Thanks for the incoming feedback, please keep it coming, it's got to give a good picture to be a good song, to many unanswered questions defeats the telling of the tale. Yes Bert, I knew I'd be breaking your 3 minute rule but you knew I wouldn't mind doing it anyway, I did have it mind (for about 3 minutes). Thanks for the link Wendy, my info comes fom a book called "The Living Ice" & pretty much holds true to the story as I read it. I believe the line there about births shuld be "berths". Abe Keene was know as one who'd rather take the shirt off your back than give up a morsel of bread. He did offer them tea though & did refused them any food. Try singing this to the tune of the Nightingale & let me know what you all think, it's still rough but it's got enough to bring out the ironing board. That should've read "unaware".
Thanks Joe Clone for the line breaks. The last 2 verses for some reasn are still unbroken, can you fix it. The song ends with "250 men". Thanks. Hi Jeri, I agree that's still a very rough spot about being sent back out upon the ice but it'll get there, thanks. Hi Dick, like the Len Cohen remark, he & one other singer always makes me think of when my son heard the other guy (I won't name him) & said, after hearing me talk about Mansfied's line about going do to the sea in ships, "going down to the sea to die". I generally do like to keep songs short but then I do like a big ballad too. There was a time when folks listened to stories lasting for hours. Take the "Mountain Whipperwill", told well I could listen to it over & over, again & again, it's just gotta be a good enough story, told real well & sweet enough for the ear to want to hear. That's a mighty big task though. Please do keep the comments coming. Thanks, Barry