111  The Famous Fight at Malago,/ Or, The Englishmen's Victory over the Spaniards [Pepys 4.204]

To the tune of ‘Five Sail of Frigats bound for Malago’  (lost melody with standard name, Five sail of frigates bound for Malago)

The purpose of this section is to provide brief notes on the melody followed by detailed evidence relating to  its career, paying particular attention to the ‘echoes’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was nominated for the singing of more than one ballad. In the list presented in the ‘Songs and Summaries’ section below, we have endeavoured to include as many of the black-letter ballads that used the tune as possible, under any of its variant names. Titles from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type (these are also in colour when there is a link to the relevant ballad page on the website). It should be noted that it is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).  In most cases, we list the earliest surviving edition of a ballad, though in many instances there may have been earlier versions, now lost.

Versions and variations

We have been unable to find notation for a seventeenth-century melody with the title ‘Five sail of frigats bound for Malago’. The song survived within later vernacular tradition, however, and our recording therefore uses the melody to which an elderly singer named Joseph Jackson performed it at Bourne in Lincolnshire on 25 April 1911, eagerly witnessed by the folksong collector, Cecil Sharp. This music fits the original text well, though we cannot say what relation, if any, it bore to the seventeenth-century melody.

Echoes (an overview)

This lost tune was named only rarely on other black-letter ballads after it apparently came into existence when it was composed for The Famous Fight at Malago. Some time later, this was followed by The gallant Seamans return from the Indies, which retains the concentration on valiant sailors. In the case of the second song, however, the focus is not on bravery in battle but on a sailor’s re-engagement with his loyal sweetheart at home. It thus shows the gentler side of a valorous man, though the associations of the tune probably reminded listeners that he had in no sense gone soft.

The final ballad in the list was rather different, concentrating on delivering reassurance in tough economic times. In this case, the intention was probably to stimulate positive thinking, and the tune clearly played its part in this.

There do not appear to be many close textual affinities between the texts, besides some of their subject matter. Intertextuality was mediated principally by the melody, though it should be noted that the sample is a small one.

Songs and Summaries

The Famous Fight at Malago, Or, The Englishmen's Victory over the Spaniards... To the Tune of, Five Sail of Frigats bound for Malago (composed c. 1656; J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-85). Pepys 4.204; EBBA 21866. Politics – foreign affairs, war; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender - masculinity; Emotions – patriotism, excitement, fear; Death – warfare; Violence – between states, at sea; Environment – buildings; Places – travel/transport, extra-European. This describes the death and destruction caused in Malaga during a daring raid by five English frigates.

The gallant Seamans return from the Indies, or the happy meeting of two faithful Lovers... To the tune of Five Sail of Frigats, Or, Shrewsbury (F. Cole, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  4o Rawl. 566(97). Gender – courtship; Emotions – excitement, joy; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Places – travel; Recreation – alcohol; Bodies - adornment.  An entirely happy and wholesome reunion between a homecoming sailor and his loyal sweetheart.

A comfortable & friendly Advice For all the True-hearted Subjects of ENGLAND... To the Tune of, Five Sail of Frigats bound for Maligo (J. Clark, W. Thackery, and T. Passinger, 1685-86). Pepys 2.248; EBBA 20862. Economy – trade, livings, money; Morality – general; Religion – Bible, Christ/God, sin/repentance Emotions – anxiety, patriotism; Employment – crafts/trades; Places – travel/transport; Recreation – alcohol; Gender – sex. This blames the curent trade slump on the sins of England and promises that the kingdom will be happy if everyone rejects vice, serves God and honours King James.

Postscript

This tune does not appear to have been nominated on white-letter ballads, nor in songbooks of the period.

Christopher Marsh

References

Cecil James Sharp Collection, Clare College, Cambridge (digitised at https://www.vwml.org/, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library), CJS2/10/2605 (‘Come all you bold Britons’).

Standard woodcut name: Battle at sea

The purpose of this section is to provide evidence relating to  the career of the image under discussion, paying particular attention to the ‘reflections’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was chosen to illustrate more than one ballad. The list given below includes all ballads from the Pepys and Roxburghe collections that feature this woodcut or a close variant (these are the two largest collections, including approximately 3300 sheets, in total). References to ballads from other collections occur only when the featured edition of the song under consideration here (or the featured edition of another song from our list) comes from such a source. Ballads from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type, and they also appear in colour where there is a link to another song in the database. Please note, however, that the editions of hit songs listed below are not necessarily those for which digital images are presented on this website. Cross-references to other examples of our featured woodcuts are also presented in bold. It is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).

Reflections (an overview)

At one level, this was simply a picture that was often added to ballads that featured ships during the later seventeenth century. All editions of The Famous Fight displayed ships but very few of them used precisely this woodcut.

It may, however, have signified a little more than this to experienced consumers, as a result of its particular attachment to songs about romantic farewells and naval confrontations. There are also signs of a chronological shift here, with sad partings dominant until the early 1680s but thereafter displaced by battle reports.

Our featured edition of The Famous Fight may even have played its part in effecting this transition, for most of the songs that precede it in the list below were romantic but most of those that follow it were more militaristic in tone. The relationship between the two types of song is interesting, and it seems possible that the picture acquired the power to remind viewers simultaneously of the heroic achievements of England’s seamen and of the sadness endured by those left behind (many ballad texts also linked these two themes).  There seem to have been two slightly different woodblocks in existence, though most surviving images were produced from the same one.

Songs and summaries

The Constant Seaman And his Faithful love (J. Coniers, 1661-92).  Pepys 4.189; EBBA 21851.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – anxiety, love, hope; Nature – sea; Places – travel.  A dialogue ballad in which a departing sailor seeks to reassure his anxious sweetheart that he will return safely to her side (picture placement: the ships appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

The Laundry-Maids Lamentation for the loss of her Seaman (P. Brooksby, 1670-98). Pepys 4.164; EBBA 21826.  Gender – courtship; Death – accident; Emotions – love, sorrow; Family – children/parents; Nature – sea.  A woman, left alone with a child following the death at sea of her sweetheart, laments her state and expresses her wish to follow him to a watery grave (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title).

The SEAMANs Folly In Marrying One so quickly; and for which he has Cause to Repent at leisure (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Roxburghe 2.416-17; EBBA 30859.  Gender – courtship, adultery/cuckoldry, femininity, masculinity, mixed sociability; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Recreation – alcohol; Violence – interpersonal; Emotions – longing, anger; Morality – romantic/sexual. A sailor returns to land and marries a maid whom he meets in a tavern, but she cuckolds him the very next day and, after punishing her, he returns to sea (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title, next to a gallant who gestures towards them).

The Gallant Seamans return from the Indies, or the happy meeting of two Faithful lovers (F. Cole, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger, 1680-81).  Pepys 4.161; EBBA 21823.  Gender – courtship; Emotions – excitement, joy; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Places – travel; Recreation – alcohol; Bodies - adornment.  An entirely happy and wholesome reunion between a homecoming sailor and his loyal sweetheart (picture placement: the scene appears beneath the title).

The Seamans Frolick: OR, A Cooler for the Captain (M. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger, 1681-82).  Pepys 4.213; EBBA 21875.  Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender – masculinity, sex; Humour – bawdry, verbal; Bodies – physique, health/sickness; Places – English, travel; Nature – animals; Recreation – music, hospitality.  This describes euphemistically the sexual exploits of sailors while warning of the dangers of sexually transmitted disease (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title).

The Faithful Mariner.  The Constant Seaman leaves the Land, To Sail upon the Main, Ingaging for to wed his Dear When he Returns again (J. Blare, 1682-1706).  Pepys 4.171; EBBA 21833.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – anxiety, love, hope; Nature – sea; Places – travel. A departing sailor promises to remain faithful to his anxious sweetheart while he is away (picture placement: the scene appears beneath the title).

The Famous Fight at Malago, Or, The Englishmen's Victory over the Spaniards (J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-85). Pepys 4.204; EBBA 21866. Politics – foreign affairs, war; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender - masculinity; Emotions – patriotism, excitement, fear; Death – warfare; Violence – between states, at sea; Environment – buildings; Places – travel/transport, extra-European. This tells the tale of the death and destruction caused in Malaga during a daring raid by five English frigates in 1656 (picture placement: the scene appears beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

Neptunes Raging Fury. OR, The Gallant Seamans Sufferings.  Being a Relation of their perils and dangers, and of the extraordinary hazzards they undergo in their Noble adventures (J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-86).  Pepys 4.201; EBBA 21863.  Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender – masculinity; Emotions – pride, patriotism, scorn; Economy – livings; Nature – sea; Places – extra-European, travel; Religion- prayer, Christ/God; Politics – foreign affairs. England’s seamen describe the perils of their life and explain why they are vastly superior to those who make their drab livings on land (picture placement: the scene appears beneath the title).

The Unfeigned LOVER, OR, The Loyal Seamans kind Farewell to his Beloved NANCY (J. Deacon, 1685-88).  Pepys 4.169; EBBA 21831. Gender – courtship, famininity, masculinity; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – love, sorrow, anxiety, hope; Places – travel; Nature – sea; Economy – livings.  A sailor bids farewell to his distraught sweetheart before embarking on a long trip (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title, just to the left of a Welcoming woman).

[T]he CAESAR's Victory. IT BEING [An] Account of a Ship so called, in her Voyage to the East Indies (J. Deacon, 1686).  Pepys 4.198; EBBA 21860.  News – sensational, international; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender – masculinity; Death – warfare; Violence – at sea; Emotions – anxiety, joy, patriotism; Religion – Christ/God, divine intervention; Places – travel; Politics – foreign affairs; Economy - money. This recounts the ordeal of an English ship, attacked by five pirate vessels but crewed by men so stout of heart that the outcome was never really in doubt (picture placement: the ships appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

THE Dutch's Happy Conquest: OR, THE French Routed In their Voyage to [?T]]yrconnel in Ireland, Feb. 28, 1689 (R. Hayhurst, 1689).  Pepys 4.222; EBBA 21884.  Politics – celebration, foreign affairs, Royalist; Royalty – praise, criticism; Violence – at sea, between states; News – international; Emotions – joy, hatred, patriotism. This celebrates a Dutch victory over the French and asserts international Protestant unity against Catholicism in France and Ireland (picture placement: the scene appears over the third and fourth columns of text).

ENGLANDS Triumph Over the FRENCH. OR, English Men Lords of the Ocean (J. Millet and A. Milbourn, 1690).  Pepys 4.223; EBBA 21885.  Politics – celebration, foreign affairs, Royalist; Religion – Catholic/Protestant, divine intervention; Royalty – praise; Violence – at sea, between states; News – international; Emotions – hatred, joy, patriotism, pride; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender - masculinity. This celebrates the recent Anglo-Dutch victory over the French, off the coast of Sussex (picture placement: the ships appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

The PROTESTANT Seaman's Resolution To Fight for King VVILLIAM.  OR, The Total Destruction of Popery in this Reformed Land and Nation (J. Blare, 1690).  Pepys 4.208; EBBA 21870. Religion – Catholic/Protestant, heroism; Emotions – anger, hatred, hope, patriotism; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Gender – masculinity; Royalty – praise; Politics – controversy, domestic, foreign affairs, Royalist; Violence – at sea, general.  A seaman calls upon all English men to join the international battle to ‘pull down Popery’ (the ships appear beneath the title).

The Royal Triumph: OR, The Unspeakable Joy of the three Kingdoms, for the Glorious Victory over the FRENCH, by the English and Dutch Fleets (P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, and J. Back, 1692).  Pepys 4.218; EBBA 21880.  Politics – celebration, foreign affiars; Violence – at sea; Religion – Catholic/Protestant; Gender – masculinity; News – international, political; Emotions – joy, hatred, patriotism; Employment – sailors/soldiers. This celebrates the recent Anglo-Dutch victory over the hated French at sea (picture placement: the scene appears beneath the title, next to another image of ships at sea).

Neptune's Raging Fury: OR, THE Gallant Seaman's Sufferings (A. M., W. O., and T. Thackeray, 1694-95).  Roxburghe 2.543; EBBA 31143.  Environment – sea, weather; Employment – sailors/soldiers; crafts/trades, professions; Gender – masculinity; Violence – at sea, between states; Emotions – fear, excitement, patriotism; Places – extra-European; Politics – foreign affairs; Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship; Society – criticism. English mariners sing about the extraordinary bravery that is required of them ‘when the stormy winds do blow’ (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

The Gallant SEAMAN's RESOLUTION: Whose full Intent was, To try his Fortune at SEA, and at his Return marry his Lanlady (W. O. and A. M., 1695-1704).  Pepys 4.192; EBBA 21854. Gender – courtship; Employment – sailors/soldiers, female/male; Emotions – love, anxiety, hope; Nature – sea; Recreation – weddings; Places – English, travel. A wealthy widow is unable to dissuade the young man whom she loves from going to sea, but he does promise to marry her when he returns (picture placement: the ships appear beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

Christopher Marsh