Description

Old Salem at Sea in Ballad and Song is a collection of sea songs, sea shanties and ballads that reflects Salem's rich maritime history and its relationship to the sea. Salem, Massachusetts, is synonymous with the maritime history of America. Salem's early ventures in the China Trade and the support industries kept Salem in the forefront from the late 18th century, just after the Revolution, to the middle of the 19th Century. This collection represents extensive research of songs with universal themes, such as a treacherous captain, a faithful lass, the stormy seas, and the rich rewards of patriotism, heroism, and survival. In Old Salem at Sea in Ballad and Song there are 89 songs and ballads that all have a connection to Salem and the sea. Some of the pieces in this book have been written in shipping logbooks, published on broadsides, in songbooks, or in periodicals, and while many will be familiar, several of the songs or variants may be new or different to the reader. Most the material in this book comes from public domain sources.