Sea Shanty
Randy Dandy O: sea chantey for raising anchors and sailing around Cape Horn
Reefing the Sails by Christian Krohg
By Serg Childed
Randy Dandy O is one of the most famous sea shanties, a song genre presumed to have originated in the 19th century during the heyday of sailing when such grandiose vessels as clippers demanded extreme dexterity from sailors. Written in the form of a work song, sea shanties were used by ship crews to synchronize their efforts to raise sails and anchors as well as perform other manual tasks specific to sailing.
Arranged in the "call and response" format, sea shanties were specially designed for rigging work and their lyrics show a different rhythmic structure for capstan shanty, windlass shanty, pump shanty, and other chanteys used for hauling or heaving actions.
The first known mention of the chanty Galloping Randy Dandy O was found in the notes of the British poet, painter, and shipmaster John Robinson. The note is thought to have been made during his service on the steamship Minnehaha which sailed the North Atlantic in the 1910s, setting off from New York and docking in Liverpool or London. With the end of the era of sailing, sea shanties gradually went out of circulation and only survived to this day thanks to sea music historians who collected folk lyrics in the first half of the 20th century.
As traditional chanteys gained certain popularity among folk musicians, the song Randy Dandy O was eventually recorded by the English group The Young Tradition in 1967.
Listen to Randy Dandy Oh by The Young Tradition:
In 1977, Randy Dandy O lyrics were published in Sea Shanties collection compiled by Stan Hugill, a British folk music historian known as the "Last Working Shantyman".
Now we are ready to head for the Horn,
Way, ay, roll an' go!
Our boots an' our clothes boys are all in the pawn,
Timme rollickin' randy dandy O!Heave a pawl, oh, heave away,
Way, ay, roll an' go!
The anchor's on board an' the cable's all stored,
Timme rollickin' randy dandy O!Soon we'll be warping her out through the locks,
Way, ay, roll an' go!
Where the pretty young gals all come down in their flocks,
Timme rollickin' randy dandy O!Heave a pawl, oh, heave away,
Way, ay, roll an' go!
The anchor's on board an' the cable's all stored,
Timme rollickin' randy dandy O!Come breast the bars, bullies, an' heave her away,
Soon we'll be rollin' her 'way down the Bay,Sing goodbye to Sally an' goodbye to Sue,
For we are the boy-os who can kick 'er through.Oh, man the stout caps'n an' heave with a will,
Soon we'll be drivin' her 'way down the hill.Heave away, bullies, ye parish-rigged bums,
Take yer hands from yer pockets and don't suck yer thumbs.Roust 'er up, bullies, the wind's drawin' free,
Let's get the glad-rags on an' drive 'er to sea.We're outward bound for Vallipo Bay,
Get crackin', m' lads, 'tis a hell o' a way!
Based on its structure, the song could be categorized as a capstan shanty which is sung during anchor raising when the anchor rope is wound on a capstan operated by sailors who heave wooden bars as they circle around it. Since capstan rotation is a continuous action so chanties of this type often contain long verses performed by a group of sailors in addition to the call-and-response form performed between a soloist and the rest of the workers in chorus.
Randy Dandy O mentions several geographical landmarks such as Cape Horn and Vallipo Bay, the latter located in the Chilean Valparaíso and is a common stop for ships following the strait between South America and Antarctica. As is typical of many traditional shanties, the lyrics abound with specific nautical terms and witty slang jokes about the ship's officers.
