Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer (Arthur Hale)

To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café ^TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=56758
28 messages

Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer (Arthur Hale)

12 Feb 03 - 05:04 PM (#888890)
Subject: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

Help me please. I was approached with a request for this today, and although did not Know the song, I have seen it. I just can't remember where. I'm pretty sure this is not the same song the digiTrad has as The Yankee Man-of-War. When requested I seemed to remember the song being about John Paul Jones. This person seemed to think it was about the War of 1812. Now I don't know if I'm looking for 2 songs or 1. However I do recall seeing it somewhere, and can't remember where. Would any one have any idea if or where this song is published? Hell, I may have it in one of my many books at home, I just can't put my fingers on it.

12 Feb 03 - 05:46 PM (#888924)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Jon Bartlett

The Stately Southerner in the DT is also known (at least by Colcord) as "The Yankee Man-of-War". Could that be it? SS is in the DT and in Colcord too at pp 61-2.

Jon Bartlett

12 Feb 03 - 06:33 PM (#888951)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: GUEST,Q

The Yankee Privateer is on several cds, but I can't find the lyrics. It is in Songs of Rebels and Redcoats, put out by the National Geographic Society.

12 Feb 03 - 06:50 PM (#888967)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE YANKEE PRIVATEER (Arthur Hale)
From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca

Could it be this one? From http://theworld.com/~dduncan/poetry/yankprivateer.html

THE YANKEE PRIVATEER

July, 1779
Edward Everett Hale says, in New England History in Ballads, originally published in 1893:

The incident referred to in this ballad is perfectly authenticated. Of the ten prizes taken by Whipple in succssive nights, nine arrived safely into Massachusetts harbors.

"Old Whipple" is Abraham Whipple, one of the Rhode Island Vikings. After the war he went out with Abraham Cutter to Marietta, and he is thus one of the founders of the State of Ohio. At Marietta he built the first ship which ever went to sea from Ohio. A good deal of ship-building was carried on in Ohio after the success of this voyage The ships were built where timber was plenty, and were then sent down the rivers to "Orleans" never to return to their birthplace.

Come listen and I'll tell you
How first I went to sea,
To fight against the British
And earn our liberty.
We shipped with Cap'n Whipple
Who never knew a fear,
The Captain of the Providence,
The Yankee Privateer.

We sailed and sailed
And made good cheer,
There were many pretty men
On the Yankee Privateer.

The British Lord High Admiral
He wished old Whipple harm,
He wrote that he would hang him
At the end of his yard arm.
"My Lord," wrote Cap'n Whipple back,--
"It seems to me it's clear
That if you want to hang him,
You must catch your privateer."

We sailed and we sailed
And made good cheer,
For not a British frigate
Could come near the Privateer.

We sailed to the south'ard,
And nothing did we meet
Till we found three British frigates
And their West Indian fleet.
Old Whipple shut our ports
As he crawled up near,
And he sent us all below
On the Yankee Privateer.

So slowly he sailed
We dropped to the rear,
And not a soul suspected
The Yankee Privateer.

At night we put the lights out
And forward we ran
And silently we boarded
The biggest merchantman.
We knocked down the watch,--
And the lubbers shook for fear,
She's a prize without a shot,
To the Yankee Privateer.

We sent the prize north
While we lay near
And all day we slept
On the bold Privateer.

For ten nights we followed,
And ere the moon rose,
Each night a prize we'd taken
Beneath the lion's nose.
When the British looked to see
Why their ships should disappear,
They found they had in convoy
A Yankee Privateer.

But we sailed and we sailed
And made good cheer!
Not a coward was on board
Of the Yankee Privateer.

The biggest British frigate
Bore round to give us chase,
But though he was the fleeter
Old Whipple wouldn't race
Till he'd raked her fore and aft,
For the lubbers couldn't steer,
Then he showed them the heels
Of the Yankee Privateer.

Then we sailed and we sailed
And we made good cheer,
For not a British frigate
Could come near the Privateer.

Then northward we sailed
To the town we all know,
And there lay our prizes,
All anchored in a row;
And welcome were we
To our friends so dear,
And we shared a million dollars
On the bold Privateer.

We'd sailed and we'd sailed
And we made good cheer,
We had all full pockets
On the bold Privateer.

Then we each manned a ship
And our sails we unfurled,
And we bore the Stars and Stripes
O'er the oceans of the world,
From the proud flag of Britain
We swept the seas clear,
And we earned our independence
On the Yankee Privateer.

Then landsmen and sailors,
One more cheer!
Here is three times three
For the Yankee Privateer!

12 Feb 03 - 07:19 PM (#888993)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

Wow George! I believe thats it. Thats the song I remember. Now I've got to find a tune.

Thank you very much.
Marc Bernier

12 Feb 03 - 10:47 PM (#889149)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Charley Noble

Very nice one! Have fun with it, Marc.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

13 Feb 03 - 01:33 AM (#889228)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca

You are certainly very welcome, Marc. Enjoy. Sorry I couldn't do anything about the tune.

13 Feb 03 - 01:42 AM (#889232)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca

Marc, according to the Folk Music Index:

The Yankee Privateer

Robbins, Gil; and John Townley. Songs of Rebels and Redcoats,
National Geographic Soc. 07788, LP (1972), cut#A.05

13 Feb 03 - 08:57 PM (#889974)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

Thanks again George. I have reason to beleive I may make some headway looking for the tune here at the Seaport.

13 Feb 03 - 09:31 PM (#889986)
Subject: Lyr Add: The Yankee Privateer
From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca

Lyric Add for the posting earlier. (Darn, I keep forgetting to change that).

Marc, if you do work out the tune, please either make a MIDI or ABC file for the records here. We'd appreciate it.

14 Feb 03 - 02:02 AM (#890096)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: EBarnacle1

It's also on an album that was put out relating to the sloop Providence in 1975. The title is Colonial and Revolutionary War Sea Songs and Chanteys Sung at Seaport '76 by Cliff Haslam and John Millar, issued as Folkways FH5275. There is a song sheet with it.

14 Feb 03 - 04:07 PM (#890540)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

EB you have no idea if that is still in print do you?

15 Feb 03 - 11:24 AM (#890981)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Charley Noble

Marc-

Try the Smithsonian website. Much of the Folkways collection has been re-released by them or is available on demand via a custom burned CD.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

16 Feb 03 - 05:30 PM (#891785)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

Great idea Charlie. I'll give that a try. Thanks again folks.

16 Feb 03 - 06:11 PM (#891827)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: GUEST,Jack the Sailor

FYI,

THis is the Yankee Privateer I've heard, Its a recitation by Baxter Wareham of Nfld.

Yankee Privateer

19 Feb 03 - 05:15 PM (#893789)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

Once again thank you folks. Charlie your suggestion worked. I reached Smithsonian today. They're having a tough time digging out from mondays snow, but they will burn me a CD of the album in the next few days.

19 Feb 03 - 09:41 PM (#893975)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca

Great, Marc.

20 Feb 03 - 08:31 AM (#894185)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Charley Noble

Nice to hear that Smithsonian continues to do the good work. There's a lot of old Folkways Recordings that I should get them to burn as CD's as well. Marc, what's their total charge?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

20 Feb 03 - 11:18 AM (#894305)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Willie-O

Great story from Pigeon Inlet there, Jack. I've been fortunate enough to hear that one on the radio, but that highly valuable link has a bunch more of them at:

http://www.pigeoninlet.nfnet.com/archive.htm

I had an ancestor who was a privateer out of New Brunswick in the war of 1812. It did not go well for him, lost his sloop then his farm, which he had mortgaged to fit out the sloop.

W-O

20 Feb 03 - 02:16 PM (#894472)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

I believe the cost was $19.95 for the CD, $5.00 for s&h. Which I think is perfectly affordable. Plus, in my own small way, I'm helping support the archive instead of bootlegging it off a friend or library recording, which probably would have been my next option. When I get it I'll transcribe the tune, then you guys have to teach me how to post it or get it included in our archive.

12 Mar 03 - 10:02 PM (#908708)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Snuffy

Marc, your ABC sounds perfectly good to me. Congratulations.

The tune sounds similar to one I know as "Belfast Town". If you look in this thread you will find a lot of discussion about that tune and other songs that use it, such as "The Dolphin".

Your tune is in 6/8 and the ABC Belfast posted there is in 3/4, but I think you'll agree they are closely related.

WassaiL! V

15 Mar 03 - 09:39 AM (#910636)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

So, what do I do now to make this part of our archive?

27 Apr 03 - 01:20 PM (#941298)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Marc

How does one go about adding this to our archive? Both the words and tune are here in this thread.

27 Apr 03 - 01:32 PM (#941305)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: Charley Noble

Marc-

Go back to the Lyrics and Knowledge page, go to Quick Links, go to Contact Us, go to Thread Help, and then make your request about editing the postings that contain tune and lyrics so that their new subject line has Lyr.Add. and Tune.Add. Some helpful "Joe Clone" should be willing to do that.

Charley Noble

10 Apr 10 - 08:11 PM (#2883945)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer
From: GUEST,Jim Douglas

Like a lot of songs attributed to the Revolutionary War period in many books and websites, etc. this was composed long after. The first appearance I have found is in a literary magazine, The Chautauquan, Vol. 9 #3, Dec. 1888, p. 152. The poem is attributed to an Arthur Hale. Edward Everett Hale (a relative of Arthur?) published it with the correct attribution in one one of his books, The Story of Massachusetts in 1891 (p. 298) and again in 1904 in his New England History in Ballads without the attribution where he says the incident described in the song has been verified. This is most likely the source for folks erroneously thinking 'The Yankee Privateer' is from the 1770s.

17 Sep 17 - 01:27 AM (#3877327)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer (Arthur Hale)
From: GUEST,Alice Garate

The song about John Paul Jones is called "An American Frigate". Also you can hear these songs on Youtube.

19 Sep 17 - 08:18 PM (#3877733)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Yankee Privateer (Arthur Hale)
From: Lighter

It's also called "Paul Jones."