Here's another nautical poem that I've adapted for singing about an old sailor watching his former collier leaving port early one morning. The composer was William McFee who worked his way up on such ships to the position of Chief Engineer in the early years of the 20th century. I think it may be a keeper! The tune is from Make and Break Harbour by Stan Rogers, © 1976 Fogarty Cove Music (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up the chords):

By William McFee, 1909
From Reflections of Marsyas, by William McFee, © 1933, p. 63
Adapted for singing by Charlie Ipcar 11/7/09
Tune: Make and Break Harbour by Stan Rogers
Key: F (5/C)

High Tide at 4 A.M.


C------------------------------Am------------------F-----------------------G
They've tipped and they've shovelled, they've trimmed and they've stored,
------------F----------------------------G
And she's down to her load-line as ever;
------C-----------------C7-----------------F------------Dm
The bridge is swung round and she's leaving this town,
-------------G----------------------G7
And she's off to the dark o' the river.
------C-----------Am--------------F-----------G
Fare-well to the grime and the dust of the tips,
---F---------------------G--G7
It may be a month or for-ever:
-------C-----------------C7------------F---------------Dm
She's watched by the ships and the ghosts on the slips
---------G-----------------------G7---------C
As she ploughs through the dark o' the river.


-------F-----------G----------------C----------Am
Fare-well to the grime and the dust of the tips,
---C---------Am--------F----Dm
It may be a month or for-ev-er:
-------C-----------------Am------------C--------------F
She's watched by the ships and the ghosts on the slips
---------G-----------------------G7---------C
As she ploughs through the dark o' the river.


C--------------------Am-----------F---------------G
She's one with the Mill and the Mine and the Mart;
--------F----------------------G
Black coal is her cargo as ever:
-----C-------------C7--------F----------------Am
But sneer as you will, she bears my heart still
-------G--------------------------G7
'Way down in the dark o' the river;
------C------------Am---------F-----------G
So I pray to the Lord in my bed here a-shore
---F--------------------------------G
A fair weather passage please give her,
-------------C-------------C7-------F------------Am
For there's shipmates a-board I may see no more
-------------G--------------------G7-----------C
Till we've passed through the Dark o' the River!

------F------------G------------C------------Am
So I pray to the Lord in my bed here a-shore
---C-------------Am--------------F-----Dm
A fair weather passage please give her,
--------------C--------------Am-----C------------F
For there's shipmates a-board I may see no more
-------------G---------------------G7-----------C
Till we've passed through the Dark o' the River!

Here's the original poem as composed by McFee:

By William McFee, 1909
From Songs of the Sea and Sailors' Chanteys, edited by Robert Frothingham, published by Houghton Mifflin Co., Cambridge, US, © 1924, p. 134; first published in The New York Evening Post.

High Tide at 4 A.M.

They've tipped and they've shovelled, they've trimmed and they've stored,
And she's down to her load-line as ever;
The bridge is swung round and the pilot's aboard
And she's off to the dark o' the river.

Farewell to the grime and the dust of the tips,
It may be a month or for ever:
She's watched by the skeleton ghosts on the slips
As she ploughs through the dark o' the river.

She is one with the Mill and the Mine and the Mart;
Black coal is her cargo as ever:
You may sneer as you will, but she carries my heart
'Way down in the dark o' the river.

So I pray to the Lord in my bed here ashore
A fair weather passage to give her,
For there's shipmates aboard I may never see more
Till we've passed through the Dark o' the River!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble