Maritime Musical Wanderings

Last port of call for the chanteyman

Just after my last post about shanty sings, the maritime music community lost one of its more influential local Chanteymen.

Steve Lewis passed away in on February 11 in Port Townsend of cancer.  He’d been battling this for a while, and when it became obvious that it would not go away, he courageously chose to forgo chemotherapy and other treatments, and instead concentrated on living well with the time he had.  And well he did, participating in as many things as he could and leading as many shanty sings as he was able.

I did not have the privilege of knowing Steve that well, but I asked my friends Alice Winship and Wayne Palsson to give me a sense of who he was.  Said Wayne of Steve; “Steve Lewis was an avid Chanteyman.  He was immersed in chantey lore and knowledgeable of the terms used in sea songs, the use of each chantey in the work done aboard ships, and the background or history of the songs.  He could say something on every song he sung and just about every song at a chantey sing”.  I can attest to the fact that before introducing a song, he always explained it in a way that folks understood.  He always had a gentle way of speaking and a passionate turn of phrase. 

Steve made his living as an oceanographer spending time in the Arctic, and enjoyed sailing, and those experiences showed up in the songs and stories that he presented.  Steve was the mainstay of the chantey sings in Port Townsend, especially the ones he held at the Wooden Boat Show there.  On the Saturday night of the show while the town was dancing to a rock band on the main stage, we’d all crowd into a room down by the harbour to sing chanteys.  Steve held court front and center, and he would go round the room, giving anyone a chance to contribute a song or story.  There would sometimes be up to a hundred folks crowded in, and he always encouraged anyone to try, no matter what the experience or age, and they did.  Folks that may not have otherwise had the courage to sing felt free to get up and sing because he created a great environment to do so.

Steve compiled a comprehensive songbook of over 100 chanteys; not published, but always available at the shanty sings.  Quite the most comprehensive collection I’ve seen.  The books were always available for those of us who did not know or could not remember the words.  Just having words available got folks singing that otherwise may not have.

We’ll be singing him home in the way he would want it at a couple of events, one in Port Townsend, and the  other to be decided, someplace here in Seattle.

If you are interested, contact me at pilgrimg7@gmail.com  for more information on either event.

Steve Lewis Left a big hole in the maritime music community in the Puget Sound and one that may not easily be filled.  He is missed already.

 ‘Til the next time,

Chris