‘The Grey Funnel Line’: Robert Plant on one of the greatest vocal performances of all time
There’s no shortage of talent in the list of names that Robert Plant has worked with. Aside from his astounding Led Zeppelin bandmates, the singer has performed alongside Alison Krauss, T-Bone Burnett and Jeff Beck, to name but three. In fact, it is his willingness to collaborate and seek out broadening influences that define his approach to music.
This array of names has always kept his eyes and ears open to musical development. ”My vocal style I haven’t tried to copy from anyone,” Robert Plant once opined. “It just developed until it became the girlish whine it is today.” The ever-self-effacing singer changed the musical landscape with that so-called ‘whine’. His four-octave range was always pushed to the limits in the most high-octane, fearless fashion that made him a central figure in the orchestra of Led Zeppelin.
However, he does think his uniqueness occasionally led to ”overblown” histrionics that he has since strived to pull back from. One huge inspiration on that front is ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ by June Tabor and Maddy Prior. In fact, when he was selecting his favourite songs of all time for BBC Radio 6, he picked out this little-known mystic gem as a song that showcases how singing should be done.
“Two remarkable British singers, June Tabor and Maddy Prior, taken from the album Silly Sisters. An album that covers the subjects: work, religion, sexual relations, humour, tragedy, and the absurd,“ the heavy metal pioneer proclaims. “But ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ is the name of the song, it relates to the life of a sailor in the royal navy, the battleship, just incredible singers.”
The folk duo don’t just sing the song, they perform the narrative perfectly, invoking an actorly sense of storytelling and guile as they weave notes into mystic nuance. While the technicality of their singing is self-evident, it is the depth that they imbue upon the poor sailor’s story that really proves captivating. Robert Plant always had a similar approach, ensuring he layered soul over the raucous sound of Led Zeppelin.
The Silly Sisters emerged in 1976, but they didn’t stay around too long. Their discography comprises just two albums: Silly Sisters and No More To The Dance. The first of which sees them at their most pure, according to Plant, with ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ remaining a song that has stirred and inspired him ever since.
The track was written by Cyril Tawney over a six-year postulation from 1953-59. It remains a staple of the British folk cannon, with Tawney explaining: “This was the last song I wrote before I left the Royal Navy in 1959. ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ is the sailors’ nickname for the Royal Navy—just as if it were another mercantile line. It’s a straightforward song about a sailor leaving home and the loved one.”
Continuing: “He’s extremely fed up with the Senior Service and he’d rather be outside, but he has to go away yet again. On occasions like this, I think the close of the first day out, as the sun is setting, is the time when we’re most vulnerable to nostalgia. There’s a shanty with the refrain ‘Rock and roll me over for one more day’, and this gave me the idea for my own refrain ‘It’s one more day on The Grey Funnel Line‘.”
