Le Capitaine de Saint-Malo
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"Le Capitaine de Saint-Malo" is a traditional French shanty from the region of Brittany, in northwestern France. The lyrics tell of the captain of a whaler ship from the eponymous town, and go on to describe the poor treatment of the sailors on his ship.
It is unclear when exactly the shanty first emerged, but as a shanty about a whaling ship, it most likely originated sometime in the early-to-mid 19th century, the height of both shanties and whaling.
The Longest Johns released their version of the song as track 2 on the Santiano EP on 22 April 2021, and as track 17 on the French version of Between Wind and Water.
Factoids
Saint-Malo is a historic French port in Brittany, on the English Channel coast. In the 17th and 18th century, it developed a reputation as a haven for French pirates and privateers, known as corsairs, earning it the nickname "The Hornet's Nest" from British sailors.[1]
Il donne la goutte is a slang phrase with several possible meanings. A YouTube commenter on Sean Dagher's Shanty of the Week version of the song said, "'donner la goutte' is an actual turn of phrase in the late 18th c. / mid 19th c. French Navy. It's basically the bit of brandy that is given at the end of a hard day, to thank the sailor"[2] — so essentially, the captain thanks his sailors for their hard work by hitting them. This editor was not able to independently verify that exact usage, but an 1896 dictionary of French slang does give "boire la goutte" as meaning "to drink a glass of brandy".[3] That same entry also gives "payer la goutte" as meaning "to beat [someone]", so it may be a pun on that double meaning.
Lyrics
Lyrics sourced from musixmatch.com and verified against the official recording. Translation by Andipants, with very kind assistance from Discord users jendefer, TweetBison, and llamaloupe.
Original
Le Capitaine de Saint Malo
(Ali alo)
Qui fait la pêche au cachalot
(Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo) [continues throughout]
Il a trois filles qui font la peau
La première à Valparaiso
La deuxième à Rio de Janeiro
La troisième à San Francisco
Il mange la viande, nous laisse les os
Il boit du vin et toi de l'eau
Il donne la goutte à ses matelots
À grande coups de barre de guindeau
Le lieutenant t'envoie la haut
À coups de bottes dans le dos
Et le second, qui est le plus beau
Si tu groumes, il te fout à l'eau
Le Capitaine de Saint Malo
Qui fait la pêche au cachalot
(Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo)
English Translation
The Captain of Saint-Malo
(Ali alo)
Who hunts sperm whales
(Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo) [continues throughout]
He has three girls who have killed
The first in Valparaiso
The second in Rio de Janeiro
The third in San Francisco
He eats the meat, leaves us the bones
He drinks wine and you, water
He gives his sailors a spot of brandy
With great blows from a capstan bar
The lieutenant sends you up top
With a boot to your back
And the second mate, the handsomest
If you grumble, he throws you overboard
The Captain of Saint-Malo
Who hunts sperm whales
(Ali ali ali alo
Ali alo)