Alan Lomax Archive | Jean Glaud and group: Hooray Irena (1962) @AlanLomaxArchive | Uploaded January 2021 | Updated October 2024, 21 hours ago.
A chantey led by Jean Glaud with Eli Britton, Cornelius Duncan, Ralph George, Adolphus Henry, St. Bernard Joseph, Michael Marishow, Oliver Mims and Sylvester Gold. Recorded by Alan Lomax in L'Esterre, Carriacou, Grenada, July 1962. Photo is a double-exposure of an unidentified singer, and unidentified sailors, shot by Lomax sometime during his '62 Caribbean trip.
Dr. Becky Miller explains in her notes to "Music for Work & Play: Carriacou, Grenada, 1962" (a digital album available through the Lomax Archive's Bandcamp page):
"Because employment as seamen on cargo ships has been a staple occupation for Carriacouan men since emancipation in 1838, it is no surprise that sea chanties have long been an integral part of Carriacouan expressive culture. Sung to coordinate physical work between the seamen and to alleviate boredom, chanteys typically feature call and response between a lead singer and a chorus and a steady, clearly delineated rhythm that guides work movements (hauling the mainsails, for example). Because this type of song is pragmatic, the meaning of chantey texts is less important than the rhythm and tempo. That said, sea chantey lyrics often offer portraits of an era, a history of work standards and expectations while on the sea, and record feelings of fatigue, loneliness, boredom, and other emotions among the sailors."
A chantey led by Jean Glaud with Eli Britton, Cornelius Duncan, Ralph George, Adolphus Henry, St. Bernard Joseph, Michael Marishow, Oliver Mims and Sylvester Gold. Recorded by Alan Lomax in L'Esterre, Carriacou, Grenada, July 1962. Photo is a double-exposure of an unidentified singer, and unidentified sailors, shot by Lomax sometime during his '62 Caribbean trip.
Dr. Becky Miller explains in her notes to "Music for Work & Play: Carriacou, Grenada, 1962" (a digital album available through the Lomax Archive's Bandcamp page):
"Because employment as seamen on cargo ships has been a staple occupation for Carriacouan men since emancipation in 1838, it is no surprise that sea chanties have long been an integral part of Carriacouan expressive culture. Sung to coordinate physical work between the seamen and to alleviate boredom, chanteys typically feature call and response between a lead singer and a chorus and a steady, clearly delineated rhythm that guides work movements (hauling the mainsails, for example). Because this type of song is pragmatic, the meaning of chantey texts is less important than the rhythm and tempo. That said, sea chantey lyrics often offer portraits of an era, a history of work standards and expectations while on the sea, and record feelings of fatigue, loneliness, boredom, and other emotions among the sailors."
