Haul on the Bowline
One of the oldest and shortest of all sea shanties. "Haul on the Bowline" is a short-drag shanty, sung for quick, sharp pulls on a rope. The shantyman sings the verse and the crew hauls together on "HAUL!" Each verse is just one line, making it one of the simplest shanties to learn and one of the most effective for coordinating a burst of effort.
That said this song has evolved in my use to be really great for rowing. I originally learned a minor version on the Schooner J&E Riggin that is not the cheerful version that most people sing. I love that version but here is the way I learned it, something a lot closer to Haul Away, Joe. Even sharing the lyric set.
This version is great because of dense harmonic structures that have evolved while singing with my fellow rowers.
Lyrics
Haul on the bowline, the bowline haul
Haul on the bowline, the bowline haul
Haul on the bowline, can't you hear me calling
Haul on the bowline, can't you hear me bawling
Haul on the bowline, Kitty is my darling
Haul on the bowline, Kitty is from Liverpool
Haul on the bowline, the waves they are rolling
Haul on the bowline, the sea she is a-calling
Haul on the bowline, the captain is a-growling
Haul on the bowline, the bosun is a-frowning
Haul on the bowline, the wind she is a-blowing
Haul on the bowline, the tide she is a-flowing
Sources
Roud 815
- Stan Hugill, Shanties from the Seven Seas (1961)
- Stan Hugill, Shanties and Sailors' Songs (1969)
- Joanna C. Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen (1938)
- Cecil Sharp, English Folk-Chanteys (1914)
- W.B. Whall, Sea Songs and Shanties (1910)
- Richard Runciman Terry, The Shanty Book (1921)
- Frederick Pease Harlow, Chanteying Aboard American Ships (1962)
Notable Recordings
- A.L. Lloyd, Leviathan! (1967)
- Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd, Blow Boys Blow (1967)
- X Seamen's Institute, various recordings
- The Longest Johns, various recordings