Boldly from the Westward

For the crews of deepwater sailing ships, chanteys served as a tool to help them work as a team and lift their spirits while doing shipboard jobs that were often backbreaking and monotonous. Lyrics tell of harsh working conditions, carnal desires, the joys and curse of drink, "hard case" mates, and hopes for a better life.

Stevedores who loaded cargo aboard ships also sang chanteys. Folklorists point to what must have been a rich tradition of cargo loading chanteys, through eyewitness accounts of the largely African American and West Indies stevedores singing at work. Unfortunately, few of these chanteys survive. These songs would have been lost forever if it had not been for the efforts of a few diligent collectors, and the chanteymen who, having had these songs orally passed on to them, shared them with those collectors.

There is also a tradition of non-working songs known as forebitters as well as a living tradition of songwriting about those who work and live on and near the sea.

Richard and Peter met around 1989 at Irish music parties and sessions in San Francisco. As the nineties progressed, they took similar musical paths, taking an ever-stronger interest in sea music, and in singing together. Richard would host occasional small get-togethers where sea music enthusiasts could trade songs and learn from one another. Peter hosts a monthly public chantey sing in San Francisco. Their love of sea music, and their friendship, led to the musical collaboration on this recording. This CD is the result of many happy hours spent mining sea music collections and field recordings, and learning from other singers, constantly discovering this rich and varied tradition.