Paddy West

"Paddy West" is a traditional song used as both a forebitter and a capstan shanty. The earliest known print version of the song appears in a 1928 collection of sea songs title Manavilins, which dates it to between 1890 and 1910, and the term "paddy wester", referring to a young or inexperienced seaman, is attested as early as 1892. In the liner notes to A.L. Lloyd and Ewan McColl's 1957 album Blow Boys Blow, Lloyd describes the song thus:

Mr West is a redoubtable figure in the folklore of the sea. He was a Liverpool boarding-house keeper in the latter days of sail, who provided ship captains with crews, as a side-line. He would guarantee that every man he supplied had crossed the Line and been round the Horn several times. In order to say so with a clear conscience, he gave greenhorns a curious course in seamanship, described in this jesting ballad. It was a great favourite with "Scouse" (Liverpool) sailors.

The question of how accurate the lyrics are, up to and including whether or not Paddy West was even a real person, is unclear. However, unscrupulous boarding masters were certainly a scourge on the sailing profession; for more on that topic, see the page for Off to Sea.

The Longest Johns' version was released as the closing track on Voyage.

Factoids

Scouse, or lobscouse, was a sailors' stew, often consisting of meat and vegetables stewed together with ship's biscuit.

Dungaree: a type of coarse, durable cotton fabric, often blue; similar to (or sometimes synonymous with) denim.

Clew up means to draw the lower ends (or clews) of sails up to the upper yard or the mast in preparation for furling (rolling up).

Fore t'gan'sl is short for "fore topgallant sail", one of the upper sails on the foremost mast of a ship.

Crossing the line refers to crossing the equator. This was seen as a mark of experience, and a sailor's first line-crossing was often marked by a line-crossing ceremony, in which sailors who had done so before (known as shellbacks) performed initiation rites for those who had not (known as pollywogs). The form of the ceremony varied widely, from teasing and horseplay to brutal and sometimes deadly hazing practices. The ceremony still exists today, though most modern navies have instituted rules against the more violent elements.

The Horn refers to Cape Horn, part of a treacherous archipelago at the southernmost part of Chile. It is particularly known for its hazardous weather patterns and brutal storms. (See also: Round the Cape)

Lyrics

As performed on Voyage

As I was walkin' down London Road, I came to Paddy West's house
He gave me a dish of American hash and he called it Liverpool scouse
He said, "There's a ship, she's taking hands, and on her you must sign.
The mate's a bastard, the captain's worse, but she will do ya fine."

{Chorus}
Take off your dungaree jackets and give yourselves a rest
And think of them cold nor'westers we had in Paddy West's

Now Paddy he pipes all hands on deck, there's stations for to man
His wife, she's stood in the doorway with a bucket in her hand
And Paddy, he cries, "Now, let 'er rip!” and she throws the water our way
Crying, "Clew up your fore t'gan'sl, boys, she's taking on the spray!"

{Chorus}

Now seeing she's off to southward, to Frisco she was bound
Now Paddy he takes out a length of rope and he lays it on the ground
And we all steps over and back again, and he says to me, "That's fine.
If they ask were you ever at sea, you can say you've crossed the line"

{Chorus}

"Now there's just one thing for you to do before you sail away;
Just step around the table where the bullock's horns do lay.
If they ever ask, 'Were you ever at sea?' you can say, 'Ten times 'round the Horn'.
By Jesus, you're an old sailor man from the day that you were born."

{Last chorus}
Put on your dungaree jackets, and walk out looking your best
And tell 'em you're an old sailor man that comes from Paddy West's

Recordings

Stream/Purchase

• Amazon
• Anghami
• Apple Music/iTunes
• Bandcamp
• Deezer
• Pandora
• Spotify
• Tidal

YouTube Videos

• Album version
• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Shanties Part 1

Full Band Streams

• The Longest Johns and Friends, April. w/Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith (30 Apr 2019)
• STREAM (4 Aug 2021)
• Stream of Mushroom Soup (A day early to fit around touring) (23 Nov 2021)
• Cadbury Stream Egg (13 Apr 2022)
• Streamworks (18 Jan 2023)
• It Was Christmas Stream Babe (20 Dec 2023)
• The Strims (9 Apr 2024)
• The Stream Musketeers (26 Aug 2026)

Chill Streams

• Pack your bags! We're moving to Chillbury Town. - 14/08/2020
• (bangs table) music music music music! - 11/09/2020
• Super Friday Morning Folk Music Time! - 23/10/2020
• We'll all drink herbal tea in Chillbury Town - 14/04/2022