She's a lovely woman too. After we saw Steeleye play at York's Grand Opera House once, we sat with Maddy and some of the rest of the band and had a few beers afterwards. She's very down to earth and friendly, as were the others. They shut the bar before Bob Johnson could get a drink and he stormed off in a huff which was a shame because he was the only one who didn't sign my programme.
oops, I thought this was Steeley Dan... thought it was an unusual song for them and where did the girl come from? well now I know.... nice group anyway......
I actually got an explanation on a different video, and I looked it up myself. "Santy" is also a word for "Prostitute". There's a story behind every folk song.
@QMPhilosophe I'm jealous. I wish I had been around then, since I didn't find out about them til the early 90's when we were getting heavily into Celtic/traditional music. They are a superb band. Must've been great seeing them live back then. Thanks for the upload, john. Great song, even without Maddy taking lead-- shows that all members of the band could hold their own weight. Nice one. :))
@meadowlarks100 Hi there, thanks for that. Yes , Bellowhead are a great band, and in fact I sometimes wish Steeleye would also produce a bigger sound, although their latest lineup has certainly gone a long way towards that. Maybe it's me that's grumpy !
The lyric is "my dear Auntie" (in the "naughty" sense), not "my dear Honey". Please note also that the sailor's name is "Jack R. Malone"; a subtle play on words indicating that when his "Auntie" absconded with his personal effects he was left to take the matter of his unfulfilled urges into his own hand.
I just thought, as I tought before about that, thou it doesn't have to mean anything but maybe old english from french: santé "means health" that make me picture it as in the times whjen they built new york, maybe a yorkshire bloke it was,, or maybe if we look the places are somewhere else completly. Good day to .. I'll surely check out your page! .. Nice song
can anyone suggest what the Bellowhead version of this song has that this one doesn't. I think this is every bit as good . At least Steeleye Span smile. Has someone told all the members of Bellowhead to look miserable whenever they have their picture taken ?
Maddy Prior told the crowd at Fairport Cropredy Festival just last weekend (August 12th 2016). They were practising this song and someone said, "it really needs a ukulele". Nobody around the table could play the ukulele, but someone eventually said, "I think Peter Sellers plays the ukulele...". The rest, as they say, is history.
@slygingerdog That is true- bellowhead are quite grumpy looking. I like both bands in different ways. I think I like the 'big band'-ness of bellowhead, whereas steeleye's charm is its simplicity.
+david janson Come on man, you don't seriously think that this song was written by Steeleye Span? Bellowhead did exactly what Steeleye did, their own interpretation of a shanty. Each band did it in a different way, and neither is objectively better or worse than the other.
+Benedict Wynn i didnt say steeleye span first recorded this( seriously) i said i had heard this before,and i am sorry you dont agree with my opinion, but the mere fact that you took the trouble to publish the words"come on man" is not in anyway going to change my opinion, if you are going down the punk ,shanty route then the pogues would be an admiral(sic) choice.
agreed ,this calls for a shanty top ten 1 stormy weather boys 2 rio grande 3 whiskey johnny 4 mr stormalong 5 haul away joe 6 greenland whale fisheries 7 lowlands 8 the sailors alphabet 9 farwell and adieu 10 drunken sailor
I think "santy" is a crossover from the US sea shanty "Santy Anno" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nPIcwFKrTus.html For a couple of reasons: 1. "New York Girls" is obviously sailors' song. It is very typical of the genre of sailors' bar-room songs about sex workers. 2."And away santy" is exactly the kind of easy-to-pick-up-and-join-in chorus line beginning with "away" found in many sea shanties. 3. Sailors who went to New York probably already knew the "Away Santy Anno" chorus, since that shanty originated in the Americas. Familiar lyrics would make "New York Girls" easier to learn. Fun Fact: the words "Santy Anno" are a corruption of "Santa Anna" , the name of a Mexican president and military general in the early decades of the C19th. Sailing crews back in the day were often illiterate, and for many English was not their mother tongue, so they frequently misheard/mispronounced/words in shanties.
