Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAILOR'S DREAM (Dick Miles)
From: captainbirdseye
Date: 03 Jul 06 - 09:41 AM

Here are the lyrics to a new song based on the idea of the Drovers Dream, It has a tune of my own composition, and can be heard on my CD Nautical and.

THE SAILOR'S DREAM
(Dick Miles)

1. One night while on the deep at my watch I fell asleep.
The sea was calm, no whisper of a breeze.
To the starboard side, I saw parading on the shore the strangest
Group of creatures ever seen. First there came a mermaid fair
With oysters in her hair. A walrus followed after slow and sure.
The jellyfish and the seal performed the eightsome reel
While the crabfish and the lobster called for more.

2. The crabs upon the shore formed up for a square four,
Sideways as they did the do-si-do.
And the dolphin with a smile played a tune upon his viol
While the porpoise played a hornpipe long and slow.
The puffins on the strand joined up and hand in hand
Sang a shanty as they pulled the capstan round,
And the mermaid swimming free, joined in and sang with glee,
"O hooray, me boys! I think we're homeward bound."

3. Then Jonah from the whale shouted out to tell his tale.
The walrus called for order and for calm.
The squid he then did flail his arms around the whale,
While the crabs did scuttle off in great alarm.
"It's years I have been here, I solemnly declare.
Won't you please release me now, and let me go?"
And the whale with a grin he slowly then did sing,
"I'll be lonesome now without you down below."

4. An albatross appeared and wiped away a tear,
And read The Ancient Mariner verse by verse.
He told to them the yarn of the tar that shot him down,
And the history of the sailor and his curse.
In my fancy I had dozed to a nautical repose.
I pinched myself and found I had awoke,
And the skipper standing there had just begun to swear:
"Miles, you fool! You've beached the flaming boat."


Copyright by Dick Miles

Subject: RE: TheSailorsDream
From: captainbirdseye
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 05:21 AM

Ihope to be performing this song at the Scarborough Sea fest weekend of july 23 2006.

Subject: RE: TheSailorsDream
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 05:32 AM

Oh Dick, that is so funny!! I've just been reading the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and often wondered what the albatross thought of it all (I'm weird like that...); it has a great descriptive quality, not unlike that of STC himself, with touches of Lewis Carroll. I hope it goes well.

And excuse me for asking, but are you the Dick Miles who did the club circuit some time ago? I remember seeing a Dick Miles down in Dorset in the early '80s... was that you? If so, great to see you're still around. If not.. oopsie!

LTS

Subject: RE: TheSailorsDream
From: captainbirdseye
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 05:49 AM

Dear Liz the squeak.Thankyou, glad you liked the song, I am indeed the same Dick Miles unfortunately a little older,still performing,but now in ireland, but still playing clubs and festivals in england if people want me.I come over to the u k about twice a year. BEST WISHES Dick.

Subject: RE: TheSailorsDream
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 06:22 AM

Blimey - Nick Dow, Dick Miles... are we going to get any more of my folk heros joining here?

Glad to hear you are doing OK.

LTS

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 05:58 PM

This is very funny.Thankyou

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: Barry Finn
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 06:45 PM

Hi Dick
I'm enjoying your song, nice one. I don't want to get picky on you & I'm sure it's just an oversite ,,,, but the line about "as pulled the capstan round" what about "pushed"? OK, I'll go back to my place in the fo'k'sl & sit on me bits & shut up.
Good luck at Scarborough Sea fest weekend, wish I could hear ya.
All the best
Barry

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 07:45 PM

G'day Dick,

Quite an interesting bit of work ... more or less a cross between The Drover's Dream ... and something by Lewis Carroll!

I suppose I should drop in , for the benefit of those not so familiar with the Australian canon, that the tune to The Drover's Dream is basically that of Killaloe ... a popular example of the sort of songs you Poms wrote to do as "stage Irish" numbers. (The Irish seem to have been good at taking them up, themselves, and ignoring any attempt to insult them thereby.)

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 08:17 PM

G'day again Dick,

It strikes me that the skipper of anything - that warrants a skipper - doesn't like his craft to be called a "boat". Maybe the last 3 lines should be (something like):

I pinched myself and woke up from my kip -
And the skipper standing there, had just begun to swear:
"Miles, you fool, you've beached the flaming ship!"

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 04:58 AM

I just bought a copy of Nautical and.it has a wonderful cover with the Dolphin playing his viol etc,illustration by Cathy Cook,who used to be resident at Dingles folk club, I think the poem sounds just as good as a song. Well done Dick.

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: GUEST,toireasa
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 05:11 AM

On Dicks cd , he sings turned the capstan round ,perhaps he just made a mistake, when printing the words out,on this forum.

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 05:25 AM

Errrrr ..... G'day again Dick,

Oops! I didn't notice the line up the top: "... It has a tune of my own composition, ...).

I guess I might hear ... some day ... somewhere ...

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 05:37 AM

So it wasn't just me noticing the Lewis Carroll influence... I thought about it after and decided I might be mistaken, but I see I'm not and all is right with the world again!

Bob - perhaps Dick was interrupted by a person from Porlock and lost his thread in the last verse... as a non-nautical person it made perfect poetic sense to me, and was lyrical too.

I've read it a few times now and still think it's great... but would recommend a little less cheese before bedtime!

LTS

Subject: RE: ADD: TheSailorsDream (Dick Miles)
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 05:05 PM

Is that what Coleridge used to take, I thought it was something more exotic.Dick Miles

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)
From: The Sandman
Date: 19 Jan 21 - 04:10 PM

Songbook available from my website www.dickmiles.com

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jan 21 - 05:35 PM

I really like this song, Dick. I like "Bootiful Turkey," too.

Bootiful turkey.
Bootiful Turkey and christmas pud.
too much booze and too much food.
Too many old films on the telly,
Indigestion for brain and belly.

Bootiful Turkey what a fate
imprisoned in a tiny cage
whats he done to deserve this life
Raised and reared for the Butchers knife.

Bootiful Turkey for the western child
third world starving cannot smile
A Bowl of rice or malnutrition
must be this poor childs only vision

Bootiful Turkey we must sell more
prices up and profits soar
In praise of mamman, we hear them cheer
Merry christmas and happy new year. Dick Miles

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)
From: GUEST,guest The Sandman
Date: 20 Jan 21 - 01:23 AM

I wrote Bootiful trkey for a christmas show, i do not recall it had a tune, but was a recitation Bootiful turkey was a slogan a uk [norfolk] turkey breeding company Bernard Matthews used,
bootiful is the way a norfolk person pronounces it .
i was just singing it to a sort of calypso rythym it goes betweemn aminor and e minor, the first verse could be used for a chorus

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)
From: GUEST,The Sandman
Date: 04 Feb 23 - 03:56 AM

i normally sing turn the capstan round.
the song was inspired by the drovers dream [a trad song] that is the nature of trad music it evolves and changes, the idea is the same different tune different setting different words.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Sailor's Dream (Dick Miles)
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Dec 24 - 01:43 PM

re