Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo

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Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo

07 Jan 99 - 03:15 AM (#52474)
Subject: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Martin Ryan

Anyone got any background on this one? In Ireland it is usually traced back to Elizabeth Cronin of Cork (as mentioned in the DT version). I have seen it in one 19 c. songster (Hardings) published in Ireland. I think "Shanties from the Seven Seas" also mentions it but I can't remember if he gives sources.

Regards

07 Jan 99 - 01:00 PM (#52565)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Liam's Brother

Hi Martin!

I looked in Stan's "Songs of the Sea," "Sea Shanties" and "Shanties from the Seven Seas" for you without success. You are quite right about Mrs. Cronin. However, I did see some mention of it elsewhere within the last couple of weeks. I will put the little grey cells to work and reply when I when I come up with a lead for you.

All the best, Dan

11 Jan 99 - 03:39 PM (#53462)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: bigJ

Hey Dan, Try Stan's 'Shanties from the Seven Seas' again pp474-475, where it's under'Aboard the Kangaroo' & 'On Board of the Kangaroo' and credited to a Mr Elwell of the Isle of Man, Stanley Slade from Bristol and Elizabeth Cronin via Seamus Ennis.

11 Jan 99 - 04:53 PM (#53479)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Liam's Brother

Got me! Blast it! And I was on such a roll!

11 Jan 99 - 04:57 PM (#53480)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Martin Ryan.

And I hadn't returned home to check! Thanks, bigJ. Mind you, the Harding songster still holds the record. I suspect Mrs. Cronin (who was a well read teacher) may have got it there. Now that I think of it, I remember a relative of hers (nephew?) talking about publishing a book on her life and songs. Haven't heard of it yet.

Regards

11 Jan 99 - 04:59 PM (#53481)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Bob Bolton

G'day all,

I know that I have this on a few Australian LPs - appropriated to the Australian canon on the basis of having the word 'kangaroo'... almost as good as the way that songs get appropriated in to the Irish fold ... if they contain the word 'green' (or rhyme with it), mention whisk(e)y or end up in a fight.

If no other mudcatter comes up with a good source, I will get the words (and maybe transcribe tune to produce an ABC?MIDItext).

Regards,

Bob Bolton

12 Jan 99 - 06:51 AM (#53625)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: alison

Hi,

The tune is in the database.. Here is some info taken from "Folk songs and ballads popular in Ireland -book 4".

At the back of the book it says "Rediscovered by Christy Moore, the song was origianlly (field) recorded by Elizabeth Cronin of Macroom Co Cork......" It also mentions a collection of songs made by Martin Freeman and published in 4 volumes in the journal of the Folk Song Society between January 1920 and September 1921.

Slainte

alison

12 Jan 99 - 09:32 AM (#53644)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Martin Ryan.

Thanks Alison. I'd be interested in the details from the Journal, if anyone has them to hand. I presume its the (English) Folk song and dance society?

Regards

18 May 00 - 04:49 AM (#229781)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: MartinRyan

The recent publication of Bess Cronin's songs reminded me of this thread. The book mentions that Burl Ives recorded it at one stage - but the author coluldn't trace details. Anyone got any idea of the album/date? A web search produced THIS which quotes Ives's "Irish Song Book". Now that I think of it - I'm sure there's a copy of that in the Irish Traditional Music Archive.

Regards

18 May 00 - 04:32 PM (#230086)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: John Moulden

The Burl Ives recording was Decca DL8444. The ballad printer Sanderson (Edinburgh) had it in his catalogue but I have never seen a print. Stanley Slade was recorded and the recording is avalable on Folktracks 30-207 "Mister Shellback"

When I was helping Daibhí Ó Cróinín with references and background he gave me a draft copy of the Elizabeth Cronoin book. It contains an American ref which was left out of the substantive volume because it had not been seen. Henry De Marsan (New York Publisher & Printer) Singers' Journal vol 31 p 213.

18 May 00 - 05:05 PM (#230108)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: John Moulden

Gotcha!

Greig-Duncan Volume 6 pp 365-367: five versions or fragments all collected around 1906. The notes say "Composed by the music hall performer, Harry Clifton and published in 1856"

The first of Greig's notations bears a note "Composed by Harry Clifton"

18 May 00 - 05:05 PM (#230110)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: John Moulden

Gotcha!

Greig-Duncan Volume 6 pp 365-367: five versions or fragments all collected around 1906. The notes say "Composed by the music hall performer, Harry Clifton and published in 1856"

The first of Greig's notations bears a note "Composed by Harry Clifton"

19 May 00 - 02:31 PM (#230649)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: MartinRyan

Thanks John!

19 May 00 - 02:52 PM (#230662)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,bigJ

According to Michael Kilgarriff's book 'Sing Us One of the Old Songs' Harry Clifton (1824-1872) was also responsible for 'The Calico Printer's Clerk'; 'Dark Girl Dressed in Blue';'I'll Go and Enlist for a Soldier';'Lannigan's Ball'; 'Paddle Your Own Canoe';'Ten Minutes Too Late';'The Watercress Girl' and 'On Board the Kangaroo'.

24 Apr 03 - 08:50 PM (#939626)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,Glyn Davies

Plus of course: "Work Boys Work (And Be Contented)", "Up With The Lark In The Morning (Merry And Wise)", "I Am One Of The Olden Time (Fifty Years Ago)", "Bear It Like A Man", "My Rattling Mare And I", "It's Better To Laugh Than To Cry (or, Careless Joe)" which features a coloured lithograph on the front cover, and "The Way To Be Happy".

Most of these seem to have been published by Hopwood & Crew of 42 New Bond Street, London, including the version of the song I've got which is called "On Board Of The Kangaroo". They all retailed at 3 shillings, but the only dated copy I have (which is of the Musical Million re-issue of "Silent The Shadows Fall, a vocal serenade by N S Gilbert"), is 1898 and that's hand-written on the cover.

Does anyone have any idea of the chronology of these songs? I'd be interested to hear any information.

24 Apr 03 - 09:01 PM (#939632)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,Glyn Davies

PS: I forgot to say that "Kangaroo" et al were all "Written Composed and Sung with Immense Success by Harry Clifton"!

24 Apr 03 - 09:27 PM (#939648)
Subject: Lyr Add: ABOARD THE KANGAROO
From: Charley Noble

What our group Roll & Go sings is somewhat different than what's in the DT:

ABOARD THE KANGAROO

(Composed by the music hall performer,
Harry Clifton and published in 1856
As sung by Bob Roberts and
adapted by Norris Dale, 1998)

C--G7---------------------C----G7--C
Oh, once I was a wa-ter-man and lived a life of ease,
-------------F—C-------F------C----G7---C
But now I am a mar-in-er and plow the ang-ry seas.

Chorus:

G--------C
I ne-ver thought she would be false,
F
Or ever prove un-true,
----C
As we sailed away from Bristol Quay
-----------G7------C
A-board the Kan-ga-roo!

I thought I'd like seafarin' life, so I bid my love adieu,
And shipped aboard as bosun's mate, aboard the Kangaroo...

My love, she was no foolish girl, her age is was two score;
My love she was no spinister, she'd been married twice before...

You would not think it was her wealth that stole me heart away;
She was starcher at a launderer's for eighteen pence a day...

Paid off, I sought her dwelling place, 'twas high on Munjoy Hill;
Where an ancient dame upon the stoop was tossing out the swill...

"Where is my love?" "She's married, sir, about six months ago,
To a smart young man who's skipper of a bark that trades the coast in coal..."

Farewell to dreams of married bliss, of soapsuds and the blue;
Farewell to all you Bristol gals, you're fickled minded too...

I'll seek some distant foreign shore, no longer will I stay;
An' on some Chinese Hottentot I'll waste my life away...

Note: Munjoy Hill is the site of a traditional watchtower in Portland, constructed in 1807 to keep track of USO's, Unidentified Sailing Objects.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

24 Apr 03 - 11:48 PM (#939703)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Melani

I recently got hold of a book about Myles Keogh, a captain in Custer's Seventh Cavalry who for many years was best known for the fact that his horse Comanche survived the Little Bighorn (Keogh didn't). Turns out he "sailed away from Liverpool quay on board of the Kangaroo" on March 19, 1862, headed for the American Civil War, where he made a name for himself fighting with McClellan, Buford and Stoneman.

25 Apr 03 - 08:10 AM (#939838)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: A Wandering Minstrel

Probably completely unconnected but in my minds ear I can hear Artie Tresize singing

The man at the docks he told me

I have two ships for you

The one is the "Georgie Walker"

and the other "The Kangaroo"

But where and when momentarily escapes me

25 Apr 03 - 09:58 AM (#939905)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: nutty

Harry Clifton 1832 - 1872 was a writer and performer of broadside ballads.
There are a number of broadsides accredited to him in the Bodleian Library, this probably being his most well known
Polly Perkins

Although there are copies of the songs listed above .... including, On Board the Kangaroo, I can't find a direct reference that they were written by Clifton

25 Apr 03 - 07:28 PM (#940340)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: radriano

"I've got the Josie Walker besides the Kangaroo," is a line from the capstan shanty "Heave Away My Johnnies."

This is from F.P. Harlow's book, "Chanteying Aboard American Ships, 1962."

Hello Martin, hope you're doing well.

Regards,
Radriano

13 Jun 03 - 11:56 PM (#966873)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,The Dutchman

Actually, I'm afraid that I can trace it only back to a very old Burl Ives album from which I learned it....'tis always a big hit when I perform it! "Twas also performed by a good friend, Robbie O'Connell who claims he taught it to me...(I deny it but he may be right...).

12 Nov 03 - 12:07 PM (#1052494)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,Nova Scotia

Hey the Kangaroo really was a ship! My great grandfather sailed on and survived her sinking in the Crimean War, 1856.

Could this be the very ship of which people sing?

--Bruce Nunn
write me here: novascotiaknowitall@yahoo.ca

12 Nov 03 - 03:19 PM (#1052632)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Joe Offer

Not much in the Traditional Ballad Index on this one.
-Joe Offer-

Good Ship Kangaroo, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes to sea on the Kangaroo. His sweetheart gives him a token to remember her by. On his return home, he learns the she has run off with another man. He vows to go to a foreign shore and "throw [him]self away" on a foreign girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955
KEYWORDS: love separation sailor return infidelity
FOUND IN: Ireland Australia
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Meredith/Anderson, p. 60, "Aboard of the Kangaroo" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SHPKNGR*
Roud #925
File: MA060

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Instructions

12 Nov 03 - 03:29 PM (#1052639)
Subject: ADD Version: Aboard of the Kangaroo
From: Joe Offer

Meredith/Hansen's Folksongs of Australia has just a fragment, but more of a tune that we have in the DT:

[4 lines missing]

from the singing of Alf Fuller, Concord, Australia

Click to play

12 Nov 03 - 04:53 PM (#1052699)
Subject: ADD Version: On Board of the Kangaroo
From: Joe Offer

This is the second version from Stanley Slade, from Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas

ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO

1. At first I was a waiter man that lived at home at ease
But now I am a mariner that ploughs the angry seas
I always liked seafaring life, and bit my love adieu
I shipped as steward and cook, my boys, on board of the Kangaroo

CHORUS
Oh, I never thought she would prove false,
Or either prove untrue,
Till we sailed away through Milford Bay,
On board o' the Kangaroo.

2. 'Oh, think of me, oh, think of me,' she mournfully did say,
'When you are in a foreign land and I am far away.
Take this lucky threepenny bit, 'twill make you bear in mind
Of a loving, trusting faithful heart you have left in tears behind.'
Oh, I never thought she would prove false...

3. 'Cheer up, cheer up, my own true love, don't weep so bitterly,'
She sobbed, she sighed, she choked, she cried, and could not say goodbye.
'Oh, I won't be gone so very long, just but a month or two,
And when I will return again, of course I'll marry you.'
Ch. Oh, I never, etc.

4. Our vessel she was homeward bound from many a foreign shore,
And many a foreign present unto my love I bore.
I brought tortoises from Teneriffe and ties from Timbuctoo,
A china rat, a Bengal cat, and a Bombay cockatoo.

5. Paid off I sought her dwelling in a suburb of the town,
Where an ancient dame upon a line was hanging out her gown.
'Where is my love?' 'She's married, sir, about six months ago,
To a smart young man that drives the van for Chapping, Son and Co.'

6. Here's a health to dreams of married life, to soap, to suds, and blue,
Hearts, true lovers, patent starch and washing soda too.
I will go unto some distant shore, no longer can I stay,
And on some China Hottentot I'll throw myself away.

7. My true love she's not a foolish girl, her age it is two score,
My love she's not a spinster, she was married twice before.
I cannot say it was her wealth that stole me heart away,
She's a starcher and a laundress for eighteen-pence a day.

Click to play

12 Nov 03 - 05:10 PM (#1052706)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Wolfgang

"throw [him]self away" on a foreign girl
The Traditional Ballad index says here something else than what I remember from Planxty's liner notes to this song. For them 'China hottentot' was opium and not a foreign girl.

Wolfgang

12 Nov 03 - 05:13 PM (#1052711)
Subject: ADD Version: Aboard the Kangaroo
From: Joe Offer

This is the first of the two versions from Stanley Slade, from Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas. This one is about the same as what Charley Noble posted above, but I thought I'd inclued this one since it's from a documented source.

ABOARD THE KANGAROO

1. Once I was a waterman an' lived a life of ease
But now I am a mariner ploughing the angry seas

CHORUS
I never thought she would be false
Or ever prove untrue
As we sailed away from Bristol quay
On board of the Kangaroo

2. I thought I'd like seafarin' life, so I bid my love adieu,
And sailed away as bosun's mate, aboard of the Kangaroo.

3. You would not say it was her wealth that stole me heart away,
She was starcher at a launderer's for eighteen-pence a day.

4. My love she was no foolish girl, her age it was two-score,
My love she was no spinster, she'd been married twice before.

5. Paid off I sought her dwelling 'way on Bristol Down,
Where an ancient dame upon a line was hangin' out her gown.

6. 'Where is my love?' 'She's married, sir, about six months ago,
To a smart young man who's commander of a barge that trades in
coal.

7. Farewell to dreams of married life, to soapsuds and the blue,
Farewell to all the Bristol gals, they're fickle-minded too.

8. I'll seek some distant foreign clime, no longer will I stay,
An' on some Chinese Hottentot I'll throw this life away!

from Hugill's notes: As to the name of the ship Mr. Slade writes: 'There was a schooner named Kangaroo, 84 registered tons, built at Douglas in 1867, and owned by Mrs. Eleanor Qualtrough of Douglas, I.O.M. There were also two others, one owned in Halifax, N.S., and one in St. John's, New foundland.' There was a sailing steamer also named Kangaroo.

Click to play

There are two full versions, some tunes, and a fragment in the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection. I'll post the lyrics an tune if anybody wants them, but they're more-or-less the same as the two Hugill versions.

-Joe Offer-

12 Nov 03 - 08:45 PM (#1052818)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Herga Kitty

I think I remember both Eric Ilott and Nic Jones singing this.

13 Nov 03 - 01:41 AM (#1052895)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Phot

The Cornwall(UK) based shanty crew, Hanging Johnny, do a good rendition of this shanty on their CD "To pass away the time."
They do hawe a web site, but I can't think of the address at the moment.

Wassail!

Chris

11 Dec 03 - 12:56 PM (#1070355)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,Ffred Clegg

I wonder if there is also a Welsh connection here?

I came recently across a reference to a Swansea man who ran foul of the Poor Law authorities for not maintaining his family and who was a sailor on the Kangaroo (late 1840s this time).

Given that some versions reference Milford Bay and the known connections between South Wales and Cork, are there any takers for this theory?

11 Dec 03 - 03:26 PM (#1070451)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,JohnB

Peter Kennedy does this song, although I don't remember his source.
JohnB

11 Dec 03 - 03:33 PM (#1070458)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Malcolm Douglas

I don't think I've ever heard Peter Kennedy sing, though I suppose he must do. He certainly recorded Kangaroo from Harry Cox of Catfield in Norfolk, back in 1963.

06 Jul 06 - 12:52 AM (#1777301)
Subject: Lyr Add: ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO (Harry Clifton)
From: Jim Dixon

Transcribed from the sheet music at The National Library of Australia (I have corrected some "eye dialect" such as "forrin" for "foreign" etc.):

ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO
Harry Clifton [1865?]

1. Once I was a waterman and lived at home in ease.
Now I am a mariner and plough the angry seas.
I thought I'd like seafarin' life, so bid my love adieu,
And shipped as cook and steward, boys, on board o' the Kangaroo.

CHORUS: I never thought she would be false or ever prove untrue
When we sailed away from Milford Bay on board o' the Kangaroo.

2. My love she was no foolish girl; her age it was two score.
My love was not a spinster; she'd been married twice before.
And they could not say it was her wealth that stole my heart away;
She was a starcher at a laundress's for eighteen pence a day.

3. "Oh, think of me, oh, think of me," she mournfully did say,
"When you are in a foreign land carousin' far away;
And take this lucky thrup'ny bit. 'Twill make you bear in mind
The loving, faithful, trusting heart you leave in tears behind."

4. "Cheer up, cheer up, my own true love. Don't weep so bitterly."
But she sobbed, and sighed, and choked, and cried, and couldn't say goodbye.
"I shan't be gone so very long, only months a few.
And when I does come back again, in course, I'll marry you."

5. Our vessel it was homeward bound from many a foreign shore,
And many a foreign present unto my love I bore.
There was tortoises from Tenerife, and toys from Timbuktu,
A Chinese rat, and a Bengal cat, and a Bombay cockatoo.

6. Paid off, I sought her dwellin' in the suburbs of the town.
A hancient dame upon a line was hanging out a gown.
"Where is my love?" "She's married, sir, about six months ago,
To a smart young man what drives a van for Chaplin, Horne and Co."

7. Farewell to dreams of married life, to soap, to suds and blue;
To Glenfield starch and Harper Twelvetrees' washing powder too.
I'll seek some far and distant clime. I can no longer stay,
And on some Chinese Hottentot I'll throw myself away.

Click to play

06 Jul 06 - 01:14 PM (#1777465)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Snuffy

"Product Placement" seems to be nothing new:

According to this site Chaplin, Horne and Co was described at the time as the largest coaching and carrying business in Great Britain, but was taken over by the London & North Western Railway in 1878
Glenfield starch (bottom left)
Harper Twelvetrees' washing powder

06 Jul 06 - 05:05 PM (#1777669)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Charley Noble

I personally like the line from Joe's first post:

"I always liked seafaring life, and BIT my love adieu..."

Some aspiring sea cooks are indeed serpant like!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

07 Jul 06 - 12:43 PM (#1778305)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Jim Dixon

Thanks for the links, Snuffy. It's hard to explain why, but I find the mentioning of specific brand names in this song adds significantly to its humor. I think the term for this is "bathos"—not a word I use often; in fact, I think this is the first time I've ever used it. Just to be sure I was on safe ground, I looked it up: "An abrupt, unintended transition in style from the exalted to the commonplace, producing a ludicrous effect." Fine, but I'm sure the effect was intended in this case—intended by Harry Clifton, that is, not by the fictional narrator.

07 Jul 06 - 04:16 PM (#1778436)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Les from Hull

When Harry Clifton talks about 'blue', he presumably means:

Reckitt's Blue

Reckitt's Blue was also 'from Hull'.

08 Jul 06 - 10:49 AM (#1778905)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Snuffy

But Dolly Blue was from Bolton.

08 Jul 06 - 12:22 PM (#1778933)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Billy Weeks

Blue powder has been (perhaps now more correct to say was?) used for at least the last three hundred years to make whites look whiter, but I don't think Clifton could have meant Reckitt's Blue. I believe that trade name came into use long after his death. Sorry - hardly worth commenting on - but what I do think is interesting is the frequency with which Clifton's songs (not always identified as such at the outset) appear in this forum. Lots of feral songs can be traced to a theatre or music hall origin, but some writers and singers seem to achieve a particularly high score in this respect and Clifton must be among the top four or five.

08 Jul 06 - 12:32 PM (#1778935)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Snuffy

If Clifton died in 1872, Reckitts had been producing their blue for the previous twenty years. From the Reckitt's site that Les linked to:

This laundry starch company began producing laundry blue in 1852 by using a combination of a synthetic ultramarine and sodium bicarbonate. The advent of using this synthetic made the product affordable to the masses since the active ingredient was previously made by grinding the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli.

08 Jul 06 - 01:39 PM (#1778965)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Billy Weeks

That seems authoritative. I stand corrected.

09 Jul 06 - 08:20 AM (#1779396)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: Betsy

Late 1960's there was a little manfacturing plant Reckitts Dolly Blue bags just off the A6 on the Barrow Road, I was working at Ulverston at the time.

Also, rhyming-slang South of the River Tees, Middlesbrough.
Haven't gotta Dolly (Blue) ....... i.e. I haven't got a clue.

10 Jul 06 - 09:53 AM (#1780303)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton)
From: MartinRyan

Good stuff...

Regards

08 Nov 06 - 04:51 AM (#1878896)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: GUEST,Amanda Kerby

For those of us searching for the ship info this thread has been very useful, thanks!! I had an ancestor who joined the ship KANGAROO in 1812, and have a double page from teh Captains log from Kew records recording a terrible storm it went through in 1815 in Halifax. So I wonder if this was the Nova Scotia owned ship. Wondered if the lister from Nova Scotia has ancestor on this same ship?
Amanda

08 Nov 06 - 05:39 AM (#1878921)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Betsy

To guest Ffred Clegg and the question: - any Welsh connection?
Google "Milford Haven "and view History.
There is no doubt that Milford was a most important port in its time.
Amongst other things, in 1649 Cromwell sailed from Milford Haven to Ireland with large army which he claimed would accomplish "final settlement of the Irish problem".
Cheers,

Betsy

08 Nov 06 - 11:36 AM (#1879168)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: ossonflags

I got the version I do of a Planxty recording.I think it was the last LP they put out in the 1980's

08 Nov 06 - 12:42 PM (#1879225)
Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo?
From: Fidjit

All part of Tescos stock Snuffy ??

Chas

09 Nov 06 - 11:13 AM (#1880239)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Geoff the Duck

If you want an explanation of different types of Blue LOOK HERE (near the bottom of the page)!
Quack!
GtD.

09 Nov 06 - 12:41 PM (#1880330)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,Paul Mercer

A live version performed by Nic Jones in the 70s(?) has been issued on one of the fine compilations of Jones' live and/or radio recordings. The CD title is "In Search of Nic Jones." The label is Mollie Music (Nic and Julia's private label).

10 Nov 06 - 06:03 AM (#1881065)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Flash Company

Can't remember where I got this one from, but I know I sang it a time or two, I had the first line as:-

Once I was like any man who stays at home at ease....

And I used to change the profession of the 'lost love'to fit my surroundings:-

Twas not her wealth and property that stole me heart away,
She's a bouncer at a folk club for very little pay.

or on one occasion:-

She's a scrubber at a knocking shop for three and six a day

FC

10 Nov 06 - 07:40 PM (#1882703)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Charley Noble

FC-

"She's a bouncer at a folk club for very little pay."

I like that line!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

10 Nov 06 - 09:11 PM (#1882774)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,thurg

Doesn't sound like the toughest line of work though - not like being a bouncer in, say, a biker bar ...

30 May 10 - 12:35 AM (#2917017)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Joe Offer

Thanks to Artful Codger, MIDI added for Harry Clifton's "On Board the Kangaroo."

Click to play

29 Oct 10 - 07:08 AM (#3018364)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,shipcmo

refresh

29 Oct 10 - 07:53 AM (#3018387)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Charley Noble

I wonder how much singers got for "product placement" in their songs.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

22 Nov 11 - 06:11 PM (#3261772)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: MartinRyan

refresh

16 Apr 12 - 01:00 PM (#3339107)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Phil Edwards

I've just recorded this for 52 Folk Songs:

On board the 'Kangaroo'

My source was Tony Rose's version, which was a generation or so away from the original and had lost the trade names.

16 Apr 12 - 01:47 PM (#3339121)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Steve Gardham

There's a pristine copy of the original sheet music for £20 down Cecil Court back of Leicester Square tube station. Can't remember the name of the shop but it specialises in sheet music. As you go into the shop the sheet music is flat on shelves under a counter on your left. I left this copy on the top of a pile a couple of weeks back.
Needless to say I can't afford it or I'd have got it.

16 Apr 12 - 09:23 PM (#3339323)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Greg B

Oh, Steve, if "Cruelty to Yanks" were only a crime, you'd be up in the Old Bailey in a trice.

17 Apr 12 - 03:14 PM (#3339641)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Steve Gardham

Greg,
I could easily find the details of the shop and you could email them and pay by PayPal?

17 Apr 12 - 04:14 PM (#3339668)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Steve Gardham

Travis and Emery is the name of the shop. They have a website.

18 Apr 12 - 08:48 AM (#3339959)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: clueless don

I know this song from the Planxty version. This is how I have always interpreted it (unencumbered by documentation or other facts!):

This fellow returns home, having been at sea longer than he originally planned, and finds that his true love has married another (specifically the smart young man who drives the van.) Broken-hearted, he finds another love - a "China Hottentot". I interpret this as a "foreign lady", as mentioned in previous posts, not as opium or other drugs. It is this "China Hottentot" whose age is two score, and who is a washer in the laundry for one-and-nine a day.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Don

18 Apr 12 - 02:19 PM (#3340001)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Phil Edwards

Doesn't work - the laundry references run right through, to the point in the last verse where he says farewell to patent starch (etc)... and hello to "some Chinese hottentot".

18 Apr 12 - 03:45 PM (#3340056)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: The Sandman

the song was collected in the fifties from elizabeth cronin of macroom by seamus ennis

18 Jun 16 - 04:52 PM (#3796464)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,Tilly

Clueless Don,

It definitely depends on the version you hear. The version I've heard is Bram Taylor's from his album 'Bide Awhile,' which has the verses in an order that leads me to the same conclusion as you.

09 Oct 21 - 08:56 AM (#4122396)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,bthebert

Harry Clifton (1824-1872)
The earliest surviving sheet music was published in 1865, words credited to Harry Clifton and music to John Candy, and published in 1856.
http://folksongandmusichall.com/index.php/on-board-o-the-kangaroo/
https://www.contemplator.com/sea/kangaroo.html

09 Oct 21 - 09:17 AM (#4122397)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST,bthebert

At first I thought the verse: "To a fine young man that drives a van for Chapman Son & Co.” meant it had to be a 20th Century song, but then I looked up Chapman Son and Co. and found out they have been around since the 18th c. I also looked up the origin of "Van" and found out in the late 19th century, when it was written, Van was a common shortening of "Caravan," which also meant "covered horse-drawn wagon" dates from the early 19th century.

11 Oct 21 - 05:50 AM (#4122579)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: The Sandman

a tutorial on how to accompany on English concertina if anyone is intersted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlKZphms-Fo

11 Oct 21 - 09:45 AM (#4122604)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: Steve Gardham

Mick McGarry of Spare Hands sings this Clifton song.

11 Oct 21 - 10:27 AM (#4122610)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: gillymor

I fell for this song since I first heard the Planxty intro on After the Break and still sing it. I've always assumed, for no good reason, that China Hottentot, or Chinese Hottentot in the Nick Jones version, referred to opium.

11 Oct 21 - 05:45 PM (#4122638)
Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo
From: GUEST

Dolly Blue; In 1890 Johannes Eggestorff whose father had set up an Ultramarine blue pigment factory in Hull for James Reckitt and Son acquired the vacant Backbarrow cotton mill site including the mill and all the accommodation for workers, and started to manufacture ultramarine blue powder the under the name of the Lancashire Ultramarine Company, it became so successful that the company was taken over in 1928 by Reckitt and Colman Ltd.

The factory closed in 1982 not because of lack of business but because the factory could not meet the required environmental standards, strict control of waste water and the chimneys act designed to stop air pollution. The main factory building is now the luxurious four star Whitewater Hotel which has on display in its grounds examples of machinery and inside smaller items are tastefully displayed. When you drove through Backbarrow - near Ulverston in Cumbria - the site always stood out because the walls of the mill and the banks of the River Leven were stained bright blue.