Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona (Peggy Seeger)

Subject: RE: Lifeboat Mona (Peggy Seeger)
From: Felipa
Date: 02 Dec 24 - 05:12 PM

https://www.dundeemaritime.co.uk/Mona

A strong south-easterly gale blew over the north sea on the night of 8th December 1959

In the midst of that storm was the North Carr Lightship and it was starting to come adrift.

The lightship didn’t have any engines of its own, all space below deck that would normally have been used for the engines were taken up by the machinery and power plant needed for the light and foghorn. With the vessel drifting from its intended position, The crew worked through the night to secure their anchor in the terrible weather conditions but for over four hours the North Carr was in imminent danger.

The coastguard spotted the lightship in trouble and alerted the lifeboat service- the Anstruther and Arbroath lifeboats were unable to launch but the Broughty Ferry Lifeboat, The Mona was able to put to sea just after 3am with a crew of eight men, the youngest member aged 22.

Fighting against heavy seas the Mona was watched from shore as it made slow progress out of the Firth Of Tay and after an hour had made it out past Buddon Ness. A shore based witness described the fleeting glimpses of the lifeboat as it continually disappeared amid the large waves. The lifeboat continued on its way, out of the River Tay into more open water. At 4:48AM the crew confirmed by radio that they had turned southward and that the distress flares from the North Carr had been seen. That was the last message they sent. Mona Lifeboat Disaster Map

Later that morning the Mona was found by the coastguard washed ashore on the east side of Buddon Ness. It was later concluded that the lifeboat had capsized in severe weather and had been unable to recover. The bodies of seven of the crew were found with their vessel, but one crewman was never to be found.

The crewmembers were

    John Grieve (snr) (aged 56)
    Alexander Gall (aged 56)
    George Smith (aged 53)
    James Ferrier (aged 43)
    David Anderson (aged 42)
    George Watson (aged 38)
    Ronald Grant (aged 28)
    John Grieve (jnr) (aged 22)

A memorial to them can be seen on the gable end of the lifeboat shed in Broughty Ferry.

The North Carr: After many hours adrift, the crew were able to deploy another anchor to secure their ship and all were rescued by helicopter that morning.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona (Peggy Seeger)
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Mar 10 - 03:09 PM

the person to contact is


[e-mail]


he has the words in polish.


peggy seeger

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona (Peggy Seeger)
From: GUEST,Chris Roche. The Shanty Crew
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 09:30 AM

Peggy recorded Life boat mona on New Brittain Gazzette around 1960 or so on a vinyl LP.(Carusty) Carnoustie is the beach (Chalon) should be Cabin and it was 03.13 am so three a.m. would seem right.

Karl Dallas wrote another lifeboat song about the Arbroath tragedy of 1953.

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From: GUEST,kery and mandy
Date: 25 Jun 07 - 02:18 PM

hi
there is an exelent version by Paul sirman
on his "Ocean Bound" cd available from the
www.chanteycabin.co.uk

this is well worth a listen.
kerry and mandy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From: GUEST,Jim Carroll
Date: 25 Jun 07 - 02:17 AM

The song was recorded by Peggy Seeger on a Folkways album (vinyl) back in the sixties.
It was included on Vol 1 (I think) of 2 albums of contemporary songs called 'New Briton Gazette', and can, I understand, still be purchased from Lib rary of Congress.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From: GUEST,ifor
Date: 25 Jun 07 - 12:28 AM

The welsh band "Boys From The Hill" have recorded a fine version of Lifeboat Mona. A wonderful band with Andy Jones on accoustic guitar and vocals, the band are splitting up after 10 years of music making.I understand that Andy is going to play solo gigs.
ifor

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From: GUEST,bigJ
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 04:44 AM

The song appeared on a CD called 'Songs for Seafarers' by the Sheringham Shantymen in 2003.
It's on the Clovelly label CLCD12803, their website is www.clovellyrecordings.com and I think it was produced to raise funds for the Lifeboat Institution.
Other songs include:- Botany Bay/ Barrett's Privateers/ The Albany Immigrants/ Loss of the Laforey/ Leave Her Johnny/London Julies/ Home from the Sea/ Bulgine/ Rolling Down to Old Maui/ Lumper's Life/ Pump Shanty/ Shore Fishing Game/ Roll Alabama Roll/ Yeller Girls/ Gals of Chile/ Tryphena's Extra Hand/ Wave Over Wave/ Farewell Shanty/ Strike the Bell.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 03 Dec 05 - 04:07 PM

No need to shout, Jack! :-)

The only recording I know of is on 'The Dubliners Now' (1975), which may have been reissued on CD. Try www.peggyseeger.com for more info. You can even send Peggy an eMail - she is a very polite lady and will help, I am sure.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lifeboat Mona
From:
Date: 02 Dec 05 - 02:51 PM

HI,
MY NAME IS JACK BUDGE,AND AM INTERESTED IF THERE IS A C.D. AND MUSIC OF THIS TUNE ,IF SO AM INTERESTED IN ACQUIRING,
IN ANTICIPATION,
    JACK .


P.S.   I PLAY THE SCOTTISH BORDER PIPES ,HENCE THE INTEREST

Subject: RE: Lyrics for Lifeboat Mona
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 04:22 AM

Hi, Shanghaiceltic - I moved your reqauest over here with the rest of the information on the song. You'll find corrected lyrics and a MIDI above, and I e-mailed you a scan of the tune.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Tune Req: Life Boat Mona
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 04:06 AM

Can any catter help me find the staff notation for Life Boat Mona

Thanks

Subject: DT Corr: Lifeboat Mona
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Mar 04 - 11:42 PM

This is the version in the Peggy Seeger Songbook. Not much different from the version in the DT (two DT entries) and above, but there a few variances.

The Lifeboat Mona
(Peggy Seeger)

Chorus:
Remember December, fifty-nine
The howling wind and the driving rain
Remember the gallant men who drowned
On the lifeboat, Mona was her name

The wind did blow and the sea rose up
And beat the land with mighty waves
At Saint Andrew's Bay the lightship fought
The sea until her moorings gave

The captain signalled to the shore
"We must have help or we'll go down"
From Broughty Ferry at two a.m.
They sent the lifeboat Mona out

Eight men formed that gallant crew
They set their boat out on the main
The wind's so high and the sea's so rough
We'll never see land or home again

Three hours went by and the Mona called
The wind blows hard and the seas run high
In the morning on Carnoustie Beach
The Mona and her crew did lie

Five lay drowned in the cabin there
Two were washed up on the shore
Eight men died when the boat capsized
And the eighth is lost forevermore

Remember December, fifty-nine
The howling wind and the driving rain
Remember the men who leave the land
And the men who'll never come home again



Source: The Peggy Seeger Songbook

Words and music by Peggy Seeger
copyright, 1963, Stormking Music

---

Click to play

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LIFEBOAT MONA^^^
From:
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 10:23 AM

Lifeboat Mona, The
Peggy Seeger

Chorus
Remember December fifty-nine
The howling wind and the driving rain
Remember the gallant men who drowned
On the lifeboat, Mona was her name

The wind did blow and the sea rose up
Beat the land with mighty waves
At St Andrew's Bay the lightship fought
The sea until her moorings gave

The captain signalled to the shore
"We must have help or we'll go down"
From Broughty Ferry at two a.m.
They sent the lifeboat Mona out

Eight men formed that gallant crew
They set their boat against the main
The wind's so hard and the sea's so rough
We'll never see land or home again

Three hours went by and the Mona called
"The wind blows hard and the sea runs high"
In the morning on Carnoustie Beach
The Mona and her crew did lie

Five lay drowned in the cabin there
Two were washed up on the shore
Eight men died when the boat capsized
And the eighth is lost forever more

^^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Traditional irish song
From: paddymac
Date: 29 Sep 99 - 06:29 PM

trying hard not to creep - trying hard not to creep

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Traditional irish song
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 29 Sep 99 - 06:29 PM

Bill, you're almost right. It was written by Peggy Seeger. The following are an item from the Weekly Scotsman reporting the disaster and some album notes:

[1959?60?:] The lifeboat Mona, which over the years had saved more than 100 lives, was lost answering a distress call from the North Carr lightship. She left Broughty Ferry at 3.13 a.m. in a full gale. It is known she passed the dangerous bar of the Tay, but after that nothing further is known as to how her crew lost their lives, although it is certain she must have capsized. It was early the next day that a helicopter from R.A.F. Leuchars spotted the Mona stranded on the sands near Buddon Ness. At about the same time Senior Coastguard Officer David Mearns of Carnoustie heard of the lifeboat and alerted the life-saving team of Carnoustie. Said Officer Mearns: "One of the coastguard officers came in and said the lifeboat was on the sands. We all went down, but there was nothing we could do. The body of one man was lying on the sand a little way from the boat ... the sea rushing over him. There were four men in the wheelhouse and one in the engine room. The boat was flooded. Later we found the body of another man half a mile away across the sands." (Weekly Scotsman ??.Dec/Jan?.)

[1975:] This song tells the tale of a sea disaster in December 1959, when Britain's north sea coast was lashed by giant winds. The Broughty Ferry lifeboat Mona capsized losing all eight men while trying to rescue the crew of the Broughty lightship. (Jim McCann, notes 'Dubliners Now')

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Traditional irish song
From: bill\sables
Date: 28 Sep 99 - 07:52 PM

I am quite sure the song was written by Ewan McColl about the wreck of the lifeboat off Broughty Ferry near Dundee but don't quote me on that. As far as Mona goes it is quite a common ladies name in northern England I think it is derived from Ramona. My mother in law should have been called Mona because she is always moaning at me. Chers Bill

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Traditional irish song
From: Bobby Bob, Ellan Vannin
Date: 28 Sep 99 - 07:45 PM

I have The Dubliners version of the song, right enough. However, I've always wondered about the name of the lifeboat. How did it come to be called Mona?

Mona is one of the traditional names of the Isle of Mann (Ellan Vannin, Mann, Mannin). Caesar has a reference:

In hac media cursu est insula quae appellatur Mona.

Whilst the Romans called Anglesey 'Mona', that is hardly 'in the middle of this channel' as Caesar describes.

So quite apart from the song, if anyone has information about the lifeboat and how it got its name, I'd be very interested.

And whilst thinking of lifeboats, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was set up in 1824 as a result of a pamphlet by Sir William Hillary, who had a house overlooking Douglas Bay in the Isle of Man, and who was a working member of the Douglas Lifeboat for many years.

Last week, there was a statue of Sir William unveiled on Douglas Head. Every January, there's a special lifeboat service in St George's Church in Douglas, because Sir William Hillary is buried there.

All that apart, anyone know the background of the lifeboat the Mona?

Shoh slaynt,

Bobby Bob

Subject: Lyr Add: LIFEBOAT MONA (from Dubliners)^^
From: MudGuard
Date: 26 Apr 99 - 03:36 AM

LIFEBOAT MONA, as sung by the Dubliners on The Luke Kelly Collection

Lifeboat Mona
Chorus
Remember December fiftynine
The howling winds and the driving rain
Remember the galant men who drowned
On the lifeboat, Mona was her name

The wind did blow and the sea rose up
Beat the land with mighty waves
At Saint Andrew's Bay the light ship fought
The sea until her moorings gave

The captain signalled to the shore
We must have help or we'll go down
From Broughty Ferry at two a.m.
They sent the lifeboat Mona out.

Eight men formed that galant crew
They set their boat against the main
The wind's so hard and the sea's so rough
We'll never see land or home again

Three hours went by and the Mona called
The wind blows hard and the sea runs high
In the morning on Carnoustie Beach
The Mona and her crew did lie

Five lay drowned in the cabin there
Two were washed up on the shore
Eight men died when the boat capsized
And the eighth is lost for evermore

Remember December fiftynine
The howling wind and the driving rain
The men who leave the land behind
And the men who never see land again
^^

Andreas

Click for related thread

Subject: Lyrics request: LIFEBOAT MONA
From:
Date: 29 Nov 96 - 03:02 AM

I'm looking for lyrics & chords to "Lifeboat Mona" or "Mona".

I think it's not a traditional one but of Peggy Seeger.

Thanks in advance. Bye

Subject: Lyrics for
From: Cezary P. Wasniewski
Date: 07 Nov 96 - 03:02 AM

My e-mail: [e-mail] Bye

Subject: Lyrics for "Lifeboat Mona"
From:
Date: 07 Nov 96 - 02:31 AM

Desperately looking for lyrics to "Lifeboat Mona" or simply "Mona". This isn't probably traditional one but of Peggy Seeger. This tune is extremely popular in Poland (where I live) but in Polish version. I cannot find it in the Web. Thanks