FAWM: "The True Tale of That Scalawag Roarin' Dan"

The True Tale of That Scalawag Roarin' Dan

3 days ago by @carleybaer

The True Tale of That Scalawag Roarin' Dan

carleybaer

00:00

Liner Notes

I tried to write a #sea-shanty about a #navalbattle and I ended up with this. Captain Dan Seavey, aka Roarin' Dan, is the only sailor in all of Great Lakes history to have been branded a pirate. I started out telling his story but then it became the POV of sailors who heard his story and dreamed of that freedom for themselves.

One of the ways Roarin' Dan would allegedly ransack ships was known as "mooncussing," where a pirate extinguishes the lighthouse light and sets up a decoy that leads ships into rocks, and then plunders the wreckage. He also ran a brothel on his ship, Wanderer, because the port authority's jurisdiction ended at the water's edge. He also really did commandeer the Nellie Johnson, although he maintained until his death that he won her in a poker game.

Lyrics

Ol’ Roarin Dan came down from Maine
Away bound away oh
Ol’ Roarin Dan came down from Maine
A sailor to become
Yes a sailor to become, me lads
Away bound away oh
To find his fortune come what may
But fortune didn’t fall his way
So he became a rover

Oh Lake Michigan water’s
Better than the ocean
Our troubles gone
We’ll be on
The Wanderer by mornin

Well he moved to Marinette me lads
Away bound away oh
He moved to Marinette me lads
Then further south again
And he had a very pretty wife
Away bound away oh
But he left his love in the winter cold
While he headed west to hunt for gold
But never did he find it

Oh Lake Michigan….

It was Escanaba next you know
Away bound away oh
It was Escanaba next you know
And another pretty wife
And he bought himself a sailing ship
Away bound away oh
In Michigan he might’ve stayed
But piracy became his trade
So he sailed to seek his fortune

Oh Lake Michigan….

Well they say his ship has barrels, lads
Away bound away oh
They say his ship has barrels, lads
Of whiskey fair and true
And women of easy virtue, lads
Away bound away oh
And if we steal a jug or two
Then we’ll be joinin with his crew
And work and drink a-plenty

Oh Lake Michigan

And we’ll steal the Nellie Johnson, boys
Away bound away oh
We’ll steal the Nellie Johnson, boys
And cuss the moon til dawn
And we’ll rule the Lakes like kings you know
Away bound away oh
Neath the watchful eye and guiding hand
Of that scallywag called Roarin’ Dan
We’ll head for the horizon

Comments

@tcelliott 1d

I love the perspective, telling the story from the view point of sailors in the remembering. And the melody is lovely, the perfect use of mando (I would have used it more and ruined the whole thing) and the overall effect is one of lovely tribute.

@joshalmond 2d

Sounds great. I kept thinking of people on the west coast of Ireland somehow adopting it into their pub songs, with everyone singing the chorus when it came round.

@metalfoot 3d

A Great Lakes shanty! As a child of the Great Lakes (Huron and Ontario are the two I have most called my own) this is a really cool story to hear! Great stuff!

@aeye 3d

Holy cow this is fantastic. Those harmonies on the chorus are just awesome. It is crazy though how many shipwrecks are in the great lakes. Not a place you'd expect to find that many.