Alle die willen te Kaap'ren varen (2022)

To sail the cape

“Allen die willen te kaap’ren varen” is a Dutch sea shanty, or maybe just a children’s song. “All that want to sail the cape, they have to be men with beards”. Indeed. All that want to eat spoiled food, that want to disembowel whales, that are not afraid of death and devil, they have to be men with beards! Meaning, real men.

The couplet to this song is only short, with lots of repetition to make it easy to remember. The rhythm seems to suggest sailor heav-ho’ing the sails. To make it a little more interesting I’ve inserted a waltz section, added some notes to the harmony, and generally modulated it left and right.