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A little sea shanty.




https://90dbband.bandcamp.com/track/a-sailors-life-2





A Sailor's Life

©2013 Robert Randall Burke/BMI


Six days out of Havana
And we're on a starboard tack
Left the lubber life behind us
And we're never lookin' back
The coast of Carolina
Is passing on the lee
A sailor's life's the one for me.


Farewell, my darlin' Maggie
Farewell to all ashore
The rollin' sea is callin' me
And I'll be home no more
I wasn't made for farmin'
For I never could be free
A sailor's life's the one for me.


And we will sail on
Guided by the stars
Sail on
And climb the tiltin' spars
My father is the trade wind
And my mother is the sea
A sailor's life's the one for me.


From the coast of Nova Scotia
Around the raging Horn
The young boys were a'cursin'
That they ever had been born
We Buccaneers are met with cheers
When we return from sea
A sailor's life's the one for me.




Regards,


Bob

Hi Bob:

I scanned the words before I hit the "start" button. You have a really nice vocal quality and the "shanty" sounded authentic enough... but needs more instrumentation here and there... as the song progresses. I doubt if many of the listeners here have ever heard of a "sea shanty" but I wish you luck navigating today's murky music waters.
Thanks for sharing.

All the best, ----Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the listen and the comments.


Regards,


Bob

Bob,
I'll have to admit, I am one who didn't know what a sea shanty was but after looking it up, I think this is a great example of one. Nice job,
Skip

Bob,

Don’t care what folks may want to call it . . . a shanty, a sea song, whatever . . . I just call it a damn good song. Magnetic in its simplicity—love those harmonies in the chorus. Beautiful tune, so well done. Liked this one a lot.

My humble regards,

Deej

Thanks Skip. Much obliged.



Regards,


Bob

Deej,


Thanks for the listen and the kind words.


Regards,


BOB

Aw,Humm,
One Nit. I think the ending is a bit lame. I might go with, A SAILORS LIFE, A SAILORS LIFE, THAT'S THE ONE FOR ME. Good luck.

Ray,


Thanks for the listen.


Regards,



Bob

Hi Bob.
Love these songs,a touch of Gordon Lightfoot even Mike Scott of the Waterboys.
When i think of a sea shanty,something more lively comes to mind, Drunken Sailor etc.
This to me is a great contemporary folk ballad,well written and performed.
Hope it does well for you it certainly deserves it!
Regards
Travis

I really enjoyed this. I'm not sure that I agree with Dave about it needing more instrumentation. This reminds me of the kind of folk music I used to listen to growing up in the seventies. I have no idea if there is a market for that kind of song these days, but I liked it a lot.

Nice gentle melody. I agree with Travis that a sea shanty is normally livelier or with a more pronounced rhythm, something sailors could sing while pulling on ropes or whatever. Who cares what we call it? It's just a very good song.

A couple of small remarks:

I like the line "We Buccaneers are met with cheers," but a buccaneer is a specific term. I didn't get the impression from the rest of the song that these folks were out there attacking Spanish shipping.

You start off by saying he's six days out from Havana, but start the next verse with "Farewell, my darlin' Maggie." I would have expected someone called Maggie to be in the US or Canada (or Ireland or Scotland). An unusual name for a Cuban lady.

I don't know if these things matter very much but, since they occurred to me, I thought I'd point them out.

Hi Bob,


Very nicely done.


Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Travis,

Shanties cover work songs and other sea-related songs as well. I use the term loosely. Thanks for the listen.


Regards,

Bob

Gavin,


Thanks for the listen.


Regards,

Bob

Calvin,


Thanks for the listen.


Regards,


Bob

Hello Bob. Lovely melodic song.
Everything fits for me. Even the thought of maybe "part time" buccaneers.
Just one thing that I thought may improve the flow of the last line of the verses was to add "only"
i.e. A sailor's life the only life for me.
Hardly worth nit picking though. It may be just my personal preference.

Vic

Vic,

Thanks for the listen. Appreciate it.


Regards,

Bob

This sounded awesome to my ears. Love the harmonies. Love its' simplicity. Makes me want to be at sea. Kudos!

Dave

Bob,

I really enjoyed your song, great lyrics, along with nice vocals that fit perfectly with this music. Not a nit, but IMO, what could be improved is the solo--I feel it's a little too "vanilla." I get that it conveys a lonely vibe, which is cool. But in my mind the song in general expresses that well enough, and I think the solo could use more instrumentation to build more of a crescendo at this juncture--in other words more cinematic! Then following the solo, it might be cool to insert a lifting key change for the latter part of the song giving a more building movement. Just what I'm hearing in my head, and just "food for thought."

Beautiful write as is however, and I sincerely enjoyed your performance, melody, and lyrics.

steady-eddie

Great tune! Well done and an awesome folk song in my opinion!

Pleasant to listen to.

Martin

Hi Bob,

Love the accordion so I was all in from the intro. Very nice vocal performances and beautiful clean, simple production.

Was that a steam pipe soloing? Very cool, whatever it was.

Mike

Dave,

Thanks for the listen and kind words.


Regards,


Bob

Eddie,

Thanks for the listen and the suggestion.

Regards,


Bob

James,


Thanks for the listen and kind remarks.


Regards,


Bob

Martin,

Thanks for the listen.


Regards,


Bob

Mike,


Thanks for listening. That's an ocarina in the solo.


Regards,


Bob