The Tugboat Langston Hughes
(Words by: Captain Andrea McDonald & Mary Garvey – Tune by: Matthew Moeller – Performed by: The Whateverly Brothers – Song Notes: by Alice Winship)
The Whateverly Brothers
LYRICS
Well a long time ago, then wouldn’t you know
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
Well a tugboat was born got some logs to tow
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Thick black planks from long gone trees
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
Huge heavy beams and hanging knees
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Captain Bellesen got her it was love at first sight
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
He taught us how to run her and pilot her right
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Well he taught us how to navigate and calibrate and cook
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
And things you don’t learn with your head in a book
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Well we knew every gage and we knew every dial
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
We polished that brass til the captain would smile
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Well a long time passed and we grew into men
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
Well we thought she had sunk but we found her again
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
Once again she took us all out for a ride
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
Well splashing through the waves and riding the tide
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
So here’s to all you tug nuts wherever you be
Skipper’s in the pilothouse playing the blues
And good Captain Bellesen who sent us to sea
And the tugboat’s name was the Langston Hughes
NOTES
From about 1969 to 1973, Capt. Paul Bellesen, Sr., one of few black captains at that time, operated a tugboat as a training school for youth from different races and backgrounds.
When Capt. Andrea McDonald acquired the tugboat, she looked up some of the former students, now in their 50s, and gave them a ride on their old training vessel.
You can read a 2008 story in the Seattle Times.
The lyrics to the song are by Capt. Andrea McDonald and Mary Garvey, and the tune is by Matthew Moeller. It is performed by the Whateverly Brothers, who are Matthew Moeller, Chris Glanister, and Dan Roberts.
From Steve Lewis – Port Townsend:
Subject: Paul Bellesen and the M.V. Langston Hughes
“I got to hear your lyrics to the song about ‘North by Northwest Adventurers’ at a recent chantey sing at Northwest Seaport. I was the mate on several of the Langston’s trips. I taught piloting and navigation.
“Bellesen started with a donated, converted captains gig which he renamed the Martin Luther King. It was about 35 feet long. One of the Seattle TV stations, KOMO or KING, did a TV story on him, which aired while I was in the hospital in August 1968 recovering from hepatitis. In the interview portion, he said he wanted to teach sailing as well as other skills of seamanship. After I got out, I called him to set up a meeting. I wanted him to know I had a sailboat, and that I wasn’t some weirdo. The Langston was purchased with a donation of stock from Samuel E. Raymond, who had been at Yale with Cole Porter, class of 1910 (?) When NxNW got a grant from Department of Labor to teach / retrain older men in the workforce, they acquired a T-boat (many were made during WW II) and renamed it the S.E. Raymond. Bellesen’s partnership with Merle Adlum, head of the Inlandboatmen’s Union, and the DOL, ran afoul of his favoring the program for youngsters. They parted about 1972 and the Langston had to be sold when fuel prices started to skyrocket.
“Paul Bellesen Jr. is a licensed mate with the Washington State Ferry System, running mostly on the Bainbridge to Seattle run. I don’t know what happened to the many other youngsters who went through the program.”
From Mary Garvey:
“Excaliber is the name of the boat now, run by Captain Andrea McDonald. Her poetry is the basis of the words to the song…they are really not mine…I filled in the blank spots. Anyway, they were able to get hold of a number of the boys as adults and took them for a spin.”
- Words by Captain Andrea McDonald and Mary Garvey, tune by Matthew Moeller
- Recorded at ShoeString Studios, Edmonds, WA
- Performed by The Whateverly Brothers (Dan Roberts, Matthew Moeller and Chris Glanister)
- Lead vocal: Matthew Moeller
- Harmony vocals: Dan Roberts, Chris Glanister