Oh boy! Now I'm on the spot! I will post the lyrics. Copyright is in transit. I'm on the spot because Joe's been telling me to learn the Midi to text/text to midi program, and I haven't done it, so I have no melody for you yet. Perhaps a tape is in order. Well, here it is!

The Glorious Billowing Sails by Margo White

There's a ship and she's sailing the bounding main,
She's a four masted barque and she's headed for Spain
Her crew's at the ready, their stations all manned!
But the year's eighteen thirty four,
And I'm afraid that we'll see her no more.

Chorus:

And gone are the glorious billowing sails,
Past are the long months at sea hunting whales
No more are there privateers scouring the seas
But there's one thing remains the same;
We all love the bounding main,
We all love the bounding main!

Oh! Shantyman, give us a song for the pull!
A song about rum, or the girls of Callao!
We'll heave on the halyards and up she will go,
But the shantyman's voice sings no more,
And his songs are sung only on shore.

Chorus

We'll man the good capstan and spin her around!
There's a crowd on the pier that's come down from the town
They cheer us on wildly as we unfurl the sails!
But the cargo ships now leave alone,
In silence, completely unknown.

Chorus

So all you young people take a warning by me;
There's beauty in the ships and the songs of the sea,
But if you wont's sing them their memory will fade.
That is why you must sing this song,
Sing it out loud and strong!

Chorus


Th' that's all, folks! I was fortunate to have Jonathan Lay singing with me (he's the one who wrote the song about the New Carissa). I was caught by surprise by an unexpected case of nerves.

By the way, I didnt' know it but Victory music, who put on the contest, is a non profit organization there in Tacoma. More about them later. Tacoma guitars are vieing (sic)for third place as one of our country's leading guitar manufacturers. I presume they mean third in sales. I had never heard of them, but why would I? I'm not in the market, and I play concertina more than my guitar.

Now I'm rambling. Gotta get back to work (clean the house!)Y'all know I'm a housewifey, right?

Margarita