and every day is a warm endless gold afternoon

[timeripple]

Whoa. Have just finished The Tower at Stony Wood. Am somewhat numb. That was weird! I must re-read.



Thayne Ysse, you twerp! You turned your brother over to the dragon in the end after all! Even if you did figure things out eventually. Poor Craiche, he doesn't understand, nobody tells him anything, and everybody wants him for their own nefarious purposes! At least, that's what we're supposed to think. He's just so... so... gah, lost for words. And that was one strange dragon. Talk about manipulative beings with god-like powers! *sigh* Oh, how I love this book. I think. Melanthos and Sel are way cool. But I think Anyon is another of those who just doesn't get it, although he's all right. Cyan Dag, the other hand, is totally my hero.

Temperatures are in the mid-90's F and rising. Have found some lyrics for MacCrimmon's Lament. It remains to be seen if they're reputable, but since the source had both the Gaelic and a translation, I'm inclined to think favorably of them.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

speaking of lyrics, i found two versions of the first shanty that my captain taught us. he taught us one more, but i can't seem to find it. most likely because i'm not spelling it right. anyway, here they are. the one that my captain sings is a combination of the two.

version #1
Ranzo

Well it's poor old Reuben Ranzo,
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Yes it's poor old Reuben Ranzo.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

Ranzo was no sailor,
He was a New York tailor

He was a New York tailor
Shanghai'd aboard a whaler

They put him holy-stonin'
And cared not for his groanin'

They gave him lashes thirty
Because he was so dirty.

They gave him lashes twenty
That's twenty more than plenty

Ranzo nearly fainted
When his back with oil was painted

The captain gave him thirty
His daughter begged for mercy

She took him to her cabin
And tried to ease his moanin'

She gave him rum and water
And a bit more than she oughter

She gave him education
And taught him navigation

She made him the best sailor
On board that New York whaler

He married the captain's daughter
And still sails on salt water

He's known where'er the whalefish blow
As the toughest bastard on the go

Huzzah! For Reuben Ranzo
Huzzah! For Captain Ranzo!

version #2
Reuben Ranzo
Oh poor old Reuben Ranzo!
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo
Oh poor old Reuben Ranzo!
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

Now Ranzo was no sailor
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
He was a New York tailor.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

No Ranzo was no sailor
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
But he shipped on board of a whaler.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

He could not do his duty
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
So they gave him lashes twenty.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

They gave him lashes thirty
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Because he was so dirty.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

The captain's daughter Suzy,
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
She begged her pa for mercy.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

She gave him wine and water
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
And a little more than she oughta!
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

She taught him navigation.
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
She raised him from his station.
RRanzo, me boys, Ranzo!

Now Ranzo is no sailor,
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
He's the captain of a whaler.
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

And wherever those whalefish blow,
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
He's the meanest bastard on the go!
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

Hurrah for Reuban Ranzo!
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
Hurrah for Reuban Ranzo!
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo!

enjoy!

-melanie

random info

[(Anonymous)]

this has absolutely nothing to do with anything here, but i just wanted to let everyone know that i have just made the amazing discovery that the graph of number people living on farms in southwestern michigan for the past 50 years fits an exponential trendline of the formula y=2E+38e^-0.0388x (that's a downward curve) almost perfectly, with an R^2 value of 0.9972.

that is all.

siena

p.s. i saw the documentary laura was talking about a while ago, spellbound. it was really good. everyone should see it.

new shanty!!!!

[(Anonymous)]

new shanty!! this one's called Towrope Girls

Oh a ship in the tropics,
rolling along,
With every stitch drawing,
the trade blowing strong,
The white caps around her
all breaking in spray,
For the girls have got hold
of her tow-rope today!

chorus
And it’s haul away, girls,
steady and true,
Polly and Dolly and Sally and Sue,
Mothers and sisters and sweethearts and all,
Haul away, all the way, haul away,
haul away girls!

She’s logging sixteen
as she speeds from the south,
With the wind in her royals,
with a bone in her mouth,
With a wake like a mill-race
she rolls on her way,
For the girls have got hold
of her tow-rope today!

Of cargoes and charters
we’ve had our full share,
Of grain and of lumber enough and to spare.
Of nitrates at Taltal and rice for Bombay,
And the girls have got hold
of our tow-rope today!

Don’t you hear the good trade wind
a singing aloud,A homeward bound shanty
in sheet and in shroud,Oh, hear how she whistles
in the halliard and the stay,“The girls have got hold
of the tow-rope today!”

And it’s oh, for the chops
of the channel at last,
And the cheer that goes up
when the tug hawser’s cast,
The mate’s “that’ll do”
and fourteen months’ pay,
For the girls have got hold
of our tow-rope today!

Version #2
There's a ship in the Tropics a'foaming along,
With every stitch drawing, the wind blowing strong,
The white caps around her, all breaking in spray,
For the girls have got hold of her tow-rope today,

Chorus:
An' it's: Haul away girls, steady and true,
Polly and Dolly and sally and Sue,
Mothers and sisters, sweethearts and all,
Haul away, all the way, haul away, haul.

She's logging sixteen as she speeds from the South,
A wind in her royals, a bone in her mouth,
With a wake like a millrace she speeds on her way,
For the girls have got hold of her tow-rope today.

Of cargoes and charters we've had our full share,
Of grain and of lumber, enough and to spare,
Of nitrates at Taltal and rice for Bombay.
And the girls have got hold of out tow-rope today.

The Old Man he stood on the poop at high-noon,
He paced fore-and-aft and he whistled a tune,
Then he put by his sextant and this he did say:
"The girls have got hold of our tow-rope today."

She has dipped her yards under, hove-to off The Horn,
In the fog and the floes she has drifted forlorn,
Becalmed in The Doldrums a week long she lay,
But the girls have got hold of her tow-rope today.

Hear the good Trade Wind a-singing aloud,
A "homeward bound" shanty in sheet and in shroud,
Hear how he whistles in halliard and stay,
"The girls have got hold of our tow-rope today."

And it's: "Ho!"; for the chops of The Channel, at last,
The cheer that goes up when the tug-hawser's passed,
The Mate's: "That'll do!"; and fourteen month's pay,
For the girls have got hold of the tow-rope today.

enjoy!!!!

-melanie