When Arthur Ransome was in 1905-6 put in charge of the failing literary periodical Temple Bar (see Autobiography, pp. 108-110), he was able to commission some pieces by his friends on topics that interested him. This is one of those pieces. There is no doubt that Masefield's description of Chanties and other Sea songs appealed strongly to the romantic side of AR: Masefield had experience of sailing before the mast, and was able to chronicle the folk-lore of a way of of life that was then fast vanishing, and has now gone forever. The impression made on the young Ransome by Masefeld's article is shown by the eight chanties from it that he incorporated into the Swallows and Amazons series of novels:

The Maid of Amsterdam
Sung by the Swallows, with Titty as the Chantyman, when they leave Wild Cat Island at the end of Swallows & Amazons (chap. 31). Linked to a number of different towns (eg 'In Leicester town...' and 'In Bristol town ...'), this chanty does, as Masefield hints, have some mildly 'rude' verses such as 'I put my hand upon her knee/She said Young man you're rather free'. The origin of this song is not in 'Valentinian' (a play by Beaumont and Fletcher!) but in Thomas Heywood's "The Rape of Lucrece" Act IV, Scene vi, as Masefield himself stated in A Sailor's Haul, which gives a more accurate version of the first verse, and also a second verse not included in Temple Bar.

Rio Grande
This chanty makes three appearances in the Swallows and Amazons novels: it is sung by the Walkers as a farewell to Wild Cat Island at the end of Swallows & Amazons (chap.34): by the pirates on board the Viper in Peter Duck (chap. 11): and, to himself, by Commander Ted Walker as he sails back from Flushing on board the Goblin in We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (chap. 34) (where it is described as 'one of the old sea songs they had all learnt in the nursery').

Blow, bullies, blow
Also sung to himself by Ted Walker on board the Goblin in We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (chap. 34)

Hanging Johnny
Despite its melancholy tune, this chanty is sung to express his happiness by Captain Flint as he sails on board the Swallow to make the expedition's landfall on Crab Island (Peter Duck, chap. 23). It is sung in Pigeon Post to lighten the load when camp is moved, first to Tyson's farm (chap. 7), and later to High Topps (chap. 27), and is (perhaps inappropriately) chosen by Roger to distract Bridget when the three youngest Walkers are stranded in the middle of the Red Sea in Secret Water (chap. 24)

A Drunken Sailor
Sung during the party after the Battle in Houseboat Bay (Swallows & Amazons chap. 13). Sung by John (substituting 'a drunken pilot' for 'a drunken sailor') as he waits on board the Goblin for the Dutch pilot in (We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, chap. 20), and by Bridget, Roger and Titty as the water rises in the middle of the Red Sea (Secret Water, chap. 24).

A Handy Ship
This chanty provides the Epigraph to chapter 1 in Swallowdale.

Leave her, Johnny
Appropriately, sung by the Swallows as a farewell to Wild Cat Island at the end of Swallows & Amazons

Spanish Ladies
In Swallows & Amazons, sung by the Swallows as a farewell to the natives as they set sail for Wild Cat Island (chap. 3), whistled by Titty at the look-out place (chap. 17), and sung and played at the party after the battle of Houseboat Bay (chap. 27). Whistled by Roger in the charcoal-burners' camp (Swallowdale, chap. 34). It forms the Epigraph to chapter 36 of Peter Duck and is sung as a chanty by the prospectors en route to High Topps in Pigeon Post, and by John (substituting 'Holland' for 'Scilly') as he waits for the Dutch pilot in We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (chap. 20). Sung by Bridget, at Roger's prompting, as the waters rise in the middle of the Red Sea (Secret Water, chap, 26), and in an attempt to communicate by the caged Captain Flint and the Swallows and Amazons in Missee Lee (chap. 10).

The Whale
Sung by the Swallows, with Titty as the Chantyman, when they leave Wild Cat Island at the end of Swallows & Amazons (chap. 31). This chanty is not given in the Temple Bar article: however it does appear in Masefield's A Sailor's Garland p. 206, also published in 1906.

It proved difficult to reproduce adequately the musical examples from Masefield's article: note, however, that the music of these chanties is now available in several places. A good "all hands" on-line folk music resource is available here; a more specialist folk resource including a lively discussion group (useful for researching the excised verses of bowdlerised shanties) is here.

Also, I omitted a few bibliographical references given by Masefield, as these have by now become very out of date. A 'core bibliography' has been produced by Bob Webb on his own website here. There's also a more comprehensive shanty bibliography here which is a 'living document' that's regularly updated.

Tim Johns