Our Repertoire consists of sea shanties and songs of the sea.
Below is a list of the songs which appear on our CD's. Voyage 1 & 4 are sold out but Voyages 2 & 3 and our new CD, Songs of the Tall Ships are available at 10 euro each.
You can now buy our CDs using paypal. Click here to begin shopping.
Click on the songs in blue below to get a flavour of our music.
Voyage 1
Haul Away Joe
Fiddlers Green
Blow the Man Down.
Mexico/Santiano
All for me Grog.
Hardi les gars
The Lowlands Low
Oro se do Bheatha Bhaile
Blood Red Roses
The video on UTUBE shows Hooks & Crookes performing Blood Red Roses at the Male Voice Choirs annual Christmas Charity Concert in the Good Shepherd Convent in December 2005
The Water is Wide
A life on the Ocean Wave
South Australia
Shenandoah
Rio Grande
Out on the Mira
Banks of Newfoundland
The Drunken Sailor
Health to the Company
The Farewell Shanty
The Second Voyage
The Drunken Sailor
Buljoin
Cape Cod Shanty
The Mermaid
Port Lairge
Connemara Cradle Song
Roll the Woodpile
John Cherokee
The Voyage
John Kanaka
Queen of Connemara
Leave her Johnny
The Third Voyage
Billy O Shea
Great Western
Santiano
Rollin down the Maui
Wexford Harbour
Essequibo River
An Poc ar Buille on Youtube
One more Pull Boy
New York Girls
Challo Browne
Shoals of herring
Treasna na dtonnta
The Fourth Voyage
Bheir me o
Boys from Killybegs
Bully in the alley
Mingulay
Mrs McGrath
Rant and roar
Rollickin randy
Sammy
The boatbuilder
Tomorrow
Western Shore
Tall Ships CD
Haul on the Bowline
South Australia
Tall Ships
Time Ashore
The Mighty Suir
Bheir mé Ó
The Bilberry Goat
Leave her Johnny
The Boatbuilder
Whisky Johnny
Fearaibh na bhFeoibh
Connemara Cradle Song
We’ll Rant and we’ll Roar
Yellow Girls
Tomorrow
Ellan Vannin
The Great Western
Sugar in the Hold
The Farewell Shanty
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Pictured below is our first dress rehersal in May 2005, photos courtesy Cara
Some of our own Waterford songs:
PORTLAIRGE [ © J. Phelan ]
The year is seven and ninety-five
A thousand years of Celtic pride
We built a village on the tide
The village of Portlairge
We built in sally, wood and clay
the river salmon food and play
The Brehon Laws, the gaelic way
The village of Portlairge
But hark the times of change are nigh
The ocean waves beyond the sky
Bring trouble beating on the tide
For the village of Portlairge
Viking longboats on the Suir
On the Suir, On the Suir,
Viking longboats on the Suir
Heading for Portlairge
So Beat the drum and sound the horn
Ring the bell the clans to warn
Shield the women from the storm
They'll all be gone by morning
Three hundred years have gone and more
The Vikings settled on the shore
With Gaelic women sons they bore
The Old Town of Portlairge
From a life of pillage, waged in blood
Like the Celt, half tamed in a God of Love
The Viking wealth, in the Viking trade
Made the town of Old, Portlairge
MacMurraghs gone. Revenge he sails,
To the Norman French in the land of Wales
His crown today, for the help he'll pay,
His daughters cross, tomorrow
Norman ships are on the Suir
On the Suir, on the Suir
Norman ships are on the Suir
Heading for Portlairge
So Beat the drum and sound the horn
Ring the bell the clans to warn
Shield the women from the storm
They'll all be gone by morning
THE GREAT WESTERN [ © C. Long ]
For a hundred years or more
Ships have travelled from this shore
To Bristol and Liverpool
From the quays at Waterford
Way Hey and away we go
Cross the sea where the winds do blow
Way Hey and away we go
From the quays of Waterford
But if to London town you go
The Fishguard boat is waht you know
The Great Western is the way to go
Its leaving here from Waterford
From Adelphi quay at half past five
Sail down the channel on the evening tide
At thirteen knots along you glide
Across the sea from Waterford
By half past three you disembark
Get the train still in the dark
In Paddington before the lark
A long long way from Waterford
The only problem was you see
Cattle and pigs came ore the sea`
The smell it overpowered ye
All the way from Waterford
Now no ships are on this route
But the marina is rather cute
The airplane we now salute
Aer Arran flies out from Waterford
WHERE THE MIGHTY SUIR FLOWS [The Western Shore] [ © D. McGrath ]
Keep to the western shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
Sail on past the light of Hook,
her beacon is strong and clear
Dunmore's on the other side,
she's always full of cheer
So keep to the Western shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
Crooke's high up on the hill,
and Passage is way down low
Ballyhack, on the Wexford shore,
is where the win'll blow
So keep to the Western shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
Cheekpoint is up a mile
she's on the southern shore
And Great Island pumps it out,
keeping our lights a glow
So keep to the Southern shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
Sail on up past Belview port
it's where the big ships moor
and Little Island's where the golfers play
not far from the Castle door
So keep to the Southern shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
When the weather's warm and close me boys
and the water's thick and dank
The fog might be so damn dense
you will not see the bank
So keep to the Southern shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
Head up to Reginald's Tower,
to where the Col used to be
and from where the Great Western
left our shores to cross the Irish sea
So keep to the Southern shore, she'll move so well
Down here in Waterford where the mighty Suir flows
HOOKS AND CROOKES SHANTY [ © C. Long ]
So here's to Shanty Singing
The Songs we all enjoy
What keeps the crew a hauling
Hook and Crookes Ahoy
Twas in the year of Oh Five.
When Waterford came alive.
The quays were full of Tall Ships.
And shanties began to thrive.
A group of lads got singing.
And to everyone's surprise.
The sound they made was magic.
And Hooks and Crookes arrived.
Our fame spread far and wide.
Across the oceans blue.
In Falmouth we eat pasties.
In Paimpol we sang true.
And then twas off to Bremen.
The home of good strong beer.
The Becks it had us flutered.
We were singing with great cheer.
We keep our true tradition.
With Shanties loud and high.
Acapulco was the vision.
And none of that Diddle eye
We allowed some slight variation .
For our own accordion man
Joe got a dispensation.
Though never part of the plan.
CHORUS
So now you know our story.
Of this brave singing crew
Absent friends we think of.
When we sing to you
We welcome back the tall ships.
Eleven is the year
Again we'll fill the quayside.
With Shanties loud and clear
The Banks of Newfoundland
Last night as I lay sleeping I had a pleasant dream
I dreamt I strolled the Yellow Road going out by Skibbereen
With a gentle maiden at my side a walking hand in hand
But soon I'd have to leave her for the Banks of Newfoundland
We steered our ship way out to sea well off the church of Crooke
The Skipper set the course SouWest, farewell the light of Hook.
We're busy hauling out the Royals, we'll soon lose sight of land
And we'll roll and heave oer the ocean wave a'heading for Newfoundland.
We had two swabs on board with us, Jim Lynch and Georgie Moore
They hailed from Slade and Bannow Bay across from old Dunmore
But they'd pawned their donkey jackets for the drop of Downes's brand
They never thought of the cold NorWest that blows off Newfoundland.
And now in sight of Avalon where those stormy winds do blow
All hands topside with oilies on, a shovelling off the snow
We brace the yards, we trim the sails the decks now spread with sand
As we brave the icy NorWest wind that blows off Newfoundland
So sailor boys from Paddy's land here listen unto me
Be sure to join a merchant ship that's leavin' Adephi Quay
Do bring your donkey jackets and pack your oilskins grand
Prepare your chest for the cold NorWest that blows off Newfoundland.
Or be chilled and skinned by the NorWest wind that blows off Newfoundland.
