Tom Lewis

Ahoy mates! And welcome to the Tom Lewis home page. That's the (sub)mariner himself, ukulele in hand. If you like songs and stories of the sea, new and old, you'll certainly enjoy Tom's singing, his stories and his recordings.

Tom is a 25-year veteran of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, although now he's comfortably located on dry land in British Columbia, Canada. His songs cover a wide range of nautical topics, from life on board H.M. ships, through the loneliness and lure of the sea, to the very funny tale (tail?) of a randy canine ship's mascot (Bunts, pictured below).

Song Book	Free Downloads	Albums
Lyrics	Contact & Orders	Media and Bio
News and Reviews	Tour Schedule	Canal Trips
Young Folks	Related Pages	About...

Tom's Songbook Announcement!

After many suggestions and requests, too many years of cogitation, and copious bucketfuls of (virtual) sweat, the songbook is — finally — AVAILABLE!

Worth the Singin' encompasses the music and lyrics to all of my original songs, plus those songs which have either my lyrics or melodies (in whole or in part) totalling 41 songs and one lonely little poem.

The package is 110 pages, in 8.5” X 11” format, to accommodate text fonts which should not tax aging eyesight; and (insofar as possible) with musical notation and lyric of each piece on facing pages. The high-quality wire binding enables the book to conveniently lie flat, and the thicker pages and covers facilitate it standing upright where required. Those covers are laminated and glossy, the better to withstand the depredations of slopping tankards and beer-soaked pub tables.

Each song is accompanied by some drivel (let's call it "commentary", shall we?), mostly pertaining to the relevant piece, at least loosely — even if the relevance may not be immediately apparent to the casual glance!

(Here's the point where I fly off at a tangent... I am highly gratified with the actual book; now that I have it in hand. I'm pleased with the material quality and the lyrical and conversational content... for the most part. However; whilst focusing on the lyrics, notations and comments, I overlooked a few, very important, details, not the least of which was any mention of my wonderful daughter: Jane Catherine Bennett. Such an oversight is almost unforgivable; though I hope she may take pity on her aging, decrepit, male parent. She is one of the great delights of my life. In my opinion: a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and an amazing individual. How did I miss any mention of that in this book?)

Back to the subject... the musical notations were achieved using Finale PrintMusic and the assistance of a 'bone fide' professionally qualified musician. My intention has been to make them clear and (for the most part) un-sophisticated. You'll find simple chord notations where appropriate.

For the un-tutored musician (like me!) each book comes with a professionally manufactured (41 track) CD containing at least the first verse and chorus of each song.

Supplementary pages detail some information and comment in respect of 53 other songs, to be heard on my recordings — the traditional, the borrowed and the stolen.

Songbooks can be purchased, in the same manner as recordings, at the price of $30 (in both United States and Canadian currencies, in these days of near parity), plus shipping. In the USA the cost of shipping (Priority Post) is $4.60. Within Canada the rate varies, dependant upon destination, between $9 & $13 — so you could attend one of my concerts AND buy a songbook, and actually save money!

Operators (sort of) are standing by to process your orders. Thanks.

New, not available on CD, Tom Lewis songs for free download.

Fair Winds and a Following Sea

Here's a song you may want to use to say farewell to a friend. Please help yourself and either learn and sing the song, or play it, whenever/wherever/however you wish. There are no royalties applicable, or desired.

| Click here to view the lyrics | Click here to listen to and save the MP3 recording (2.84 Mb) |

No Princes in the Line

Anyone looking for a sea-shanty has come to the wrong place!

Let me state, straight away, that this song is no form of criticism of any member of an actual royal family … the House of Windsor, or any other.

When I became aware of the statistics re. service in current areas of combat (actually, LACK of service in current areas of combat) by family members of US senators, US congresspersons, US federal judiciary and US government (White House) administration; I was incensed. The record shows not much greater participation amongst the political and financial elites on either side of the Atlantic!

Even cursory research shows that; almost without exception; in every war, until the conflict in Vietnam, there was some sense of 'noblesse oblige' amongst the ruling classes - even in the supposedly classless American society.

European history is replete with examples of monarchs and nobles (or their children and relatives) not just joining the fight; but actually leading it. To do less would have invited their supporters to doubt the value of the struggle and question its validity.

In the First World War (the Great War - the War to End War) the casualty lists - wounded, but mostly dead - of the European combatants, were heavily biased toward the upper and middle classes. In 1917 the Headmistress of Bournemouth High School for Girls made a chilling announcement to her sixth form: "I have come to tell you a terrible fact. Only one out of ten of you girls can ever marry ... Nearly all the men who might have married you have been killed. You will have to make your way in the world as best you can." Winston Churchill; in political disgrace following the debacle of the Gallipoli campaign; served (as an army officer) in the trenches of Flanders These were the leaders who actually LED!

As late as WW II, Joseph Kennedy (American Ambassador to the Court of St. James at the outbreak of war, and extremely antipathetic to the British cause) made no effort to prevent his sons from serving in the armed forces of the United States, and abjured the use of his influence to protect them whilst they did so. This caused him to lose his firstborn son, and created a 'crown prince', and eventual President of the United States of America.

If our current crop of wars are worth fighting; then how is it that the members of our society who most benefit are the least involved at 'the sharp end'? "

| Click here to view the lyrics | Click here to listen to and save the MP3 recording (3.29 Mb) |

The lyrics for the songs Tom has written or recorded are now on-line. See the alphabetical list of song titles, or click on the appropriate album cover below.

To listen to segments from some of Tom's songs, just click on the gold CD next to the titles above.

Surfacing, Poles Apart and 360 Degrees are all manufactured in environmentally-friendly cardboard packaging.

Mail		Tom Lewis, P.O. Box 1095, Salmo B.C. V0G 1Z0, Canada
E-mail
Telephone/Fax		(250) 357-2334
Orders/Booking		(800) SEA-DOG1 or (800) 732-3641
CDs		$15 each, Canadian, all applicable taxes included Shipping and handling: $5 Canadian per order (any number of CDs - so buy lots!)
SONGBOOKS		$30 each, Canadian, PLUS actual postage cost

PURCHASING — You can purchase songbooks and all of Tom's albums directly from him at 1 800 SEADOG1 (1-800-732-3641) — but please bear in mind that he is in the Pacific Time Zone. He accepts all major Credit Cards.

SHOP ON-LINE — You can purchase 360° - All Points of the Compass and Mixed Cargo - and other fine Canadian folk music recordings - from Borealis Records. All of Tom's albums are also available from the CDBaby web site, which accepts all major Credit Cards.

Click here for a page containing high resolution photos you may download.
There is also a brief biography suitable for concert programs.
BUT ... if you are interested in the REAL (only slightly) abridged history ... read on.

Widely acknowledged as North America's finest exponent of contemporary nautical songs (it sez 'ere), Tom Lewis brings to the stage wry humour, button accordion, ukulele, a great voice and his unique experience of more than 40 years bridging the sea-going and folk-singing communities.

Born THOMAS JOHN LEWIS on April 16^th 1943, in Belfast, Northern Ireland; then moving with his family to Gloucester, England for his Grammar School years; Tom joined the Royal Navy as an Engineering Apprentice in 1959, just a few days after his sixteenth birthday.

Posted to a naval training establishment in Scotland in 1960, he soon started frequenting THE HOWFF Folk Club (in nearby Dunfermline) being exposed to such luminaries as Willie Scott, Alex Glasgow, Ewan McColl, Archie Fisher, John Watt, Louis Killen, et al. Strangely; considering later developments in Tom's interest in contemporary nautical song; one of the few folk singers to whom he was not exposed during those three extremely formative years, was Cyril Tawney. Around this time, Cyril and his songs were becoming celebrated throughout the world of folk music and soon came to have an enormous influence on Tom's own development as a writer and entertainer.

During a 24 year naval career (mainly in diesel submarines) Tom managed to juggle the requirements of the service with a growing commitment to participating in folk clubs, concerts and festivals; sometimes solo, often with his first wife, Kate and, occasionally, as a member of various groups. (You can hear LONG FELT WANT, on a couple of tracks on the MIXED CARGO CD.)

Pressures common to service life eventually caused Tom and Kate to go their separate ways, though now they are firm friends, linked by their children: Mike and Jane; and four grandsons.

Meeting and marrying Lyn coincided closely with Tom's first foray into songwriting, with the arrival of his "LAST SHANTY"; a song which Tom has always claimed emerged fully-fledged, rather than requiring to be written. The recording of this song, by Johnny Collins and Jim Mageean; on their MAKE THE RAFTERS ROAR album; followed by having them featuring another Tom Lewis composition: "MARCHING INLAND" on the LIVE AT HERGA album; was a watershed. Since that time, rare is the 'song session', in the English-speaking world, which does not include at least one of Tom's songs.

On completion of naval service in 1983, Tom and Lyn emigrated to the mountains of British Columbia: ... 'in order to be somewhere completely different to a large port city' ... and Salmo, B.C., Canada is certainly all of that! Within a short time Tom's work was being interrupted, to a greater and greater degree, by an increasing number of calls from a fast-developing 'fan club'; initially in the Pacific Northwest, then all across North America. Eventually, in 1987, chafing at separations which ought to have ceased with naval service, the couple decided to 'take the show on the road' for a while and see where the road might lead. The first place it led was to a recording studio and Tom’s very successful debut album: SURFACING.

Now after twenty years; hundreds of thousands of miles in cars, motorhomes and aircraft; tours in Australia, Britain, Europe, Canada and the United States; major festival mainstages and tiny, under-promoted coffeehouses; and six more recordings; for Tom and Lyn the road just keeps on unwinding before them. In a way of life where enormous success is not having a day-job, Tom Lewis has translated his love of singing into that 'enormous success' and more - his previous existence as a sailor and his reincarnation as a musical ex-sailor bringing enjoyment for all.

LIVING TRADITION - Issue #62

TOM LEWIS - 360° - All Points of the Compass
Borealis Records BCD156

If reviewers like me are lucky, an album can arrive within the first couple of months of the year to set a benchmark for all those that follow it. I fancy that this is one such lucky year for me.

Northern Ireland born Tom Lewis, is an artist I have long rated. His 24 years in the same branch of the military as the great Cyril Tawney - the British Submarine Service - provides him with that vitally authentic stance with which to tackle nautical song. Thus it was that Tom was the inaugural winner of the first Stan Hugill International Shanty Trophy in 2000 in Douarnenez in France .

But somehow, although I always knew he was good, I was not quite prepared for HOW good. For the fact is that he has here come up with a CD that really delivers. Delivers from the first note.

He is joined by a stellar cast of session people, including Tanglefoot. He kicks off with a wondrous song that is surely destined to become a cornerstone of the singaround repertoire. 'Radio Times' is written by Tom, and in four and a half minutes he succeeds in giving us a brilliantly compressed potted history of the (largely UK) Folk Scene and its (largely American) Pop influences down the past half century. Heck of a chorus, and really clever verses.

'Nassau Bound' gives you the traditional song before the Beach Boys got hold of it and turned it into the 'Sloop John B'. But Steve Lalor, Barry Curtiss and Don Wilhelm's harmonies are every bit as inventive as anything thought up by Brian Wilson, without trying to emulate that great Beach Boys sound.

'St Patrick's Song' is another from Lewis's pen, and trust me that this too is destined to become part-and-parcel of the Folk singaround canon. One fine track follows another: some familiar like Shep Woolley's evergreen 'Down By The Dockyard Wall', and Lyle Lovett's 'If I Had A Boat'; some obscure like the arresting 'The Bos'n, The Gunner And Me' (a song he found in Gosport Public Library); and one, just brilliant…Peter Bellamy's majestic setting of Rudyard Kipling's glorious poem, 'The Land'.

Lewis performs this with immense authority and passion. Golly, it is now over 30 years since Peter had such problems with the Kipling Society just getting their permission to set the great man's words to music. One hopes that any of the Society's then committee still alive, are now red-faced at their attempts to stall Bellamy in his quest. (For if ever a Gilbert was found by his Sullivan, then this was such a case. Mr. Kipling made exceedingly good poems; and Peter Bellamy made those same poems even better with his setting of them to music.)

Tom Lewis says in his notes that he finds singing this song literally hair-raising. Absolutely! The verse near the end that starts "His dead are in the churchyard - thirty generations laid" would bring a lump to the throat of anyone with an even remote sense of British history. It is a tour-de-force, and should be followed by John Cage's '4.33'… just to help us reflect on such profundity.

At the end he throws in an unlisted bonus track, but it was like a Boxing Day bash after a Christmas Dinner to remember. Not necessary: we were well sated as it was!

Don't ask whether you should buy this album. Just decide on how many copies.

—Dai Woosnam

Net Rhythms - On-line magazine - Review

http://www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviewsl.html#tomlewis

Sing Out! Magazine - Review Summer 2004

TOM LEWIS featuring TANGLEFOOT 360° All Points of the Compass Borealis 156

Tom Lewis gets around. He's a former British Royal Navy submariner who now calls western Canada homeport and he won a sea chanty-singing trophy in France. While sea chanties are suddenly popular with many artists recording CDs, Lewis sets sail on a different course with this cruise. The 17 songs on the album (including a quasi-hidden track) mostly involve water, ranging from traditional to original to Lyle Lovett to an epic Rudyard Kipling poem set to music by Peter Bellamy. Thus, in the well over an hour of music on this disc, you won't grow tired of hearing one heave away maties after another. Energetic accompaniment from Tanglefoot, among others, boosts the overall sound with fine musicianship and voices. Lewis' tenor aptly conveys more than just chanteys, at the same time sounding quite native with the sea songs. The CD opens with an original that spans land and sea and offers background to Lewis's infatuation with music. Called "Radio Times" it's a salute to radio from the 1950s until the present. I defy you to find another song praising Bill Haley and Bert Lloyd in the same song. Lewis's performance of this with Tanglefoot launches the CD with a brisk breeze. He heads "Nassau Bound" in an uncommon interpretation of "The Sloop John B." His "St. Patrick's Song" would make the saint grin. "The Tow-Rope Girls" is rollickingly performed with plenty of gusto. Kipling's eight-minute virtual history of England, "The Land", performed a cappella, is quite a tour de force. "One Big Ocean" performed with a large group of children is a blessedly simple song for peace and sharing. If you're looking for a seafaring CD that breaks from the same old, same old, set sail with Tom Lewis. —Rich Warren

Sing Out! Magazine - Article by Shelley Posen Summer 2002

TOM LEWIS 360° All Points of the Compass Borealis Recording Co. Ltd BC156

If there is a folk equivalent to "Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie", it is "Radio Times," by Tom Lewis. "Radio Times" neatly folds an upbeat message about handing one's music down to one's children (and not despising theirs), into an account, from an Englishman's perspective, of his generation's love affair first with American rock 'n' roll, then traditional folk song. Tom skillfully wields fragments of song lyrics ("The times were changing, freedom just meant nothing left to lose") to bring this experience to life.

But instead of the tumbling kaleidoscope proffered in "American Pie", he puts together an orderly mini-chronicle that lists the names of American pop stars, then luminaries of the English folk scene, with a phrase or two about their respective contributions ("Then Ewan sang the fishing and the traveling people's life / Bert gave us old ballads full of sorrow love and strife / Young Tradition and The Coppers sang us glories of our past / Old Stan recalled the shanties and his time before the mast"). Tom, like McLean, keeps some of his plot cards close to his vest - most of the folk performers he mentions are identified only by first names - and it's all part of the fun. In fact, it's a built-in test; if you recognize them, well, you're probably part of the generation he's singing to and about. Which includes me. On my first encounter with "Radio Times", I had a grand old time with those names, filling in the blanks and identifying the allusions. They drew me in, just as they're supposed to, and took me back 30 years to when I was discovering that music. Time travel. World travel. A song-within-a-song had worked its magic again.

Dirty Linen Magazine - Poles Apart Review Feb/Mar 2003

TOM LEWIS Poles Apart Self-Propelled Music ASM 105D (2001)

Poland isn't exactly known as a nation of deep-water sailors, but that doesn't mean that they can't sing traditional sea chanteys there. On this unique and invigorating CD, Canadian-based singer and onetime submariner Tom Lewis joins up with a crew of seven Polish chanteymen, whom he met while performing in Europe, to have fun with a set of rousing and often bilingual arrangements of nautical songs from British and North American sources.

Imagine a classic Stan Rogers song sung in Polish translation by a hearty male chorus. That's how this disc begins. The song is "Northwest Passage", the language switches to English after a couple of verses, and that sums up the concept and spirit of this disc. Most of the rest of the material is traditional, and while many of the songs will be familiar to fans of sea music, you probably haven't heard them like this before. Lewis sings the English lead vocals, the equally strong-voiced Grzegorz Majewski handles the Polish leads, and everybody of course joins in on the vigorous refrains. It's impossible not to sing along. A majority of the tracks are unaccompanied, like "Rio Grande" and "One More Day", with robust multipart harmonies and the driving rhythm that was essential to their purpose as work songs, while others are backed by guitar, accordion, or ukulele. Many of the songs are light-hearted, like the squeezebox-backed salute to the " Liverpool Judies" and an old music hall ditty "The Wreck of the Nancy Lee", and a few are serious, like "Leave Her Johnny", traditionally sung by weary sailors as they tied their ship to the dock. The arrangement of "Saltpetre Shanty" is particularly striking, with an unconventional but wonderfully stirring accompaniment on uilleann pipes that breaks in the middle into the Breton tune "Ansa". Lewis and company have made a great album of sea music. In the process, they also remind us of the cross-cultural appeal of a good song. —Tom Nelligan (Waltham, MA)

Sing Out! Magazine - Poles Apart Review

POLES APART (Polish title - On, My, Ocean) Self-Propelled Music ASM 105

Tom Lewis, a retired British Navy sub-mariner now living in Canada, has been building a formidable body of recordings of mostly-seafaring songs. While all of his previous albums are very good, this one stands apart as something very different and unusual. The album begins with Stan Rogers's classic "Northwest Passage". While the melody is instantly recognizable, the words sound so strange in that first chorus. That's because the lyrics, so Canadian in their subject matter, are being sung in Polish by a crew of Polish chantey men. As that first chorus fades, the song shifts to the original English with Tom's lead vocals at the helm with the strong vocal support of his Polish collaborators. For 15 more songs, mostly in English with occasional passages in Polish, they carry on with unfamiliar, but quite wonderful sounding, takes on mostly-familiar material. Tom's collaboration with the Polish singers has developed over several summers of singing together at festivals in Poland, France and Finland and, despite the fact that Tom's parts were recorded in Canada while the harmonies, and some of the instrumental backing, was recorded in Poland, the whole production sounds seamless. And although most of these are actually work songs, they all sound like everyone is having fun singing these songs over beers in a pub. This album is highly infectious and as I listen to the voices blend on songs like "One More Day" and "Leave Her Johnny," I can't help but be caught up in the magic myself and add my own voice to the choruses. —Mike Regenstreif

Following our initial foray along England's canals, in 1998, we arranged Float to the Festival 2000—which worked out so well that two of our 'canalees', David and Barbara, set up a web page with details (and some lovely photos) - thanks guys! We became so confident that we repeated the expedition (a circumnavigation of the Warwickshire Ring canal system) in 2002 (see the report from Garry & Sara at garrydelong.com/canals.html), and then explored a different route on our 2004 adventure.

Being enormously gratified by the oft-stated enjoyment of our 2004 and 2005 crews, we repeated that trip (from Chirk, in North Wales, to the splendid old, walled city of Chester) in 2006. (Vicki has documented the experience, with photos from several of the participants.) The core features of these vacations are folk-music, real ale, performing arts, history and heritage; within the context of an active, and communally-interactive, vacation. Now, having surrendered to the lure of the European Festival Circuit for the summer of 2007, we are ready to start the preliminary planning stages of our 2008 canal escapade. We have yet to make firm decisions on the dates or routes; giving anyone interested (you?) the opportunity to influence those decisions. Indeed, with enough willing volunteers, we may even arrange TWO expeditions next year!

If you would like to be on our list of 'possibles' for future expeditions (2008 and onwards),  and we'll keep you posted as plans progress.

	Above - One of the spectacular aqueducts over which we travelled (TWICE!) on our recent trip.       Left - the view of the tiller-person... 69 ft. above the valley of the River Ceiriog.

Tom does not bill himself as a "Children's Performer" but he certainly is a skilled and entertaining presenter of his program for Elementary School students.

SONGS AND LORE OF THE SEA is "...enlightening, enjoyable, interactive entertainment. This is 'holistic' education!" - Doug Masters (Principal) New Germany Elem. School, Nova Scotia.

"You were a fantastically enthusiastic highly professional performer and all the schools thoroughly enjoyed your workshop performances." - Anne Bull (Principal) Weston All Saints Primary School, Bath, UK.

What Tom presents is truly unique! He is the only ex-sailor in North America dealing with the traditions and lore of The Age of Sail, making them come alive, demonstrating their transition to the present day and explaining their current relevance. Combine this with a warm, colourful character and a rich, compelling voice and you have a classroom program full of musical, historical and social significance engaging every attendee, capturing the imagination and interest of students and staff alike.

For detailed information, .

Tom is proud to be a Borealis Recording Company artist.

The Friends of Fiddler's Green and Finest Kind also do excellent British Isles and Canadian folk music. The Friends provide musical backup for Tom on Tinker.

Tom recommends Cyril Tawney, another ex-Royal Navy submariner - sadly now deceased - who left a wonderful legacy of great songs, including "Grey Funnel Line" and "Sammy's Bar".

Tom's works have also 'inspired' some poetic responses from fans. Tom's Yarns, by Bryan Finlay, is a light-hearted reflection on Tom's performances; while Tom's song A Sailor's Prayer led Charles Roth to parody the opposite point of view, in A Publican's Curse.

Northern Journey Online has an interesting review of Tom's works and singing.

www.woodenshipsmusic.com is an on-line store that promises to be "your source for sea shanty music".

There is a large collection of sea-shanties at the International Shanty and Sea-Song Association web site.

An amazing resource page about current and historical sailing is www.apparent-wind.com/sailing-page.html.

This page was initially created and maintained by Charles Roth, a long-time fan of Tom's. The gift of his skills and services over many years is hugely appreciated—very many thanks, Charles!! It is now in the care of David Shapiro. Comments and suggestions are welcome at . Please drop a line and let us know you were here!