Local shantymen Du Hag Owr entertain world leaders on Cornish beach with musical greeting
As Britain raises anchor from Europe and sets sail into the choppy waters of independence full of bravado, booze and bad dentistry, forcing workers protections off the plank and eager to steal other countries’ stuff, it’s fitting that G7 leaders will be entertained on the beach with sea shanties from local shantymen Du Hag Owr during their Cornwall summit this week. Shanties are, after all, the perfect soundtrack to Brexit: brash, reckless and misty-eyed for the 1850s.
Our esteemed visitors might already be aware of this bawdy folk work song tradition used to synchronise labour on merchant ships as far back as the 15th century, particularly if they represent a country that was colonised to the strains of Blow the Man Down. During their 19th century heyday, a spritely young Joe Biden might even have sung some while mopping down the deck of a tall-sailed clipper.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3pHFA0g
