{title: John Kanaka}
{artist: Trad shanty (Pacific / Hawaiian work-song origin, 19th c.)}
{key: D}
{tempo: 100}
{difficulty: beginner}
{strand: M}
{feel: drive}
{lead_voice: any}
{lead_mode: call_response}
{lead_demand: easy}
{harmony: M,B}
{a_cappella: yes}
{kit: acap}
{set_role: opener}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: trad}
{copyright: pd}
{flags: a_cappella,drone}
{tags: a-cappella,chorus,drone,halyard,maritime,public-domain,shanty,singalong,traditional,working-song}
{video: youtube:HeQVgHawfzQ}
{credit: 19th-century halyard shanty from the Pacific trade — "Kanaka" is Hawaiian for "man/person", "tu-lai-e" is a Hawaiian vocable carried over from the islands' shanty tradition. Canonical text from Stan Hugill's 'Shanties of the Seven Seas' (1961). Public domain (pre-1928, no single author). Reference recording: The Longest Johns — 'John Kanaka' (YouTube `HeQVgHawfzQ`, from 'Pieces of Eight: Horizon Collection', 2025).}

{c: Halyard shanty — a hauling work-song. Strict call-and-response: lead sings the call line, the whole room hammers "John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-e!" as the response. Two pulls per response — heavy on "John" and "tu-LAI". Refrain after every verse.}
{c: A cappella the whole way. Chord markers in this chart are pitch references for the lead only — no instruments. If you must add guitar for early rehearsal, D and A (or Dm and A for the modal feel) carry the entire song.}

{c: ===== STRUCTURE =====}
{c: Call — Response — Call — Response — Refrain (Tu-lai-e! Oh tu-lai-e!...) — next verse. The refrain is the singalong release; the response is the work-line.}
{c: Stop verses when the line is hauled / the room is winded. Traditionally as many verses as the work needed — 6 below is a solid rehearsal set.}

{c: Verse 1}
{start_of_verse}
[D]I heard, I heard the Old Man say
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]Today, today is a holiday
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: Refrain}
{start_of_chorus}
[D]Tu-lai-e! Oh, tu-lai-[A]e!
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_chorus}

{c: Verse 2}
{start_of_verse}
[D]We're bound away at the break of day
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]We're bound away for 'Frisco Bay
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: Refrain}

{c: Verse 3}
{start_of_verse}
[D]We're bound away around Cape Horn
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]We wish to Christ we'd never been born
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: Refrain}

{c: Verse 4}
{start_of_verse}
[D]Oh haul, oh haul, oh haul away
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]Oh haul away and make your pay
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: Refrain}

{c: Verse 5}
{start_of_verse}
[D]A Yankee ship with a Yankee crew
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]It's any time we get her through
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: Refrain}

{c: Verse 6}
{start_of_verse}
[D]Now if we get her through today
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]We'll all go ashore and draw our pay
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_verse}

{c: ===== BIG FINISH =====}
{c: Final refrain twice through, hard stop on "tu-lai-e".}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Tu-lai-e! Oh, tu-lai-[A]e!
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
[D]Tu-lai-e! Oh, tu-lai-[A]e!
[A]John Kanaka-naka tu-lai-[D]e!
{end_of_chorus}

{c: PRACTICE NOTES}
{c: Pull beats: "JOHN Kanaka-naka tu-LAI-e" — heavy on "John" and "lai", matching the two pulls of a halyard haul. Even when not actually hauling, keep the body weight on those syllables. It's what makes it a shanty rather than a campfire singalong.}
{c: Voicing: melody (M) carries the call line; bass (B) doubles the response an octave down for weight. No high harmony — this is a work-song, not a hymn. Keep it earthy.}
{c: Pronunciation: "Kanaka" = ka-NA-ka (stress on the second syllable). "Tu-lai-e" = too-LIE-ay. Don't anglicise — the Hawaiian vowels carry the swing.}
{c: For a rolling start: lead can sing the refrain solo first ("Tu-lai-e! Oh, tu-lai-e!...") to teach the room the response before the first verse.}
{c: Opener slot — gets a cold room singing the response by verse 2. The response is one phrase, no English, no thinking required.}