English & Other 285. The George Aloe and the Sweepstake
[In the British Isles, two broadsides were printed circa 1820s by Swindalls and another by Batchelor. The older version pre1818 begins:
The Crafty Ploughboy
Or,
Highwayman Outwitted
Printed and sold by J. Pitts. 14 Great St.
Andrew Street , 7 Dials
Please draw near and the truth I'll declare,
Of a farmer that lived in Herefordshire,
A fine Yorkshire boy he had for his man,
For to do his business his name it was John.
Below is a "new" broadside, the text was first published in Masefield Sailor's Garland 1906, and is probably Masefield's poetic ballad and not a traditional one.
Yeats 1910 broadside of the text from Masefield
THE SALCOMBE SEAMAN'S FLAUNT TO THE PROUD PIRATE
A Lofty ship from Salcombe came,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
She had golden trucks that shone like flame,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"Masthead, masthead," the captains hail,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Look out and round; d' ye see a sail?"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"There's a ship what looms like Beachy Head,"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Her banner aloft it blows out red,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"Oh, ship ahoy, and where do you steer?"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Are you man-of-war, or privateer?"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"I am neither one of the two," said she,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"I'm a pirate, looking for my fee,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"I'm a jolly pirate, out for gold :"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"I will rummage through your after hold,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
The grumbling guns they flashed and roared,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Till the pirate's masts went overboard,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
They fired shot till the pirate's deck,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Was blood and spars and broken wreck,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
"O do not haul the red flag down,"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"O keep all fast until we drown,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
They called for cans of wine, and drank,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
They sang their songs until she sank,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
Now let us brew good cans of flip,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
And drink a bowl to the Salcombe ship,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
And drink a bowl to the lad of fame,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Who put the pirate ship to shame,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.
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The James Duncan Manuscript Folk Song Collection
by P. N. Shuldham-Shaw
Folk Music Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1966), pp. 67-91
KEEP A GOOD LOOK-OUT AHEAD (T391)
(COASTS OF BARBARY)
Mrs D. Lyell, from her husband who learnt it in Mearns; noted 1907.
Keep a good lookout ahead our jolly captain said,
Blow High, blow low and so sailed we;
"We see nothing out ahead," our jolly crew cried,
Crusing down along the coasts of Barbary.
No more words given. No version in Greig's ms. and only music in Duncan's. This is similar to versions given in Hugill's
Shanties of the S even S eas, Colcord's Roll and Go and Sampson's Seven Seas Shanty Book, but has one or two distinct differences.
The tune is reminiscenot f some versionso f "TheG oldenV anity" and also in the first few bars of "As I walked out one May
Morning" (J.F.S.S. (1907) 3, 113). It is unusual to find this song from a Scottish source, hence its inclusion here as an example of an Englishs ong that has travelledN orth. Duncan's nly comment is: "A pirate song". For practical purposes the text may quite easily be completed from any of the versions mentioned above.
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