Haul Away, Joe
A pulling shanty for 2 to 4 singers: the soprano is the shantyman and sings each call alone, and everyone answers "Way, haul away, haul away, Joe" in harmony, landing together on "Joe", where the sailors gave the rope one big pull. The chorus starts and ends it, with three verses between. A stretch song: its tune runs wider than a beginner's comfortable range, so take the high or low notes gently, or move the key.
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The parts
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The first verse
Words: traditional sea shanty (as sung by John Short, Watchet; printed 1914)Tune: traditional sea shanty (as sung by John Short, Watchet; printed 1914)
Haul away, haul away, haul away, my Rosie,Way, haul away, haul away, Joe.
About Haul Away, Joe
Haul Away, Joe is a pulling shanty: the shantyman sings a line alone, and everyone answers "Way, haul away, haul away, Joe", landing together on "Joe". Our arrangement is read from Cecil Sharp's English Folk-Chanteys of 1914: the tune John Short, an old sailor from the harbour town of Watchet, sang for it, with the harmony of Sharp's piano part. Other books print the shanty in a major key, but Sharp notes that Short's tune is in the dorian mode, which gives it a darker, older sound, and we keep it, a semitone up. This is the chorus, three verses and the chorus again, for 2 to 4 singers, the soprano singing each call alone.
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