Robert Shaw sang (Farewell and adieu to you fair) "Spanish Ladies" 18 years before Jaws!

Robert Shaw’s star turn as Quint in Jaws is often seen as the pinnacle of his incredible career as an actor. Having played Henry VIII and a Bond villain (Red Grant in From Russia From Love, 1963), Shaw had accrued over 50 screen roles before donning the now iconic mutton chops.

But it was another seafaring role that inspired a seminal Quint moment in Jaws. A moment Robert’s son Ian (star and co-writer of Jaws inspired play ‘The Shark Is Broken’), says is the closest example of his father’s true personality.

Getting ready to leave Amity and hunt the killer shark, Hooper is selecting and loading his ‘fine expensive gear’ on to the Orca. Quint mocks the modern equipment, especially the anti-shark cage, pointing out the obvious danger… “Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.” Hooper understands the risks all too well.

Quint serenades Hooper with a few lines from an old traditional naval song “Spanish Ladies”. The irony being (and likely known to Hooper) that the same song was sung by the doomed crew of the Pequod, Ahab’s ship in Moby Dick, when Ahab tells them they are going after the great white whale.

However, this wouldn’t be the first time Robert Shaw had sung the song for a role. 18 years earlier, he had sung “Spanish Ladies” in a 1957 episode of ‘The Buccaneers’, as Captain Dan Tempest.

Shaw sings the song while playing guitar in the episode titled ‘The Ladies’. One difference in the lyrics can be spotted. The ‘England’ is substituted for ‘Boston’ in Jaws. This could be due to Quint’s referencing Boston later on in the movie… “Knock an ole un, St. Paddy's day, Boston.” This is to be confirmed.

Watch the video below for a direct comparison of the two versions. It’s truly fascinating to see an actor of Robert Shaw’s calibre bringing something he did nearly two decades prior and to a new role and reinventing it to create a classic moment in cinema.

Words by Ross Williams

The Buccaneers clip shared via Nolan Philpott aka The Jaws Geek.

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