Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia

Subject: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 01:27 AM

OK, yes I checked to database and did a forum search, and I can't find the lyrics. I know a jillion people have recorded this, so if you can steer me to a recording with liner notes, I'd be grateful.

Mary Ann

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 01:32 AM

You'll find it at http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=1946 which I found by looking for scotia.

Regards
John

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 02:40 AM

We've had trouble finding this very same song before, Mary Ann. We have lots of Nova Scotia songs, but if you search for Nova Scotia, you come up with nothing. Search for scotia, and thy cup runneth over. Wish I knew why.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 05:45 AM

In the Forum, it was listed as a Nova Scotia question..... Are you from Nova Scotia? I am, Sydney originally, now in Halifax.

Subject: Re: Why Searches for Nova Scotia Don't Work
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 08:45 AM

Joe, I think I know why the search engine doesn't find "Nova Scotia," but finds "Scotia." The word "no" in the search criteria tells it to disregard the "va" and maybe the "scotia." Try looking for the word "none," or the word "north." Search for "passage stan" and you get Northwest Passage." Add "northwest" to the search, and you get diddley, because of the "no."

Do I win a prize?

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 11:47 AM

Mystery solved. Gosh, you're smart, Jeri.
...or was it Sandy that quipped that you've got too much time on your hands?
That's absolutely brilliant.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 12:53 PM

Actually, I went and read the "Nova Scotia Question" thread and saw the message where Mark Roffe said the problem might have to do with "nova" meaning "doesn't go." That's what lit my lightbulb.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 12:59 PM

Yeah, but my mirror image Roffe claims to be a computer genius, and he didn't figure it out....
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 01:09 PM

thanks, all. We learn something every day.

No George, I'm not from N.S., tho' my Dad's people are dyed in the wool Down Easters.

-- Mary Ann

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 01:26 PM

Maybe the problem was too much intelligence? You needed someone around who'd take a smart-assed comment literally. Or maybe it's like trying to profreed your own writing. Or maybe I really have untapped talents and should go back to school and study computer geekage? Or maybe I just got lucky.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Night Owl
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 01:32 PM

...and then there was the night of the "black out" at MIT. After the students gave up trying to analyze and fix the problem, the janitor changed the fuse.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 12:27 AM

Jeri,
I tried a search as VA SCOTIA and I also specified it as [va scotia] to check the search routines.

MAG, thanks. From your comment I wasn't sure, but you've explained it. Great to know there are Capers who went other work.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Jeri
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 09:12 AM

The search engine seems to look for exactly what you type. If you look for va you'll get a bunch of songs from Virginia (VA).

It doesn't look for the letters va within another word UNLESS you use the boolean * - then you hit on songs with any combination of letters before the text you type. So typing in *va brings up songs including the words nova, nakeva, helluva.

If the no falls in the middle of the word, (know gets hits) or the end, (piano)there's no problem.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 11:42 PM

Jeri, no. I meant I tried it as "ova Scotia" and it did NOT find anything. I DID find it as "va Scotia". As well as anything else with "Nova Scotia" in the lyric or the notes at the bottom of the pages.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Mark Roffe
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 09:12 PM

Jeri, I'm tickled to see that the "doesn't go" sparked that impressive sleuthing.

Mark in San Diego again this week (but at least I got to the beach today)

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 09:37 PM

George, I assume you typed "*va Scotia?" When I type "va Scotia," I get nothing. If you got hits and I didn't, something strange is going on. When I type "*ova Scotia," I get 25 hits.

Mark - Aw shucks, thanks! Sometimes smart-aleck comments are more insightful than anyone thinks.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 06:21 AM

Strange. Jeri, I DID mean what I said. I used "va Scotia" and "ova Scotia" in my trials. HOWEVER, now they won't find it. REALLY REALLY ODD!!!

Actually, using the "*VA SCOTIA" or even "*NOVA SCOTIA", it did find the 25 songs. It improved on the performance the other day. IT finds them now in alphabetic order, whereas it previously found them in REVERSE alphabetic order for the title.

Did a test after using "*creighton", and it found 45 titles, but in REVERSE alpha order of titles.

This is weird that it is different each day.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 18 Jul 99 - 09:49 PM

Isn't the correct title "Nova Scotia Farewell?"

The original requestor cannot be from Nova Scotia. There isn't a Nova Scotian alive who doesn't know the lyrics.:)

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 19 Jul 99 - 05:54 AM

No, the title as originally put forth by Dr. Creighton is The Nova Scotia Song

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 03 May 00 - 07:46 PM

Upon followup to this thread, the information I've been given recently is that Dr. Helen Creighton assembled the verses we know as the song from several versions of the song. She thought these made the most coherent version. I'll have to see if I can get a copy of Dan McKinnon's information.

He sings a variant of the song on his newest CD.

According to other research by Linda C Craig and Marjory Whitelaw, "The Nova Scotia Song" began as a poem called "The Soldier's Adieu" by Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), from Paisley, Scotland.

Question. I've been looking for the past couple of months and haven't come up with this poem. Does anyone have the words to it?

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SOLDIER'S ADIEU
From: Dale Rose
Date: 04 May 00 - 12:11 AM

THE SOLDIER'S ADIEU

The weary sun's gane doun the west,
The birds sit nodding on the tree,
All nature now inclines for rest,
But rest allow'd there's none for me:
The trumpet calls to wars alarms,
The rattling drum forbids my stay;
Ah! Nancy, bless thy soldier's arms,
For ere morn I will be far away.

Bet you didn't think I knew THAT one, didya George? 8-) (Smiley learned from George in an earlier life)

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 04 May 00 - 01:05 AM

I recall reading that the song had been based on a Scottish song (or, as it turned out, poem). This extra information is a treasure. Thank you so much . . .

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 04 May 00 - 01:08 AM

One nice thing about the super search is that you can enter Nova Scotia, and get a list of hits. There are some weirdnesses in the DigiTrad search (the online version) which seem to be the result of adding a dose of Windows to an otherwise reliable and consistent search engine. The downloadable one, despite a bit of clunkiness in the interface, still works like a charm.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:26 AM

Wow! Thanks, Dale.

Jeremiah, Since I live here, it's not a hardship to keep checking. You are very welcome though.

Dick, it's very weird. I did experiment with the supersearch last night, which is why this thread got brought up again. Speaking of which, I did a metacrawler search last week for something which LINKED to the supersearch, which also worked about a week ago. Took a few seconds, but it did give me both the Forum and Database results. Were you experimenting a week or two back?

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Dale Rose
Date: 04 May 00 - 09:23 AM

Actually, I was holding out on you, George. I REALLY didn't know that. I did a copernic search, which I find to be the deepest search when you are looking up things which are likely to have very few leads. There were 57 references for The Soldier's Adieu, one of which looked promising (most had Civil War or Mexican War origins) and PRESTO, there it was. Scotstext.org (It's filed under Fragments of Tannahill)

More about Copernic, since we are talking about searches: Copernic requires a download, but is by far the best search engine I have found. It has both a free and a pay version. The free one is good enough for me. It allows you to keep many searches in memory that you can update as you wish. It even tells you when you last searched. If you search for a certain thing today, and say two weeks from now you want to see if anything new has been added, it will search again. Then if you are confident that the old material was of no help, or you have investigated it thoroughly, you can tell it to browse specific types of results, namely the new ones that it finds. It also can be set for phrase, all words, etc. I normally choose all the engines, but every now and then, one of them develops a bug which returns dozens, even hundreds of false leads. Then I eliminate the faulty engine and try again. They are quite good about updating and eliminating these errors. There, I've given away one of the secrets to my store of knowledge.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Mooh
Date: 04 May 00 - 10:08 AM

I got mine from a good old fashioned book (imagine!) called The Penguin Book Of Canadian Folk Songs, where it's listed as "Farewell to Nova Scotia", not that the title actually matters very much. It has the melody with passable guitar chords and notes about the song. Mine's the 1973 edition but it may have been re-edited since. At any rate, I know it's in my local (small town) library as well. I've no scanner so I can't help you that way...I've heard other verses too, but I don't have them written anywhere...there are also some similar tunes in the tradition...including a French-Canadian one I think.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 04 May 00 - 11:09 AM

Thanks Mooh. That wasn't the one I was wondering about. It was the Tannahill one.

Thanks, Dale. I hadn't come across that one in searching stuff out. Will have to look at it. Thanks for sharing.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 05 May 00 - 09:38 AM

Nice to see so much interest in our Provincial Anthem..hope lots of people will keep singing it. Yours, Aye. Dave

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Mooh
Date: 05 May 00 - 09:50 AM

Dave, not just your anthem but your province! We hope to take our kids to Nova Scotia this summer, a trip which everyone is excited about. Though I live in one of the nice parts of Ontario, and visit one of the most picturesque parts many times a year, we have been drawn to NS for a while. I looks to me like you can be proud.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 05 May 00 - 05:02 PM

Stop in Halifax and say hello!

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 05 May 00 - 06:59 PM

Already invited Mooh, George, told him that you were our Guru for local folk music knowledge... LOL

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: mike putt
Date: 06 May 00 - 11:10 AM

Hi I have the song somewhere here in an old Peggy Seeger songbook. If you want the words and chords drop me a mail and I'll type them out as i have no scanner

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 06 May 00 - 03:38 PM

sajumikey, if you check, we did find the words in the database here. Check the link given by John of Brisbane. Thanks for helping out.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Amergin
Date: 06 May 00 - 04:05 PM

Dale Rose, thanks for the Copernic link. Gonna have to check it out.

Amergin

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SOLDIER'S ADIEU
From: Crowhugger
Date: 06 May 00 - 06:42 PM

I have a book, published by J. and R. Parlane, Paisley (shows also published in Glasgow & London) in 1911, of Tannahill's songs & poems; in addition to the verse already posted, here are 2 more to "The Soldier's Adieu":

THE SOLDIER'S ADIEU

The weary sun's gane doun the west,
The birds sit nodding on the tree,
All nature now inclines for rest,
But rest allow'd there's none for me:
The trumpet calls to wars alarms,
The rattling drum forbids my stay;
Ah! Nancy, bless thy soldier's arms,
For ere morn I will be far away.

I grieve to leave my comrades dear,
I mourn to leave my native shore,
To leave my aged parents here,
And the bonnie lass whom I adore.
But tender thoughts must now be hushed,
When duty calls, I must obey;
Fate wills it so that part we must,
The morn I will be far away.

Adieu! dear Scotland's sea-beat coast!
Ye misty vales and mountains blue!
When on the heaving ocean tost,
I'll cast a wishful look to you.
And now, dear Nancy, fare-thee-weel!
May Providence thy guardian be!
And in the camp, or in the fiel',
My constant thoughts shall turn to thee.

Anyone have more?

CH.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 06 May 00 - 08:22 PM

Thanks Crowhugger.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 06 May 00 - 11:17 PM

I was sure this song is in one of the Helen Creighton collections I have, viz. Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia or Maritime Folk Songs. It doesn't seem to be. Does anybody remember what collection it's in? By the way, there is no note on the DT text. Thanks.

All the best,
Dan

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 07 May 00 - 07:12 AM

I think it was Traditional Songs of Nova Scotia compiled by Dr. Helen Creighton.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Crowhugger
Date: 07 May 00 - 09:04 AM

I have the Canadian version credited to her in a circa 1967 (that's our centennial year) hardcover called "Song to a Seagull" but it doesn't say which book. The local library has a publication of her collected songs and it's in there too, but their online catalogue is down at the moment so I can't get the title right now.

Mooh: George, DaveTAM and others can probably fill you in better, but a French-rooted tune would be no surprise to me given the history of Nova Scotia. Francophones who had made homes and lives there were expelled to make room for settlers sent by the British Empire. Spoils of a European war. That's how there came to be so many Acadians, aka Cajuns, in Louisiana. Yet another diaspora in the history of the world.

CH.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 08:24 PM

"The Soldiers Adieu" has six four-line verses. Dale Rose posted the first two and Crowhugger the last four, so they are all "present and accounted for" in this thread.

(A Union song by a Civil War soldier has the same title, but is unrelated).

The Nova Scotia Song, or Farewell to Nova Scotia took a while to become popular in Canada. It does not appear in "Canadian Folk Songs: A Centennial Collection" (1967).
It was printed in Creighton and Senior, Traditional Songs of Nova Scotia, pp. 264-265, 1950. This information from Masato Sakurai, in a website segment put together by George Seto. The song was combined from several versions. Farewell
I remember an interview on the CBC a long time ago in which Creighton was quoted as saying that her first collection was the first verse and chorus only (She first collected it in the 1930s, see comments by Seto in the link).
The Acadian Genealogy Home Page lists the song as "Acadian." Farewell So much for Tannahill! (This site has a number of Acadian-Cajun songs).

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From:
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 10:50 PM

I wonder why he thinks it is Acadian.

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 10:22 PM

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 03:07 PM

Here's some more info on the composer of "The Soldier's Adieu":

Robert Tannahill (1774-1810)

The fifth of eight children, Robert Tannahill was born on 3 June 1774 at Castle Street, Paisley. His father was a silk weaver and the family moved to a thatched cottage at 11 Queen Street in Paisley (where the Paisley Tannahill Club still meet). Tannahill received a basic education but he read widely and showed an early interest in and a talent for poetry. When he was twelve years old he was apprenticed to his father as a weaver. He continued his self education, learning to play the flute and going to theatre performances in Glasgow.

In the years following his father's death in 1802 he began to publish his poetry, in some cases as words to existing tunes, particularly Irish music. Frail and shy, his poetry was often inspired by the countryside around Paisley. Despite having a deformity in his right leg, he would go for long walks in the Gleniffer Braes above the town. Poems such as "The Braes of Gleniffer" and "The Flower O' Levern Side" were about local haunts. He also wrote about soldiers and war as the loss of life during the Napoleonic Wars had an affect on him.

Tannahill founded a Burns Club in Paisley in 1803 at the Sun Tavern in High Street and James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was a guest there. Like [60] Robert Burns before him, Tannahill showed an understanding of humanity, love and friendship. He published a collection of his works in 1807 and they were well received. However, when another group of poems was rejected by an Edinburgh publisher he burned many of his writings. He was often prone to bouts of depression and he drowned himself in a canal in Paisley on 17 May 1810.

In 1883 a series of concerts were held on Gleniffer Braes and the money raised paid for a statue to Paisley's most famous poet (see above). It was erected close to Paisley Abbey.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: NOVA SCOTIA FAREWELL
From: GUEST,Rich
Date: 19 Oct 04 - 02:16 PM

This version is more in keeping with the version by Ian and Sylvia in the 60's. You can find their rendition on the album "Northern Passage," which has been re-released on CD.

http://www.strangesandwich.com/kimnovak/mt/songs/archives/nova_scotia_farewell.php

NOVA SCOTIA FAREWELL

The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on ev'ry tree
All nature seemed inclined to rest
But still there was no rest for me

Chorus:
Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
And when I am far away on the briny oceans tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

I grieve to leave my native land
I grieve to leave my comrades all
And my aged parents whom I always held so dear
And the bonnie, bonnie lass that I do adore

The drums they do beat and the wars do alarm
The captain calls, we must obey
So farewell, farewell to Nova Scotia's charms
For it's early in the morning I am far, far away

I have three brothers and they are at rest
Their arms are folded on their breast
But a poor simple sailor just like me
Must be tossed and driven on the dark blue sea

Subject: RE: Farewell to Nova Scotia --lyrics request
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Oct 04 - 03:56 PM

The words sung by Ian and Sylvia are the same as those given here in the DT and only slightly different from those in "The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs," pp. 56-57; also see thread 63989, which has a DT Study of the song, Farewell Study which includes the Penguin text.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From: GUEST,Patrick Cormier Nova Scotia
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 09:53 AM

I'm a musician, I play the guitar and sing, and I've been singing the song Farewell To Nova Scotia for years, I would like to know who first wrote the song and who first sang it, the first time I heard it was from Catherine MacKinnon in the late 50's, any help would be great. I was always told that she was the one that first brought it out.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From:
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 09:11 PM

Patrick, if you read through the messages here, and some of the other threads, you will see that Robert Tannahill would be credited with the writing of the original. The modifications to change it were done anonymously. It's suggested that someone around the turn of the 20th century, perhaps an itinerant school teacher, taught it to kids in the schools in and around the Petpeswick area. There was one singer prior to Catherine who sang the song, but it definitely was Catherine who made it popular.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 11:18 PM

The DTStudy Thread, 63989, has the best information.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From:
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 03:07 AM

Sylvia Tyson covered this on "Touch the Earth" her excellent radio program from the 1970's. She talked to a woman who collected the song from Petpeswic in the 1930's. Just trying to help. I have a tape of it somewhere. I will look. Terry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From:
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 05:01 PM

That would have been Helen Creighton. 1932 was the year she collected it for the first time, I believe in the early part of August.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From: GUEST,Dennis
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 08:33 AM

I've been reading the Nova Scotia Farewell lyrics posted here. They're fine as far as the song goes in general. But, if you're interested in how it actually was sung by Ian & Sylvia, the wording is slightly different in a few spots. Try these...

The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on ev'ry tree
All nature seemed inclined for to rest
But still there was no rest for me

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean toss
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

I grieve to leave my native land
I grieve to leave my comrades all
And my aged parents whom I've always held so dear
And the bonnie, bonnie lass that I do adore

The drums do beat and the wars do alarm
The captain calls, I must obey
So farewell, farewell to Nova Scotia's charm
For it's early in the morning I am far, far away

I have three brothers and they are at rest
Their arms a-folded on their breast
But a poor and simple sailor just like me
Must be tossed and driven on the dark blue sea

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From:
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 08:51 AM

Ian and Syliva's version IS slightly different, but not so much that it's significant. The original words are still the way most people sing it, and many people do slight variances on it.

If we'd put in every version like that, we'd be seeing about 4 times the messages in this thread.

Terry, if you ever locate that tape, I bet it was Dr. Helen Creighton. She died in 1990 if I remember rightly, so it would have been quite a long time back that Sylvia interviewed her.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to Nova Scotia
From: GUEST,Dan in Nova Scotia
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 07:45 PM

Hello Folks,

There were several people whom Helen collected this song from, one being, I believe, Walter Roast from Petpeswick near Musquodoboit up the Eastern Shore. In fact during the reign of Singalong Jubilee on CBC the crew went up and recorded Walter singing the song from the fishing dock near his home. However, most of the folks Helen collected this song from came form the Petpeswick/Musquodoboit area. There is also another variant collected which I varied myself, Farewell My Lassie-O.

Much of this information can be found in Clary Croft's biography on Helen Creighton: Helen Creighton: Canada's First Lady of Folklore.

Good Luck and Good Hunting.

Cheers,

Dan