Lyr Req: Make and Break Harbour (Stan Rogers)

23 May 98 - 12:21 PM (#29060)
Subject: Make and Break Harbour: Not in database???
From: Ireland O'Reilly

Looking for the complete lyrics to Stan Rogers' "Make and Break Harbour". I know most of the words... some I'm not sure of. I searched the Database, and "Make and Break Harbour" doesn't seem to be there. Anybody help?

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23 May 98 - 12:52 PM (#29061)
Subject: Lyr Add: MAKE AND BREAK HARBOR (Stan Rogers)
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Ireland - Here is a link to the song at a Stan Rogers Web site. I think it's worth posting the lyrics here, too.
-Joe Offer-

Make And Break Harbour Stan Rogers

How still lies the bay in the bright western airs
Which blow from the crimson horizon
Once more we tack home with a dry empty hold
Saving gas with the breezes so fair
She's a kindly Cape Isander, old, but still sound
But so lost in the longliner's shadow
Make and break, and make do, but the fish are so few
That she won't be replaced should she founder

It's so hard not to think of before the big war
When the cod were so cheap and so plenty
Foreign trawlers go by now with long-seeing eyes
Taking all, where we seldom take any
And so the young folk don't stay with the fisherman's way
Long ago, they all moved to the cities
And the ones left behind, old, tired, and blind
Can't work for "a pound or a penny".

Chorus:

In Make and Break Harbour the boats are so few
Too many are pulled up and rotten
Most houses stand empty, old nets hung to dry
Are blown away, lost and forgotten.

I can see the big draggers have stirred up the bay
Leaving lobster traps smashed on the bottom
Can they think it don't pay to respect the old ways
That Make and Break men have not forgotton?

For we still keep our time to the turn of the tide
And this boat that I built with my father
Still lifts to the sky! The one lunger and I
Still talk like old friends on the water.

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24 May 98 - 02:40 PM (#29145)
Subject: RE: Make and Break Harbour: Not in database???
From: Ireland O'Reilly

Joe - Thanks a bunch!

P.S. If anyone's interested, the Stan Rogers Folk Festival is on July 3-5, 1998 in Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada. I'm going to post more info on this for anyone who's interested.

cheers,

Ireland

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28 May 03 - 10:01 AM (#960474)
Subject: Tune Add: Make and Break Harbour (Stan Rogers)
From: MMario

X:1
T:Make and Break Harbour
C:Stan Rogers
N:'Songs from Fogarty's Bay'
I:abc2nwc
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:D
z4F,2|A,2D2D D-|D2z2F E|D2C D E2-|
w:How still lies the bay_ in the light west-ern airs_
E2z2E2|G4F E|D2E2D (C/2 B,/2|A,2)A,2z2|z4A2|
w:Which blow from the crim-son hor-i__-zon Once
A3F D2|F2z2F F|G2E2D C-|C2z2A, A,|
w:more we tack home with a dry emp-ty hold_ Sav-ing
B,2z2D D|D C3(D E)|E6|z4A, A,|
w:gas with the breez-es so_ fair She's a
A,2D2D D-|D2F E3|D3C D2|E2z2F F|
w:kind-ly Cape Is_-land-er, old, but still sound But so
G4F E|D2E2D2| (3(CB,A,) A,2z2|z4A A|
w:lost in the long lin-er's sha__-dow Make and
A3F D2|F2z2zF/2 F/2|G E3D (C|B,2)z2F, G,|
w:break, and make do, but the fish are so few_ That she
A,2C2E B,-|B,2z2B, B,|A, D- D2"^chorus"z2|
w:won't be re-placed_ should she foun-der_
z4A2|B2B A3|c2B2A A-|A3F2D|
w:In Make and Break Har-bour the boats_ are so
F2z2F2|F F3zB|F2E2zD|D B,3z2|
w:few Too ma-ny are pulled up and rot-ten
z4A,2|A,2D D3|D A, z2F2|F2(E D2)D|
w:Most hous-es stand emp-ty, old nets hung_ to
G,2z3G,|A, C (D E) z2|G,2z2G, G,|A, D3z2|z8
w:dry Are blown a-way,_ lost and for-got-ten

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28 May 03 - 11:58 AM (#960552)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Make and Break Harbour (Stan Rogers)
From: Willa

Thanks for posting the tune, MMario.

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28 May 03 - 12:02 PM (#960558)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Make and Break Harbour (Stan Rogers)
From: MMario

only five years later...

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