Rogue’s Gallery: The Art of the Siren, #12

Plus a perfectly peachy keen Dezembergewinnspiel!

Song: David Thomas: Dan Dan (0:47 minutes)
from Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, ANTI- 2006.
Buy CD in Germany and elsewhere.
Image: Alberto Vargas, April 1945.

Lyrics:

My name, it is Dan Dan
My name, it is Dan Dan
Somebody stole my rum
He didn’t leave me none
That no good son of a gun
My name, it is Dan Dan
A sailor man I am
Somebody took my wife
Somebody took my knife
My name, it is Dan Dan

Explanatory liner notes by ANTI-:

A West Indian work chant which was first used ashore and later taken to sea as a simple halyard chantey.

Interpretation by Hulton “Ranzo” Clint from the comments:

“Dan Dan” is a rare chantey. In all probability, David Thomas has based his recording directly from a recording by singers from Mystic Seaport (in my home state of Connecticut, U.S.A.). THEIR version, I would guess, is their unique re-creation based off of Hugill’s text [Stan Hugill: Shanties and Sailors’ Songs, 1969]. The text is not very explicit, so they probably had to use a lot of imagination to develop it from such scanty notes.

December Contest:

Understanding the lyrics for the song above has been a complete failure. I encourage you — and you and you and even you — why, especially you — to provide them, by searching, by listening or by asking Mr. Thomas, write them into a comment, and win one of the following prizes:

• 1 CD containing 26 songs by The Muffs (private copy as raffled before);
• 1 CD by Carson Sage and the Black Riders, a Nuremberg independent band (rare and happy music by nowaday’s What about Carson as lauded before, private copies):
• Final Kitchen Blowout (1993);
• Walk With an Erection (5-song-EP 1993); or
• Great Music in Stereo (1995);
• 1 copy of Herman Melville: The Lightning-Rod Man in German, translation by Richard Mummendey on reprographic paper, c. 10 pages. Absolutely rare and in great demand on Moby-Dick™;
• 1 permission to write a guest article (and get it published) containing whatever you always wanted to say.

Get ready until Sunday, January 11th, 2009.

Edit: Molten Hulton Clint posted the lyrics — one day late and someplace else. Regardless of the date, since I prolonged the contest ad infinitum, Mr. Clint is winner. Congratulations and feel free to pick up your prize. /Edit