Haul on the Bowlin'
Unknown Person
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1953.242.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
A short-drag sea shanty:
Haul on the bowlin', me bully, ship's a-rollin'.
[Refrain:] Haul on the bowlin', the bowlin' haul.
Haul on the bowlin', Katie is me darlin'.
[Refrain]
Haul on the bowlin', Katie lives in Liverpool.
[Refrain]
Haul on the bowlin', it's a far-cry to pay day.
[Refrain]
Ewan MacColl learned the song from a recording of Hector Gunn, a Highlander who worked most of his life in Newcastle; he was recorded by Joan Littlewood in 1942 when he was 84.
Item Notes
4 verses consisting of 2 lines, the second of which is a refrain.
Rev. James Duncan (Greig-Duncan, p. 497) notes that this song was "used for hauling the foresheet or bowline, the haul being at the last word". W. M. Doerflinger ('Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman', 1972, pp. 9-10) observes that the term 'bowline' has been out of use for a few centuries, suggesting that this song is at least that old.
See also:
Greig-Duncan vol. 1, p. 3, no. 1
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good