My copy of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman seems to have disappeared into the abyss -- however, I seem to recall Ben and his crazy old sailor amigo trading verses of the halyard shantey named in the thread title. As a singer of traditional song, I'm curious as to what lyrics Jacques gave, and any general comments made about the song. If anyone could type up this exchange, I'd be very grateful!
Bumping this. Would really appreciate any assistance.
Amazon.com allows you to search inside books for queries. I couldn't find anything like you mentioned, but you might try.
Good call, TBT. Found the quote I'm looking for, thanks. Will post analysis in the next few days.
Glad you found it - was it in the first or the second book? I did look through the first when I first saw the thread, but I didn't find anything like the song you mentioned (of course, I might have just skipped over it by accident).
....
The song is in chapter 21. I have the book right in front of me.
"I thought I heard the cap'n say,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
Tomorrow is our sailin' day,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
O you pinks and posers,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
And now we're wallopin' 'round Cape Horn,
Go down you bloodred rooses, go down!
I wish t'God I'd ne'er been born,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
O you pinks and posers,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
There's only one thing botherin' me,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
To leave behind Miss Liza Lee,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!
O you pinks and posers,
Go down you bloodred roses, go down!"
I listened to the audiobook a while ago, when I was trying to learn the tunes to all the songs in the books. If you'd like to know the tune they used there, I might be able to write it up for you.
"[Major Cuthbert] had a daughter named Petunia, a real beauty, quiet an' gentle. She was the flower of the Long Patrol. Many a young ranker lost his heart to her, I can tell ye."
- Captain Raphael Granden from High Rhulain
A fantastic analysis URL="http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34080#2718143"]Gibb Sahib[/URL] of "Blood Red Roses" as an invention of the folk revival by — and by extension, why it's appearance in CotFD is absolutely silly. And that's not to mention the unlikelihood of Ben and Jonathan Preston knowing identical words and melodies to a song from such an improvisational musical form!
Also check out Gibb's recording of the song over on YouTube, where he gives a condensed version of his argument (and a wonderful performance).
Last edited by Agravaine; August 17th, 2010 at 03:06 AM. Reason: Edited for clarity
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