July 2023 “Spanish Ladies”

July’s Shanty of the Month is “Spanish Ladies”, a British naval song that eventually became a capstan shanty used for raising the anchor! This tune actually predates the shanty tradition, originally being one of the few songs permitted by the British Royal Navy around the Napoleonic era (1793). Later on, as commercial ships became more common and crews with cargo and passengers instead of armies dominated the open seas, “Spanish Ladies” became one of the borrowed songs in the genre that continues to showcase the chest-beating and military aggression of the British Navy.

So why Spanish ladies? In a nutshell Spain was fighting during the War of the First Coalition against Napoleon from 1793-1796, and the Royal Navy carried supplies to Spain to aid its resistance to revolutionary France. So what happens when seafaring British soldiers arrive on Spanish land, inevitably fall for some of the locals, but are forbidden to bring back their new wives? Yup. They write songs about them. “For we’ve received orders to sail for Old England, but we hope very soon we shall see you again”. Isn’t that sweet?

We’re excited for “Spanish Ladies” to be our July Shanty of the Month! Come out to our next event and learn how to sing along!