from this thread: The DigiTrad entry for "The Faded Coat of Blue" neglects to mention that it was written by J.H. [John Hugh] McNaughton (1829-1891), and published in 1865. It bears the alternate title "The Nameless Grave".
filename[ FADECOAT

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Also there is a mistake in the spelling of the title, no attribution, and many mistakes in the text of Ellan Vannin. Here is the corrected text:


ELLAN VANNIN
(Hugh Jones)

Snaefell, Tynwald and Ben-my-Chree,
Fourteen ships have sailed the sea.
Proudly bearing a Manx name,
But there's one will never again

Oh, Ellan Vannin, of the Isle of Man Company,
Oh, Ellan Vannin, lost in the Irish Sea.

At one a.m. in Ramsey Bay,
Captain Teare was heard to say,
"Our contract says deliver the mail,
In this rough weather we must not fail."

Ocean liners sheltered from the storm,
Ellan Vannin on the waves was borne.
Her hold was full and battened down,
As she sailed toward far Liverpool town

With her crew of twenty one Manxmen,
Her passengers Liverpool business men.
Farewell to Mona's Isle, Farewell,
This little ship was bound for hell.

Less than a mile from the bar lightship,
By a mighty wave Ellan Vannin was hit.
She sank in the waters of Liverpool Bay
And there she lies until this day.

Few Manxmen now remember
The third day of the month December
That terrible storm of Ninteen-O-Nine,
Ellan Vannin sailed for the very last time.


Written by Hugh Jones, a member of the Spinners (of Liverpool) There could be variations in the way the Spinners did it, but, this one is taken from Hugh Jones' publication, 'Hughie's Ditty Bag.'
On the Spinners recording, it's "terrible storm in nineteen-nine."

Ellan - is Manx for Island; Ellan Vannin means Isle of Man. On 3 December 1909, the ship "Ellan Vannin" left Ramsey in the Isle of Man to sail to Liverpool. As she was entering the River Mersey, she was apparently swamped by a wave which broke over her stern, and she sank with loss of all aboard.

Alternate spellings of the song title
Ellen Vannin
Ellan Vannen
Ellen Vannen


@Manx @sailor
filename[ ELLNVARN
TUNE FILE: ELLVARN
MR
apr97