This tramp freighting poem by World War 1 medical officer Burt Franklin Jenness seems to fit well with one of my favorite traditional contradance tunes "Home with the Girls in the Morning" which is in turn similar to the tune for "Herzogin Cecile" (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Poem by Burt Franklin Jenness
From OCEAN HAUNTS, edited by Burt Franklin Jenness,
Empire Publishing Co., New York, US, © 1934, p. 45.
Adapted for singing by Charlie Ipcar, 12/8/07
Tune: after Home with the Girls in the Morning
Key: Dm (7/Gm)

Sea Traders

Dm---------------C--------Dm---------------C
Rollin' down to Rio on a buckin' wooden tramp;
Dm-----------C--------------Dm-C-F-------C-----Dm
Takin' water for'r'd till her rot-ten planks were damp;
Dm------------C------------------Dm---------------C
Pitchin' like a bronco from the time we left the Keys;
Dm----------C--------------Dm--C--F-----C-Dm
Listin' like a kettle as she took the quart-er seas.

Chorus:

Dm--C---F-------C--------Dm
Now we're rollin' down to Rio,
-----C----F-----C------Dm
Bue-nos Aires or the Straits –
F-----------C-------Dm----F-----C--F-C--F--C--Dm
That's the way we traded from Fu-eg-o to the States!


Loaded to the gunnels, plowing four knots an hour;
Steadied with her stays'l, but swaying like a flower;
Half a crew o' Cubans, an' a pair o' Swedish mates;
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States. (CHO)

Callin' at Jamaica for a scuttle-butt o' rum;
Lazin' at fiestas till we'd spent our shippin' sum;
Stricken with the fever, from the islands where it grew;
Fightin' for our rations with this lazy, drunken crew. (CHO)

Reelin' round the Indies, makin' port or makin' sail;
Beatin' up to windward in a ragin' tropic gale;
Rollin' down to Rio, Buenos Aires or the Straits –
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States. (CHO)

Here's the original poem:

Poem by Burt Franklin Jenness
From OCEAN HAUNTS, edited by Burt Franklin Jenness,
Empire Publishing Co., New York, US, © 1934, p. 45.

Sea Traders

Droppin' down to Rio on a buckin' wooden tramp;
Takin' water for'r'd till her rotten planks were damp;
Pitchin' like a bronco from the time we left the Keys;
Listin' like a kettle when she took the quarter seas;
Loaded to the gunnels, making four knots an hour;
Steadied with her stays'l, but swaying like a flower;
Half a crew o' Cubans, an' a pair o' Swedish mates;
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States.

Callin' at Jamaica for a scuttle-butt o' rum;
Lazin' at fiestas till we spent our shippin' sum;
Stricken with the fever, from the islands where it grew;
Fightin' for our rations in a lazy, drunken crew;
Reelin' round the Indies, makin' port or makin' sail;
Beatin' up to windward in a Carribean gale;
Dippin' down to Rio, Buenos Aires or the Straits –
That's the way we traded from Fuego to the States.

"Fuego" which is Spanish for "Fire" is probably a reference to Tierra del Fiego in southern Argintina.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble