Spanish Ladies
The sailors' farewell to Spain, for 2 to 4 singers, as Cecil Sharp took it down from Captain Lewis of Minehead and printed it in 1909. Everyone sings verse 1 and then the chorus, "We will rant and we'll roar", twice, on Sharp's own harmony, with the soprano carrying the tune. A capstan shanty in the old minor mode; the last chord turns major, as Sharp's piano postlude does.
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The first verse
Words: traditional sea shanty (as sung by Captain Lewis, Minehead; printed 1909)Tune: traditional sea shanty (as sung by Captain Lewis, Minehead; printed 1909)
Farewell and adieu to you Spanish ladies,Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain;For we've received orders for to sail for old England,But we hope in a short time to see you again.
About Spanish Ladies
Spanish Ladies is a capstan shanty, the sailors' farewell to Spain, as Cecil Sharp took it down from Captain Lewis of Minehead and printed it in Folk Songs from Somerset in 1909. Captain Lewis sang it as a song, not as a chanty; round the capstan, Sharp notes, it went much faster, and he set his harmony for the slower pace. Sharp prints the tune in its old minor form, finding the major version sailors of his day sang "far less beautiful". Our arrangement is read from his book, in A minor, on the harmony of his piano part, ending on his postlude's major chord. This is the first verse and the chorus twice for 2 to 4 singers.
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