This is the first folk song I ever sang (in public).

The ELLEN VANNIN Tragedy

Snaefell, Tyndwall, Benmachree,
Fourteen ships have sailed the sea.
Proudly bearing a Manx name,
But there's one will never again

Chorus
Oh Ellen Vannin, of the Isle of Man Company,
Oh Ellen Vannin, lost on the Irish Sea.

At one a.m. in Ramsey Bay
Captain Tier was heard to say
"The contract says deliver the mail
In this rough weather we must not fail."

Ocean liners sheltered from the storm
Ellen Vannin on the waves was borne
Her holds were full and battened down
As she sailed towards her Liverpool town

With her crew of twenty one Manx men
Her Passengers Liverpool businessmen
"Farewell to Mona's Isle, farewell
This little boat is bound for Hell!"

Less than a mile from the Bar Lightship
By a mighty wave Ellen Vannin was hit
She sank 'neath the waters of Liverpool Bay
And there she lies until this day

Few Manxmen now remember
The third day of the month December
That terrible storm in Nineteen-nine
Ellen Vannen sailed for the very last time


I took the lyrics from the album 'Ten of the best with The Spinners', Fontana label SFXL.51 which was released about 1967. The 'Ellen Vannin' track is a live concert recording from 1965.

Chris