Blow the Man Down

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Blow the Man Down is an English sea shanty. The lyric "Blow the man down" may refer to the act of knocking a man to the ground. More likely, it refers to a common mishap at sea during the age of sail wherein a strong, sudden gale catches a ship with its topsails fully set - the force of the wind, depending upon the load and balance of the ship's cargo, can actually "blow the man down", or blow the man-o'-war down into the water, partially capsizing it. When this occurs during a violent storm, the result is almost always a loss of the ship, however there are techniques for righting the vessel in relatively calm positions (cutting free the sails and rigging dragging in the water).

Video Blow the Man Down

Historical

Contemporary publications and the memories of individuals, in later publications, put the existence of this shanty by the 1860s. The Syracuse Daily Courier, July 1867, quoted a lyric from the song, which was said to be used for hauling halyards on a steamship bound from New York to Glasgow. In 1879, George Haswell was passenger aboard another steamship, from London to Sydney, at which time he noted some of the shanties of the crew. These were published in the ship's own fortnightly newspaper, The Parramatta Sun, and they included a full set of lyrics for "Blow the Man Down." The lyrics take up the theme of a ship of the Black Ball Line, and include the refrains, "Wae! Hae! Blow the man down / Give me some time to blow the man down." Although Haswell's article did not receive wide circulation, it did find its way into the hands of Laura Alexandrine Smith, whose own large collection of sailors' songs, The Music of the Waters (1888), was one of the first to be widely available. Smith reprinted the lyrics gathered by Haswell. She also presented a different version of the song that she herself presumably collected, and which was said to be used for hoisting topsail yards. Its lyrics include reference to a sailor coming home to England from Hong Kong, as well as meeting a girl on "Winchester Street."

Maps Blow the Man Down

Lyrics

Like most chanties of this type, "Blow the Man Down" was sung to a flexible combination of customary verses, floating verses from within the general chanty repertoire, and verses improvised in the moment or peculiar to individual singers. The song was of indefinite length, and created by supplying solo verses to an invariable two-part refrain. The structure is as follows:

Solo verse couplets documented to have been sung to "Blow the Man Down" include the following from sailors of the 19th century.

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References in the lyrics

Paradise Street is a street in Liverpool, England, that was frequented by sailors whose ships had docked at the port. A traditional explanation of its origins is that the Black Ballers were fast packet ships of the American Black Ball Line that sailed between New York and Liverpool towards the end of the 19th century.

Sailors reached America about four weeks after leaving Liverpool and returned about three weeks later. The speedy journey meant that sailors were paid earlier than those on other lines, making the Black Ball ships very popular.

Sailors were regularly beaten on these ships and being "blown down" meant getting knocked onto the deck floor as a result.

It is unlikely that "Blow the Man Down" was peculiar to the port of Liverpool or the transatlantic trade. For example, versions from Tyneside sing of Chichester Street (in South Shields) or Collingwood Street (in Newcastle upon Tyne), both of which are thoroughfares that would be familiar to sailors from England's North-East coast. "Blown down" seems an unlikely reference in the context to being knocked to the deck for a perceived misdemeanour. Since the working members of the crew are using the phrase, it is more likely to refer to some heavy operation, such as raising a yard. This also fits in with the alternative wording "give me the strength" rather than "give me the time" to blow the (not "a") man down.

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Another version

An article by Felix Riesenberg, who trained and served as an officer in the Merchant Marine in the 1890s, depicts earlier sailors singing these plainer work lyrics not specifically about the Black Ball line. The men are raising the topsail on a merchant ship to get under sail from New York to Liverpool, with the chantey led by a sailor named Jimmie:

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In popular media

"Blow the Man Down" was used in the 1930s animated Popeye cartoons by Fleischer Studios as the background music for the pugnacious character Bluto.

The song is sung ominously by a zither-playing blind street singer in the opening scene of Val Lewton's 1943 suspense film, The Ghost Ship.

The chipmunks Chip and Dale sing a verse in Disney's 1956 Donald Duck cartoon titled Chips Ahoy.

The song is sung separately by Torin Thatcher and a dubbed Sidney Poitier in the 1957 movie Band of Angels.

The song is sung by Yosemite Sam at the opening scene of the Bugs Bunny cartoon Captain Hareblower.

The background music played at the Rum Rogers cottage in the 1991 video game Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is a version of this shanty.

The song is sung in the Sailing Melody of Barney's Imagination Island, the primetime TV special that aired on NBC based on the children's television series Barney and Friends.

Tønsberg Sjømannsforenings shantykor (The Shanty Choir of the Tonsberg Sailors' Association) recorded it in Oslo on April 14, 1965. It was released on the extended play Shanties (HMV 7EGN 53). The song features in a 1982 animated advert for Shell UK that depicts the Brent oilfield. The song was sung by the crew (with modified lyrics) aboard the Navy vessel as Marty Pascal (Rob Schneider) was forced to walk the plank after an attempted mutiny in the 1996 comedy Down Periscope starring Kelsey Grammer and Lauren Holly.

In the episode "The Work Song Nanocluster" of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Penny and Sheldon use the tune from "Blow the Man Down" with different lyrics as a work song to speed up the manufacturing process in their new home business.

In the 2004 remake of Sid meier's Pirates!, after a successful plunder, the player's crew may break into song. One of the tunes they hum is "Blow the Man Down", though they only sing the melody.

The song was used with a track from Crush 3D, in a muffled tone.

The song was included in the Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Swashbuckling Sea Songs. Instead of the "For Kicking Jack Williams commands the Black Ball" line it is sung "For Captain Jack Sparrow commands the Black Pearl" to make the song fit the album's theme better.

Bill Murray's character sings a chorus from the shanty after his first successful sailing endeavor in the film What About BOB.

The SpongeBob SquarePants theme song was inspired by the melody from "Blow the Man Down." "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Sponge Bob Square Pants!...". Mr. Krabs also sings the melody to the tune while transitioning in several episodes. Also in the season one episode "I Was a Teenage Gary", Gary The Snail and SpongeBob SquarePants and Squidward Tentacles as snails sing the melody in meows.

Maurice Sendak's Little Bear has several characters sing the refrain in numerous episodes throughout the television series.

"Rum Rogers Jr. and the Secret Chamber" from the video game Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is based on "Blow the man down".

Claude Choules, the last combatant of the First World War, can be heard playing the song in the first and third episodes of The Last Tommy.

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Notes

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External links

• Lyrics
• Alternate lyrics

Source of the article : Wikipedia