As mentioned above William Pint set "Blue Peter" to his original tune with very little modification of Cicely Fox Smith's original words:

THE BLUE PETER (Pint)

(Words by Cicely Fox Smith, 1914, in SONGS AND CHANTIES, Elkin Mathews, pp. 24-25
also in SMALL CRAFT, ©1919, p.p. 98-99
As sung by William Pint and Felicia Dale recorded on ROUND THE CORNER, © 1997)

Last night when I left her, my true love was weeping
For sorrow at parting, but parting must be:
What use for her tears, what use to be keeping,
A lad by the fireside, that follows the sea?

For the cold day's a-breaking, the town hardly waking,
The moon like a ghost, in the pale morning sky,
Blue Peter is blowing to tell you we're going,
And the gulls in the river all calling good-bye!

The last hawser's cast, the tug-whistle's blowing,
The shore growing dim, in the mist and the rain:
And wide, very wide, is the world where we're going,
And long, very long till you see us again!

Farewell and adieu to you - still we'll be true to you,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting you, hope you'll be greeting
Some day your sailor, home from the sea!

All in the cold morning, all in the grey weather,
On the sheds, and the shipping, the rain slating down,
All hands to the capstan bars, roaring together
A stave for farewell, to the folk of the town:

Hong Kong and Vancouver, Callao and Suva,
The Cape and Kowloon, it's a very far cry,
From the slow river creeping, by houses all sleeping,
And the gulls in the wake of us, calling good-bye!
Calling good-bye!

The original words are:

Words by Cicely Fox Smith, 1914, in SONGS AND CHANTIES, Elkin Mathews, pp. 24-25
also in SMALL CRAFT, ©1919, p.p. 98-99


The Blue Peter (C. Fox Smith)


Last night when I left her my true love was weeping
For sorrow at parting, but parting must be:
What use for her tears, and what use to be keeping
A lad by the fireside that follows the sea?
For the cold day's a-breaking, the town hardly waking,
The moon like a ghost in the pale morning sky,
And the Blue Peter's blowing to tell ye we're going,
And the gulls in the river all calling good-bye!

The last hawser's cast and the tug-whistle's blowing,
The shore growing dim in the mist and the rain:
And wide, very wide, is the world where we're going,
And long, very long till ye see us again!

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting
Some day your sailormen home from the sea!

All in the cold morning, all in the grey weather,
On the sheds and the shipping the rain slating down,
All hands to the capstan bars, roaring together
A stave for farewell to the folk of the town:
Hong Kong and Vancouver, Callao and Suva,
The Cape and Kowloon, it's a very far cry
From the slow river creeping by houses all sleeping,
And the gulls in the wake of us calling good-bye!

Bob Zentz more recently has adapted the same poem to a version of the traditional forebitter "We'll Rant and We'll Roar" which I think is more in keeping with what Cicely might have been hearing in her head:

Words by Cicely Fox Smith in SMALL CRAFT, ©1919, p.p. 98-99
As sung by Bob Zentz
Tune: traditional "We'll Rant and We'll Roar"

The Blue Peter (Bob Zentz)

Last night when I left her my true love was weeping
For sorrow at parting, but parting must be:
What use for her tears, what use to be keeping
A lad by the fireside that follows the sea?
For the cold day's a-breaking, the town hardly waking,
The moon like a ghost in the pale morning sky,
And Blue Peter's blowing to tell ye we're going,
And the gulls in the river are calling good-bye!

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting;
Some day your sailor come home from the sea!

The last hawser's cast and the tug-whistle's blowing,
The shore growing dim, in the mist and the rain:
And wide, very wide, is the world where we're going,
And long, very long till we see you again!

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting;
Some day your sailor come home from the sea!

All in the cold morning, all in the grey weather,
On the sheds and the shipping, the rain slating down,
All hands to the capstan bars, roaring together
A stave of farewell to the folk of the town:

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting;
Some day your sailor come home from the sea!

Hong Kong and Vancouver, Callao and Suva,
The Cape and Kowloon, it's a very far cry
From the slow river creeping, by houses all sleeping,
And the gulls in the wake of us calling good-bye!

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting;
Some day your sailor come home from the sea!

Last night when I left her, my true love was weeping
For sorrow at parting, but parting must be:
What use for her tears, and what use to be keeping
A lad by the fireside that follows the sea?

Farewell and adieu to ye - still we'll be true to ye,
Still we'll remember, wherever we be, -
Hope we'll be meeting ye, hope ye'll be greeting;
Some day your sailor come home from the sea!

It's a really haunting song and I may just have to learn it. Hopefully Bob Zentz will finally get it together to get his CD of C. Fox Smith songs printed so more folks can appreciate the fine work he's been doing with her poems for years.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble