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Music of the Waters. 17 |
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Solo.—When Stormy died, I dug his grave, I dug his grave with a silver spade, I hove him up with an iron crane, And lowered him down with a golden chain Old Storm Along is dead and gone. Chorus.—Ay ! ay ! ay ! Mr. Storm Along. Each line is repeated twice. The solemnity of the air and the mock-seriousness of the words have a most comical effect, and reminded me very much, when I heard them sung, of the tale of " The Death of Cock Robin," the well-known favourite of the children's picture-books. I have since come across a somewhat different version of the words of this chanty; in which " Stormy " was written " Starmy," and of which the ending was—
Solo.—We carried him along to London town, Chorus.—Starm Along, boys, Starm Along.
Solo.—We carried him away to Mobille Bay, Chorus.—Starm Along, boys, Starm Along.
HAULING CHANTIES.
Of these, there is first the hand-over-hand song, in very quick time ; then the long-pull song, when there are, perhaps, twenty or thirty men pulling on a rope. To be effective, the pull must be made unanimously. This is secured by the chanty, the pulling made at some particular word in the chorus. For example, in the following verse the word "handy" is the signal, at each repetition, for a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together:— Chorus.—Oh, shake her up, and away we'll go, So handy, my girls, so handy ; Up aloft from down below, So handy, my girls, so handy. For heavier work, or where hands are few, one of longer metre is used, such as " O Long Storm, storm along, Stormy," which must not, however, be confounded with the capstan chanty, " Old Storm Along."
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