SHANTYMEN AND SHANTYBOYS

by William Main-Ed. Doerflinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 30, 1950

Macmillan is building a very extensive reference library on the folk music of America, and this careful study of the songs of the sailors and lumbermen is an excellent addition. It is the result of twenty years research in the New England and southeast Canadian areas, from which many of the traditional songs -- particularly those that emerged between 1820 and 1880- came. Rivers, lakes, and sea connected the two groups and in some instances (see his final chapters) there were songs common to both. His material was secured in many cases from old men who had sailed before the mast or been part of the forest frontier, and wherever possible the songs- music and specific versions- were recorded, and in transferring them to paper, the variations were kept. The book is broken down into sections such as short drag shanties, halyard shanties, songs of the square riggers, of the Banks, of the Coastwise vessels, and so on.

Pub Date: Jan. 30, 1950

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1950

Categories: NONFICTION