The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #96352 Message #1883468
Posted By: Joe Offer
11-Nov-06 - 06:55 PM
Thread Name: Tune/Chords Req: Hills of Isle Au Haut
Subject: DT Corr/Tune: Hills of Isle Au Haut
THE HILLS OF ISLE AU HAUT (Gordon Bok)
It's away and to the westward Is the 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. [CHORUS]
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. [CHORUS]
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. [CHORUS]
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. [CHORUS]
The songbook has an entire measure of rests between each line, so that's how I transcribed it. I just take a quick breath, and skip the rests.
Source: Time and the Flying Snow: Songs of Gordon Bok, a songbook published by Folk-Legacy Records, 1977.
The songbook has "the trouble with old Martir" - but I think hear "Martin" when I hear it sung - I don't have a recording of it. Rise Up Singing has "Martier," a suitably French-Canadian name for that part of Maine. Neither "Martin" or "Martir" makes much sense to me. Any explanations? Note that these lyrics are a bit different from those in the DT. -Joe- As long as I had the book open to that page, I transcribed a tune for Isle au Haut Lullabye (Hay Ledge Song) - but I think I prefer the tune that's already in the DT. The DT lyrics for "Lullabye" are exactly what's in the book.