'Shallow Brown' [Roud 2621] is a much-loved and rather mysterious traditional folk song. Collected on both coasts of the United States, as well as the South coast of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Canada, the most common versions of this mesmerising sea shanty hint at heart-breaking experiences of the transatlantic slave trade. In this, the fourth episode of the second series of The Old Songs Podcast, folk singers Angeline Morrison and Jon Wilks discuss the song's known history, the singers and collectors involved with it, and their own experiences of first hearing and performing the song. 

Links

Over the course of the episode, Angeline Morrison and Jon Wilks mention the following links:

• The English Folk Dance and Song Society
• ‘Shallow Brown’ [Roud 2621] on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website
• The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
• Shanties from the Seven Seas by Stan Hugill

Track listing

1. ‘Shallow Brown’, performed by Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith
2. 'Shallow Brown', performed by Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy & the Gift Band
3. 'Shallow Brown', performed by John Francis Flynn
4. 'Shallow Brown', performed by June Tabor
5. 'Shallow Brown', performed by Sting
6. 'Shallow Brown', performed by Angeline Morrison exclusively for The Old Songs Podcast

For more info on Angeline Morrison, head to angelinemorrisonmusic.bandcamp.com