Volume 1 of Pepys’s collection groups three ballads under the heading “Sea viz. Love & Gallantry of ye Sailor.” However, the strong presence of sea ballads in volume 4 indicates that there were a great many ballads sung to the praise of sailors in England during the Early Modern period. The praise of sailors is, after all, the praise of nation, of commerce, and of empire. For example, the ballad “Saylors for my money” (1.420-1.421) is not only written “in the praise of Sailors” but also lauds “sea affaires” (1.420). Indeed, those who were not likely to burst into song in praise of sailors might be happier to endorse the value of commerce. In this ballad, “the nature of so worthy a calling” as the sailing life and “the effects of [the sailors’] industry” flow together (1.420). For example, the narrator/singer cheers the return of wealthy sailors from the Indies, “where [they] buy rich Marchandise/At very little prize” (1.421). This not only demonstrates that sailors can avail themselves of exotic bargain hunting opportunities abroad in order to line their pockets but also validates the position of England as a colonial power, where the spoils of empire are ones that adorn even the humble mariner. Not only does connecting the mariner to commerce help to endorse sailors’ reputations but it also gives the average English citizen a vicarious sense of the life of a sailor. For, since the spices of India, and other imported goods, are present in the lives of many citizens, Englishmen who “live at home at ease” (1.420) are connected to those who risk their lives abroad.

“The praise of Sailors, heere set forth” (1.418-1.419) begins by placing the sailor in opposition to the citizen on dry land who “[lies] musing in [his] bed/Full warme and well at ease” (1.418). Like “Saylors for my money” (1.420-1.421) “The praise of Sailors” finds ways of connecting the experience of sailors on the seas to those of “Land-men” (1.418). Here, the citizens who live at ease in their beds at home are literally and figuratively transported to the sea as passengers in a sailing ship, where separate verses hail the pilot, the captain, the quarter-master, and even the mermaid. This salty cast of characters could – and perhaps did – bear a resemblance to the patrons of a port tavern, where such a ballad was likely to be sung. The mermaid who sits with her looking “Glasse in hand” (1.418) and the bar-maid who sits with her drinking-glass in hand may be one and the same.

Similar ties between the circumstances of communication – the pub, the song, the drink – and the topic of sailors and their praiseworthy attributes show in “Saylors for my money” (1.420-1.421) and “The praise of Sailors” (1.418-1.419). For not only should sailors be praised for their love and gallantry, they should also be praised for paying their bar tabs – in the hope of fostering continued goodwill between them and their favorite port taverns. The “Saylors for my money” “call for liquor roundly / and pay before [they] goe” (1.421) – something that encourages commerce not only on the broad scale of empire, but also on the local scale of home. “The praise of sailors” (1.418-1.419) also lauds sailors’ exemplary bar behavior. The celebrated sailors “will call for Wine / And score it on the Post / For sailors they are honest men / and will pay well their Oast” – their share of the keg (1.419). Likewise, the sailors’ pleasant relationship with their “‘ost” or “host” helps to keep the contents of that oast in cheerful circulation.

A different context of sea ballad is rendered in “A pleasant new song, betwixt the Saylor and his Loue” (1.422-1.423), although it should be mentioned that, as there are several other ballads in the fourth volume of Pepys’s collection with this same title, this pleasant new song isn’t quite sui generis. The popularity of love songs that involve sailors demonstrates the resonance of its main theme--anxiety with regard to fidelity across time and distance. The anxieties faced by the sailor are much like those of any person who has left home for a long time: will I be welcomed with love on my return? The refrain “kisse and bid me welcome home” (1.422-1.423) not only reflects the wish to maintain desire itself over a long absence, but also the need to be accepted for pursuing an independent career outside of the local environment, and to be embraced in spite of this independence. This is echoed in the form of the ballad itself: it is not presented as a call and response – the term “betwixt” is misleading – but is instead a pair of monologues, first the sailor’s and then his love’s. This functions superficially as a means of heightening the tension between the two characters. The form mimics the interior monologue of the sailor who has been contemplating this issue independently while at sea – specifically the issue of a physical reunion with his love – while the audience is kept in suspense about whether his love will surrender her lips on his return. She does – which makes for a “pleasant” (1.422) ending.

~ Laura Miller