{title: Lowlands Away}
{artist: Traditional (maritime / forecastle)}
{album: 19th-century forecastle ballad; appears in Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas (1961); American and British variants exist}
{key: Dm}
{tempo: 65}
{difficulty: advanced}
{phase: 4}
{strand: M}
{feel: hush}
{lead_voice: low}
{lead_mode: solo}
{lead_demand: showpiece}
{harmony: M,H,B}
{a_cappella: yes}
{kit: acap}
{set_role: hush}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: trad}
{copyright: pd}
{flags: a_cappella,drone}
{tags: a-cappella,chorus,dirge,drone,forecastle,harmony,modal,public-domain,shanty,slow,traditional}

{c: Haunting, slow, a cappella shanty — a sailor dreams his drowned love appears in the night. The melody is in D minor (or D Aeolian); spine-tingling when sung with full harmonic support. One of the most beautiful pieces in the entire maritime tradition. Hard to pitch and hold.}
{c: Three minor chords (Dm, F, C) if accompanied, but the song is at its most powerful a cappella. Very slow, around 60-70 BPM.}

{c: ===== STRUCTURE =====}
{c: Verse / Refrain. The "lowlands, lowlands away, my John" refrain is sung after every verse line — almost like a call-and-response wail.}

{start_of_verse}
I [Dm]dreamed a dream the [F]other night
[Dm]Lowlands, lowlands a[C]way, my [Dm]John
I [Dm]dreamed a dream the [F]other night
My [C]lowlands a[Dm]way
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
I [Dm]dreamed my love came [F]in to me
[Dm]Lowlands, lowlands a[C]way, my [Dm]John
She [Dm]came to me as [F]if alive
My [C]lowlands a[Dm]way
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
She [Dm]waved her hand and [F]then was gone
[Dm]Lowlands, lowlands a[C]way, my [Dm]John
The [Dm]waters cold a[F]ll about her drowned
My [C]lowlands a[Dm]way
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
She [Dm]was a-dressed all [F]in her white
[Dm]Lowlands, lowlands a[C]way, my [Dm]John
She [Dm]said "My love I [F]come to thee"
My [C]lowlands a[Dm]way
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
I [Dm]bound the weeper [F]round my head
[Dm]Lowlands, lowlands a[C]way, my [Dm]John
For [Dm]now I know my [F]love is dead
My [C]lowlands a[Dm]way
{end_of_verse}

{c: ===== HARMONY ARRANGEMENT =====}
{c: Two- or three-part harmony throughout. The "lowlands, lowlands away" refrain is the harmonic moment — hold the parts.}
{c: For three parts on Dm: lead D, mid F, top A. The F (third) is the haunting note; it carries the song's character.}
{c: A cappella is the right way. If you use accompaniment, one quiet guitar fingerpicking, no rhythm section.}

{c: ===== PERFORMANCE NOTES =====}
{c: Pitch off a quiet starting note (tuning fork, soft piano note, soft guitar). The most common a cappella failure is drifting flat — one singer holds the root.}
{c: This is a song to drop into a set after a rowdy run — pivots the room's emotional temperature. The audience falls silent.}
{c: Don't perform if the band isn't ready — a sloppy "Lowlands Away" is worse than no "Lowlands Away."}

{c: ===== REFERENCE RECORDINGS =====}
{c: The Longest Johns — their a cappella arrangement is the modern shanty-band reference.}
{c: A.L. Lloyd — the foundational folk-revival recording (1950s).}
{c: Storm Weather Shanty Choir — full Scandinavian shanty-choir arrangement.}
{c: Stan Hugill — the scholar of shanties; recordings preserved in the Mystic Seaport archives.}