It's dark when they bed and it's dark when they rise for the men that work on the tugs.
This saga is real as told by a young deckhand; new on the job & already worn out & jaded. It was a request from a friend for his tugboat movie. For his film, the guy actually used the raw, unmastered version of this song that I recorded on my ghetto blaster cassette tape deck. Stock full of B.C. references, this sea shanty is a story of toil and trouble with ebbs and flows like an unmanned ship on a raging sea. This is a true working man's folk song and as local as it gets.
These shots were taken during our stay at a boutique hotel in Cancun a few years back. The (finger quotes) "all inclusive" part of the vacation sucked but the paintings, sculptures and scenery were breathtakingly beautiful. Moose, the concierge, did his best to accommodate us but the service, food and entertainment were pretty much left up to us. (smokeywine.com) Lea and I (leasheldan.com) entertained the supper crowd with her travel guitar and my mandolin; playing our Christmas set list we were practising for an upcoming gig. One day, we laughed our guts out when Lea requested a glass of milk and it took them two days to find some in the city. Getting them to open up a bottle of wine was like pulling teeth and they played one CD over and over the entire week we were there. It was lucky we had our instruments and our sense of humor to entertain ourselves. Great memories and a great song were the good that came out of this disaster of a phone vacation package. *Note to everyone...when they call to offer free anything...just say NO!
We said yes to singing at the Burrard Inlet Salmon Festival in Port Moody with the 'Goodtrack-Collective.com'. It was a beautiful sunny day; we sounded fantastic through a PA that was powered by people pedalling bicycles. I played bass that day, but on 'Deck Hand Blues' I strum-picked my old Guild guitar. This track features Daniel Lapp on Concertina and fiddle, Paul Gitlitz on Mandolin, Rick Kildurn on stand up Bass and Peter Honychurch Mitchell on Pedal Steel. For pizza and beers, Tom Covernton, Brock Davis, John Lyons, Daryl Keeler, Scott Morgan, Kal Koar, Denis Nicol and Jon Bartlett became the choir which magnified the emotional struggle of this mournful waltz. It carries you to another time & place where you bounce along the waves and feel the hardships of the crew as you sing along with the agonizing chorus.
I want to welcome my listeners in Australia, France, Turkey, Squamish and Port Coquitlam. It's great to know my songs are travelling the seven seas. Please keep supporting organic, homegrown music and local artists. And now it's time for me to go to the galley cause hunger gnarls deep in my belly. Mark Sheldan
#listentothis #YearoftheGreatRelease #MarkSheldanBlog #SeaShanty #DeckHandBlues #WorkinManSong #SingerSongwriter #HomegrownMusic #localBCsong #originalmusic #tugboatsong
To listen to Deck Hand Blues right now, click here:
https://twistedgitarco.wixsite.com/marksheldan/my-songs
To hear Lea Sheldan's new release, click here:
https://twistedgitarco.wixsite.com/leasheldan-1/songs
If you have Spotify, please download here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2DP5pRVBCqOzUEDGzgXc5j?si=CEoqkoUMQNeOq2YzR57ORg
Sing along with the lyrics below:
Deck Hand Blues
I’m leaving my home and my family
To gaze in the wild blue eyes of the misty sea
Oh, the misty sea
Queen Charlotte Sound will bring us the morning
Lonely and cold just like me
Lonely and cold just like me
It’s wey hey and here comes the sun
Two hours work is already done
It’s dark when we bed and it’s dark when we rise
For the men that work on the tugs
Up on the bridge inside the control room
The captain’s watching with eyes of fire
Oh, eyes of fire
It’s nearly time to go to the galley
Hunger gnarls deep in my belly
I’ve never felt so alone
It’s wey hey and here comes the sun
Two hours work is already done
It’s dark when we bed and it’s dark when we rise
For the men that work on the tugs
It won’t be long till we are in Prince Rupert
I can see all the lights in the starboard
Starboard sky
Ten more days till we're back in Vancouver
Though I know it’s not it seems like forever
Seems like forever
It’s wey hey and here comes the sun
Two hours work is already done
It’s dark when we bed and it’s dark when we rise
For the men that work on the tugs
It’s wey hey and here comes the sun
Two hours work is already done
It’s dark when we bed and it’s dark when we rise
For the men that work on the tugs
For the men that work on the tugs
repeat chorus
written by Mark Sheldan
copyright 1991 Socan
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