Various Artists - Blow the Man Down: A Collection Of Sea Songs & Shanties

If you want my opinion, there’s far too much flag-shagging going on at the moment, especially in my country of birth, where it seems to be all the (Fa)rage to paint the St George’s cross on every surface, Shankhill Rd style.

When I grew up in England, flag-waving was looked down on as something that was only practised in inferior nations who didn’t know they were the best. There is no greater indication that England is floundering than painting flags on mini-roundabouts. Also, surely no-one who loved their flag would paint it on the ground, amongst the dog shit, phlegm and fag-butts, would they?

The problem for English nationalism is that English culture is an eclectic culture. Its primary cultural achievement is taking on other people’s culture and re-purposing it. I’ll give you some examples: London – invented by the Romans and built by the Irish; The Beatles and The Rolling Stones – co-opted American music; fish & chips – brought in by Jewish refugees; baltis – adapted from Pakistani food; Farage – copying 1930s Germany. The important thing to say is that’s OK. The English can be proud of this.

The reason I’m stating the bleeding obvious here is that I’m playing this CD of sea shanties (work songs) and forebitters (chilling-out songs) from England’s great seafaring past. Nothing more English than that. Except there’s Irish, American, and Portuguese influence galore. And that’s the way it works.

Incidentally, there’s some fucking beautiful songs on here. For instance, Lovely Nancy, from the 18th Century, sung by Ian Campbell acc. Dave Swarbrick – a song that reprises an ancient theme of a woman who dresses as a man to go to sea. The fucking tofu-eating wokerati right there.

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