Maybe it's an idea to do a full, corrected transcription:
Corrected version:
THE HILLS OF ISLE AU HAUT
(Gordon Bok)
It's away and to the westward
Is a place a man should go,
Where the fishing's always easy,
They've got no ice or snow.
(CHORUS)
But I'll haul down the sail
Where the bays come together,
Bide away the days
On the hills of Isle au Haut.
Now the Plymouth girls are fine,
They put their hearts in your hand;
And the Plymouth boys are able,
First-class sailors, every man.
Now, the trouble with old Martir,
You don't try her in a trawler,
For those Bay of Biscay swells,
They roll your head from off your shoulder.
The girls of Cascais,
They are strong across the shoulder,
They don't give a man advice,
They don't want to cook his supper.
Now the winters drive you crazy,
And the fishing's hard and slow;
You're a damned fool if you stay,
But there's no better place to go.
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DT lyrics:
HILLS OF ISLE AU HAUT
(Gordon Bok)
Away and to the westward
Is a place a man should go
Where the fishing's always easy
They've got no ice or snow
But I'll haul down the sail
Where the bays come together
Bide away the days
On the hills of Isle au Haut
Now the Plymouth girls are fine
They put their hearts in your hand
And the Plymouth boys are able
First-class sailors every man
Now, the trouble with old Martin
You don't try her in a trawler
For those bay of Biscay swells
They roll your head from off your shoulder
Away and to the westward
Is a place a man should go
Where the fishing's always easy
They've got no ice or snow
Now the winters drive you crazy
And the fishing's hard and slow
You're a damned fool if you stay
But there's no better place to go
Isle au Haut is an island off Maine
Bok wrote two song about Isle au Haut see also ISLEHAUT
Copyright Folk-Legacy Records, Inc.
@sailor @work @water
filename[ IHAUTHIL
SOF |
Notes:
I realized a while after I'd written this song that it was confusing some people. That wasn't what I had in mind, so I looked at it again and realized that the key word in the song is also the shortest and least significant—sounding. The word is "but."
As one fellow told me: "I know I should get out of it here, and go away. But I'm a fisherman, and if I'm going to starve as a fisherman, I might as well do it here where I can enjoy it."
That may be an odd way to put it, but...
Isle au Haut is a tall island in the Gulf of Maine. The place names Plymouth, Pedro Martir (a landfall in Portugal), and Cascais were memories from a rather wet offshore trip. I enjoyed the boat, and the people were fine, and if I had grown gills I'd have been perfectly comfortable, but...
Guitar in D; recording sounds D flat.
Isle au Haut = i'll oh hoe; westward = westard; Martir = marteer; Cascais = kass—keish.
from the songbook Time and the Flying Snow, Songs of Gordon Bok (Folk-Legacy, 1977)
I thought he was talking about a French guy named Martier, but now I find I'm wrong again.
-Joe Mondegreen-
(still looking for the Happy Traum lyics)
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sj