Sea-Dog, See Dog!

Sea-Dog, See Dog! includes the 12 songs listed below, with the liner notes shown.

Click on to listen to a sample of the song. Click on the song title to see the lyrics.

1. The Captain's Lady  Most 'Men of the Sea' have two, quite distinct, personalities. This is not any overt form of dishonesty -- simply one way of coping with a way of life barely comprehended by landlubbers. (Or as we would refer to them: 'Civvies'!)
2. Chicken on a Raft. Another of Cyril Tawney's unique epistles. I am indebted to my producer—William Pint—for this innovative arrangement!
3. A Whaler's Tale. With both lyric and melody Ken Graydon evokes, with great authenticity, the ambiance of a curious 19th century whaling voyage.
4. The Big Fella'. Rod Shearman is a retired 'Merchantman' who plied the run to The Antipodes for many years. Like most mariners, Rod is no marine biologist, nor yet a cetacean expert. Rod and his ilk fondly referred to any and all whales they spied as: BIG FELLAS!
5. Safe Harbour (for a Storm-Tossed Heart). This song is dedicated to all those people who are (like myself) not on their first, but on their final, 'turn around the buoy'.
6. Doc "Lemon". The facts behind this tale were related to me by Michael Jackson -- a 'young salt' in his sixties; and Markandrew Cardiff showed me how the story ended!
7. Snap the Line Tight. This paean of survival in the West Coast fishing industry is mirrored in the CBC television series: The Beachcombers. For me the power of the song lies in the attention it draws to the logging practices of some of the 'corporate buccaneers' whose government sanctioned clearcutting is leaving vast areas of British Columbia denuded!
8. Down Where the Drunkards Roll. Powerful and enigmatic may be applied with equal justification to this song, and to its composer. It bears echoes of Stan Hugill's descriptions in 'Sailortown'.
9. North to Callao Sailor-John's ideal, final, paying-off port is a theme which has always intrigued me. It is explored, to some extent, in the lovely, traditional ballad: 'The Gallant Frigate Amphitrate'; but I wanted to give the subject a rather more rollicking air. Before reliable steam-power only the most impatient, or intrepid captains would brave the treacherous Strait of Magellan.
10. Down at the Sailor's Rest. I have attended canteen-auctions of deceased shipmates' kit. In order to ensure a generous donation to the widow, or next-of-kin, ridiculously large bids are made for items of little or no value; only to have the successful bidder return his purchase to be auctioned again -- and again!
11. A Seaman's Hymn. I am indebted to Louis Killen for this version of the Bert Lloyd original, in which 'all our brave Tars' is substituted for 'all British Tars!' in order to embrace 'sea-dogs' everywhere.
12. BUNTS!. This is a true (well almost!) story, from the time I was in HMS Striker in the early sixties! In true 'Showbiz' tradition the cover photo shows BUNTS portrayed by a female: 'Frisky' Morash! The gender may be incorrect, but the likeness is uncanny.