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. 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]



Click to play

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.

Click to play