Haul Away The Bowline

2 years ago
12

This shanty appeared in 'The Independent' in 1849:
https://archive.org/details/independent67newy/page/80/mode/2up

Many more versions exist, but I've used the 1849 lyrics and modified the problematic verse.

Some good analysis of this short-haul shanty here:
https://shantykaraoke.com/2021/09/10/haul-away-joe-what-the-song-means/

And a general discussion of shanties here:
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/01/a-deep-dive-into-sea-shanties/

Some very interesting discussion here about what a bowline (not the knot) is and what it was for, especially the fact that they only came into use in the mid 1800s for faster ships:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/on-a-bowline.3561378/

#SeaShanty

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