying pin.

The Black Ball line got its name from the company's flag: a black circle on a red background.