G'day all, This is the original Poem/Song behind Wolfgang Hell's recent request for 'The Cock of the North'.It was a poem from the 1950s by Australian poet Dorothy Hewett addressed to her (then) husband, Merv Lilley - a sailor on fishing, pearling and other coastal boats. The change in the first line from "Oh, Cock of the morning" "Oh, Cock of the north" is unexplained, but I offer some theories in the original thread.
The Bill Berry tune may be the tune that Martyn Wyndham-Read popularised ... and therefore the tune used by the Fureys. Then again, there are three or four more tunes about! I hope these files work - they don't look like the nice red ones that Alison (and most everyone else) posts!
SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA Words 're-gendered' from Gary Shearston's version on 'Songs of Our Time'
Oh! Cock of the morning, with a dream in his hand,
My love has come home, come ashore to the land.
He bursts through the door with his eyes like the sun,
And his kit-bag crammed full of the treasures he's won.
There's a pearl shell from Broome and a tall Darwin tale,
And coral and clam and the jaws of a whale,
And my kitchen is full of the smell of the sea,
And the leaping green fishes he's caught on the lee.
So tumble your treasures from Darwin to Broome
And fill with your glory, my strait little room.
With the sun, in the morning, ablaze on your chest,
My love has come home from the north of nor'west.
Oh! Deep in our bed, we'll love and we'll lie,
We'll kiss and we'll listen to the rain in the sky.
Warm as the summer we've hived winter long,
My love has come home, like King Solomon's song.
SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA
As originally published (2 verses only)
O cock of the morning, with a dream in his hand,
My love has come home to the wonderful land.
He bursts through the door with his eyes like the sun
And his kit-bag crammed full of the treasures he's won.
There's a pearl shell from Broome and a tall Darwin tale,
And coral and clam and the jaws of a whale
And my kitchen is full of the smell of the sea
And the leaping green fishes my love brings to me.
From Australian Tradition, vol. 1, No. 1 page 4, March 1964
Chris Kempster's tune:
MIDI file: SAILORCK.mid
Timebase: 240
TimeSig: 3/4 24 8
Tempo: 120 (500000 microsec/crotchet)
Start
0000 1 71 080 0192 0 71 064 0528 1 76 080 0384 0 76 064 0096 1 76 080 0096 0 76 064 0024 1 76 080 0096 0 76 064 0024 1 74 080 0192 0 74 064 0048 1 74 080 0192 0 74 064 0048 1 74 080 0096 0 74 064 0024 1 74 080 0096 0 74 064 0024 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 74 080 0192 0 74 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 71 080 0384 0 71 064 0096 1 71 080 0192 0 71 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 78 080 0192 0 78 064 0048 1 79 080 0384 0 79 064 0096 1 79 080 0096 0 79 064 0024 1 79 080 0096 0 79 064 0024 1 79 080 0192 0 79 064 0048 1 78 080 0192 0 78 064 0048 1 74 080 0192 0 74 064 0048 1 76 080 0384 0 76 064 0096 1 78 080 0192 0 78 064 0048 1 79 080 0192 0 79 064 0048 1 78 080 0192 0 78 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 74 080 0384 0 74 064 0096 1 71 080 0096 0 71 064 0024 1 74 080 0096 0 74 064 0024 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 74 080 0192 0 74 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 71 080 0384 0 71 064 0096 1 69 080 0096 0 69 064 0024 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 71 080 0384 0 71 064 0096 1 69 080 0096 0 69 064 0024 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 66 080 0192 0 66 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 66 080 0192 0 66 064 0048 1 64 080 0384 0 64 064
EndThis program is worth the effort of learning it.
To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here
ABC format:
X:1
T:
M:3/4
Q:1/4=120
K:C
B6|e4ee|d2d2dd|c2d2c2|B4B2|e2e2^f2|g4gg|g2^f2d2|
e4^f2|g2^f2e2|d4Bd|e2d2c2|B4AG|E2e2e2|B4AG|
^F2G2^F2|E13/4||
Bill Berry's tune
MIDI file: SAILORBB.mid
Timebase: 240
TimeSig: 3/4 24 8
Tempo: 120 (500000 microsec/crotchet)
Start
0480 1 60 080 0096 0 60 064 0024 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 60 080 0096 0 60 064 0024 1 60 080 0096 0 60 064 0024 1 62 080 0192 0 62 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 62 080 0192 0 62 064 0048 1 60 080 0384 0 60 064 0096 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 76 080 0192 0 76 064 0048 1 72 080 0384 0 72 064 0096 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0384 0 67 064 0096 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 72 080 0288 0 72 064 0072 1 72 080 0096 0 72 064 0024 1 72 080 0384 0 72 064 0096 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 67 080 0096 0 67 064 0024 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 57 080 0384 0 57 064 0096 1 60 080 0096 0 60 064 0024 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 60 080 0192 0 60 064 0048 1 62 080 0192 0 62 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 62 080 0192 0 62 064 0048 1 60 080 0384 0 60 064
EndThis program is worth the effort of learning it.
To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here
ABC format:
X:1
T:
M:3/4
Q:1/4=120
K:C
C5D|E2G2A2|G2E2CC|D2E2D2|C4G2|c2c2e2|c4GG|
A2G2A2|G4G2|c2c3c|c4GG|A2G2E2|A,4CD|E2G2A2|
G2E2C2|D2E2D2|C13/4||
Regards,
Bob Bolton