The Amazon Frigate and Other Naval Ballads

[anteros_lmc]

"So now the Indefatigable is bound for England's shore
To let our suffering country know the Amazon's no more.
Still, we'll drink to George our King; we'll convince him of the same,
That British tars forever more rule lords of the main."

I came across this contemporary ballad which describes the engagement between the Amazon, Indefatigable and the Droits de l' Homme while looking for something else altogether.

The song is included in an article on Ballads of the The Great Mutiny of 1797 by Richard S. Holdstock on the Musical Traditions magazine site. It's an interesting article that traces the events of the Spithead mutiny through contemporary songs and ballads. One of the finest of which is The Seventeen Bright Stars which includes the brilliant couplet "Drink a health to Lord Howe in a full flowing glass / Confusion to Pitt, likewise to Dundas." The article itself is full of interesting detail about the mutiny but I have to confess I'm not entirely sure how balanced it is. There are all kinds of things here that make me think "oh aye?". However in terms of the detail of the politics and history I'm on slightly shaky ground here so I'll hold my tongue. The ballads speak for themselves though and are well worth a look.

I also went hunting for the original source of the The Amazon Frigate, which Holdstock cites as C Firth, Naval Songs and Ballads, The Naval Records Society, 1907. It's not available on google books but I did find it here. It looks like a fascinating tome full of songs written by men who witnessed the events they record. Unfortunately the online edition is not particularly easy to search and the titles of some of the ballads have been transposed. For anyone who is interested in naval history and first hand accounts of engagements and actions I'd say it's well worth taking the time to rummage through this.

And for those who have more than a passing interest in the bloody Indy, here's the fully lyrics of The Amazon Frigate

Come all you British seamen bold, that plow the raging main,
Come listen to my tragedy while I relate the same;
'Tis what we underwent all on the raging main.
Bold Reynolds was our commander in the ship called the Amazon.

On the thirtieth of December in Falmouth as we lay
Our orders came on board our anchors for to weigh;
So "Heave Away!" our captain, cried, "we have no time to spare:
We'll set our canvas to the breeze and through the ocean steer."

Our anchors weighed our sails were set, our ship she seemed to fly;
It was the Indefatigable, that bore us company.
We must bid adieu to our sweethearts because we must cross the main,
Hoping in a short time after to see them all again.

We steered our course to southward as far as Cape Finistere,
Cruising the seas for several days, and nothing could find there,
Till, running down the coast of Spain, three merchant men we took,
And sent them home to England while we for more did look.

But in bearing up for England an American ship we see,
That gave us good intelligence the French was at sea.
The weather it was thick, and under an easy sail,
The wind it blew north-northeast and it blew a briskish gale.

On the 28th of January a man sung from aloft
That he spied a lofty man-of-war at a distance three leagues off.
She's a very lofty ship the truth we will declare;
She crowded all sails she could, expecting to get clear.

But we were at the heels of her, and night coming on,
At six o'clock that very night the bloody fight begun.
With broadside to broadside we played them two to one,
Till the blood out of the scupper holes in a gore did run.

Both round grape and double-head we poured in so fast
That at eight o'clock that very night down came her mizzenmast.
We engaged them five glasses as close as we could lay,
While great guns, small arms, and cutlasses most sweetly did they play.

The Frenchmen all for quarters aloud to us did cry;
Their colors struck no more could fight for love or liberty.
But the remnant of their shattered crew they unto us tell
That out of fifteen hundred men eight hundred of them fell.

The ship was called the Droits de l' Homme; from Brest she lately came,
With guns mounted ninety-eight on board and fifteen hundred men.
Her intention was for Ireland her troops all there to land,
But bold Pellew and his ship's crew did stop their war-like band.

T'was early the next morning the land it did appear,
And they were so disabled from it they could not get clear;
And we were so disabled we could not veer nor tack,
But down alongside our enemy we soon became a wreck.

So now the Indefatigable is bound for England's shore
To let our suffering country now the Amazon's no more.
Still, we'll drink to George our King; We'll convince him of the same,
That British tars forever more rule lords of the main.

Cross posted to anything_aos

Comments

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

This is fantastic, thank you! I've been meaning to go looking for new ballads for a while, for both singing and fic, but guess what? I haven't found the time. Lucky I've got wonderful people like you who do it for me!

( I don't want them just to look for slashy bits. Honest. )

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Hi sweetie! LJ tells me I should be saying happy birthday to you today so here's a big birthday kiss *mwah* :D And if LJ's got it wrong you can keep the kiss anyway ;)

Glad you found this useful, either for singing or for fic! If you plough through Naval Songs and Ballads it sometimes indicates which tune some of the ballads should be sung to. I haven't been able to unearth a recording of The Amazon but I do have one of Seventeen Bright Stars and it's brilliant. Sometime soon I hope to write a post on a recording my partner rediscovered of a Radio 3 programme on chanteys, forebitters and naval ballads that was broadcast in commemoration of Trafalgar in 2005. It includes some beautiful songs and rare recordings.

Oh, and if you do find any slashy bits, you will let me know won't you?? ;)

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

*hugs* thank you - LJ was right and I feel old! I always like kisses though :D

Tunes for the ballads are very useful, so it's good to know they're listed. Although sometimes I have been known to go off-piste and make up my own, or try to fit the words to highly inappropriate tunes, but there is my daft sense of humour for you. I'd be very interested to hear that radio programme though - I managed to miss it first time around!

I will always tell you about slash - maybe someday I will write a comprehensive guide to slash in folksong. In the meantime I will try to dig out the link a friend sent me a while back to WW1 photos of sailors looking very friendly... ;)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I always like kisses though :D
*mwah* have another one!

Although sometimes I have been known to go off-piste and make up my own, or try to fit the words to highly inappropriate tunes
But that's exactly what keeps this kind of music alive! Folk ballads - ur doin it rite.

I promise I will get a copy of the Radio 3 programme up when I get a chance. It's too good not to share.

maybe someday I will write a comprehensive guide to slash in folksong
Sign me up for copy! And pics of "friendly" sailors are always appreciated ;)

[sharpiefan.livejournal.com]

Could that be a version of the song that they started singing in M&C: Come all you bold young thoughtless men/A warning take by me/And never leave your happy homes/To sail the raging sea?

And also, do you know where I can get hold of an audio version of it?

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Different song I think. The song you're looking for is called The British Tars, not to be confused with Gilbert and Sullivan's A British Tar! There's a discussion of its origins on the invaluable Mudcat Cafe but sadly I haven't been able to track down a recording of it for you. It's possible a recording exists somewhere in an folk song archive but that would take some digging. It's a broadside ballad and here's the relevant Bodleian Library entry.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I love these old ballads and do have a soft spot for the bloody Indie
Aren't they wonderful? And who wouldn't have a soft spot for the bloody Indy?!

One of my favourites is Newbolt´s "The Old and Bold", of course.
Of course! That's the kind of verse that makes you want to shout Huzzah! at the end ;)

Oh btw, volgivagant meet nodbear *points below* You two should get along just fine!

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Thank you for adding this in - as you know, I have recently accessed Edward Pellew's own " minutes" as he desribes them of the action between The Amazon, the Indy and the Droits D'Homme and I will try today to post a transcription of them - or at least get one prepared which anyone interested might have.
But trying to recover first from mind- blowingly fantastic production of Billy Budd at Glyndbourne. Certainly the best I have ever seen. More on journal page later.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

And of course it was that wonderful account that prompted me to post this. I am still completely awe struck with those minutes you know :)

Dying to hear about Glyndebourne, I was thinking of you there yesterday. Hope it didn't all get too historical and over emulsional.

Oh and while I'm here, meet my new friend volgivagant *points upwards* You seem to share in interest in deceased admirals, the inestimable Collingwood in her case :)

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Hello Volvivagant

Pleased to meet you too - I by no means dislike Italian opera - well, some, anyway.

Admirals and opera is no bad combination though not one with all that many crossovers- though I have one involving Sir Edward - naturally I would.

When Pellew and the " Nymph" captured the crack frigate of the French navy the " Cleopatre" the news was brought to London as quickly as possible and reached King George III when he was attending his favourite GLuck - Semiramis- at Covent Garden.
He stood up in his box, held up hs hand for silence, and having got attention, drew out and read the letter from the Earl of Chatham detailing the victory of the gallant crew of the Nymphe. At this orchestra , singers and audience broke into God Save the King !
because of this the event became news in a way that it would not otherwise have done and Pellew became much more of a household name.It was a turning point in the pyschology of people's belief in British naval power again

just a snippet but quite a nice one all the same!

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

*barges uninvited into conversation*

That is a lovely anecdote, I hadn't heard that before. Thank you for sharing!

(I like opera too)

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Hi - don't mind the interruption ! Glad to enrol yet another Age of sail and opera fan onto the subsection list!

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

Hello! Would you mind if I friended you?

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

I am in the middle of a book you may know - its " British Admirals of the Napoleonic era " and its great for bringing out fo Nelsons shadow various admirals. Its shocking if typical thta Collingwood is as you say sidelined for that reason. de saumarez had once a memorail that no one on guernsey can apparently bother to repair.
And its certain thta Pellew would have languished in obscurity had it not been for the TV and for the Teignmouth museum securing Robert Lindsay's help in their renovation and upgrade campaign etc( not that I think Pellew was the greatest admiral ever - the greatest frigate captain yes, quite possibly - and an adequate admiral) but all these and others suffer the Nelson thing - unless we do something about it!
re Vere and Collingwood - I see exactly what you mean - see my review of Billy Budd now posted on my journal page .I can't qutie get my head Vere being the adored father figure and etc and needing /tolerating a Claggart at all.
Collingwood exceptionally so - but even realtive disciplinarians like Pellew would never have dreamed of flogging people merely for the reasons done in act 1 of Billy Budd.
but Vere is interesting though because he is a man with moral ambiguity and in that sense a real person - and yesterday that came over

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Billy Budd yet, *hangs head in shame* but from what I know if it, comparing Vere to Collingwood does seem odd. Particularly given that Melville speaks very highly of Collingwood in White-Jacket, even going so far as to hold him up before Nelson as being the archetype of the humane captain.

"Send them to Collingwood," said Lord Nelson, "and he will bring them to order." This was the language of that renowned Admiral, when his officers reported to him certain seamen of the fleet as wholly ungovernable.

Melville goes on to praise Collingwood for having the ability to control his crews without ever resorting to flogging or corporal punishment.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

St Vincent? Really? Fascinating. To be fair to Melville he doesn't go on about Nelson too much. It is extraordinary how Nelson's cult of personality has survived all this time and it's sad that it's been to the detriment of other great lives.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Hello! Everyone making friends and having fun? Good :) volgivagant, nodbear meet gayalondiel, she has gone one better than all of us and is married to a real live naval lieutenant :) This means she is the only person I know who writes posts about Wardroom dinners that are not fanfic!!

Fascinating story nodbear, thanks for sharing. I had just been telling volgivagant what a mine of fascinating information you are. You certainly don't disappoint!

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

Quite a buzz in the Middies berth or where we are all hanging out - maybe we are looking posed and cute on the gundeck - oh no, thats the boys...
quite in awe of gayalondiel's real live navy boy standing - he will know what shipit was I was waving to last Saturday in Portsmouth maybe?
( Volgivagant is there a way one can look them up by their numbers? It had a large number but no visible name at the distance I was }
promise I will learn to do highlighted names soon - its not for poor Anteros not training me - its just time to do anything about really practising - I'll reamain on LJs musters as a landman for another 6 months at least

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Oh I think you're well beyond landsman now. Certainly able and heading for rating soon at the very least!

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

Volgivagant is there a way one can look them up by their numbers? It had a large number but no visible name at the distance I was

What was the number?

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

I would say having a real life Navyboy isn't that special, but he's a total history and ships geek and knows virtually everything there is to know about anything vaguely ship related, so he's quite a mine of information! If we can ever all get down to Portsmouth (I keep assuming this will happen one day) I will make him be tour guide on Victory and Liverpool (his current ship).

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

he's a total history and ships geek and knows virtually everything there is to know about anything vaguely ship related
Sounds good to me! ;)

I would soooo love to get down to Portsmouth sometime. I do occasionally have work meetings in Southampton, which isn't too far away so you never know!

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

I am sure something will happen one day - Portsmouth or wherever!
and the ship and history geek means we all benefit !