DTStudy: Bold Daniels

Subject: DTStudy: Bold Daniels
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Apr 22 - 11:13 PM

I think this was a thread that got lost in our crash last month. The DT lyrics are from Colcord.

BOLD DANIELS

It was on the fourteenth day of January
From England we set sail,
With the favoring Heavens to guard us
And a sweet and pleasant gale;
The Roving Lizzie we are called,
Bold Daniels is my name,
And we sailed away to La Guayra
All out on the Spanish Main.

And when we reached La Guayra,
Our orders they ran so,
For to discharge our cargo,
And sail down to Ri-o.
Our Captain called all hands right aft,
And unto us did say,
"Here is money for you today, my lads,
For tomorrow we'll sail away."

We had not been a sailing
Past days two or three,
When the man up at the masthead
A strange sail he did see
With a black flag under her mizzen peak,
Come bearing down this way;
"Damn my eyes, she's a pirate,"
Bold Daniels he did say.

It was early the next morning,
This pirate ranged alongside,
With his loud speaking,-trumpet,
"Where are you from!" he cried.
"The Roving Lizzie we are called,
Bold Daniels is my name,
And I am bound out from La Guayra
All on the Spanish Main."

"Come, back your topsails to your mast,
And heave your ship under my lee."
"I would see you damned," cried Daniels,
"I would sooner sink at sea."
They hoisted up their bloody flag,
Our hearts to terrify.
With their big guns to our small arms,
At us they did let fly.

She mustered twelve twelve-pounders,
And a crew of a hundred men,
The time the action did begin,
It was just about half-past ten;
We mounted six six-pounders,
Our crew being twenty-two;
In the course of an hour and a quarter,
Those pirates we did subdue.

And now our prize we've taken
Unto Columbia's shore,
We will sail for a port in America,
Called the city of Baltimore;
We'll drink success to Daniels,
Likewise his gallant crew,
That fought and beat that pirate
With his noble twenty-two.

DT #567
Laws K34
@sailor @pirate
From Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen
filename[ BOLDDANL
SOF
oct96

This is a good transcription from pp 149-151 of Songs of American Sailormen Just one typo:

With his loud speaking,-trumpet,

---

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Bold Daniels (The Roving Lizzie) [Laws K34]

DESCRIPTION: Bold Daniels and the "Roving Lizzie" meet a pirate ship which calls for their surrender. Though outnumbered, Daniels and the "Lizzie" fight so effectively that they capture the pirate and take it to (Baltimore) as a prize
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1890 (Erskine-TwentyYearsBeforeTheMast)
KEYWORDS: pirate battle ship
FOUND IN: US(MW,NE) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Laws K34, "Bold Daniels (The Roving Lizzie)"
Rickaby-BalladsAndSongsOfTheShantyBoy 43, "Bold Daniel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rickaby/Dykstra/Leary-PineryBoys-SongsSongcatchingInLumberjackEra 43, "Bold Daniel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean-FlyingCloud, pp. 39-40, "Bold Daniel" (1 text)
Eckstorm/Smyth-MinstrelsyOfMaine, pp. 257-259, "The Rovin' Lizzie" (1 text)
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 57, "Bold Daniel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord-SongsOfAmericanSailormen, pp. 149-151, "Bold Daniels" (1 text)
Erskine-TwentyYearsBeforeTheMast, p. 5, "(Twas on the twenty-first of April, from Hampton Roads we sailed)" (1 text)
Frank-NewBookOfPirateSongs 24, "Bold Daniels" (1 text, 1 tune; #24 in the first edition)
DT 567, BOLDDANL
Roud #1899
File: LK34

---

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Subject: ADD Version: Bold Daniel
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Apr 22 - 11:45 PM

BOLD DANIEL

1. On the fourteenth day of January*
From England we set sail.
We were bound down to Laguire,
With a sweet and pleasant gale.
The Roving Lizzie we are called;
Bold Daniel is my name,
And we sailed away to Laguire,
Just out of the Spanish main.

2. And we reached Laguire,
Our orders did read so:
“When you discharge your cargo,
It’s sail for Callao.”
Our captain called all hands right aft,
And unto us did say,
“Here is money for you to-day, my lads,
For to-morrow we’ll sail away.”

3 It was early the next morning,
As daylight did draw nigh,
The man from at the mast-head
A stranger sail did espy;
With a black flag under her mizzen peak
Came bearing down that way;
“I’ll be bound she is some pirate,”
Bold Daniel he did say.

4. In the course of three or four hours,
The pirate ranged alongside,
And with a speaking trumpet,
“Where are you from?” he cries.
“The Roving Lizzie we are called,
Bold Daniel is my name,
And we sailed away from Laguire,
Just out of the Spanish mam ”

5. “Come, back your topsails to your mast,
And heave your ship under my lee.”
“Oh, no! oh, no!” cried Daniel,
“I’d rather sink at sea.”
They hoisted up their bloody flag,
Our hearts to terrify;
With their big guns to our small arms
At us they did let fly.

6. We mounted four six-pounders
To fight a hundred men,
And when the action did begin,
It was just about half-past ten.
We mounted four six-pounders,
Our crew being twenty-two;
In the course of an hour and a quarter
Those pirates we did subdue.

7. And now our prize we’ve taken
Unto Columbia’s shore,
To that dear old place in America
They call sweet Baltimore;
We’ll drink success to Daniel,
Likewise his gallant crew,
That fought and beat that pirate
With his noble twenty-two.

*Dean (p. 39) prints: "It was on the . ..” But this is as he sang it.

Source: Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy, Franz Lee Rickaby, 1926 - #43, pp. 153-155

Colcord says she got her version from Rickaby, but it certainly wasn't this Rickaby book.

I'll transcribe the melody if you ask me nicely...

Subject: ADD Version: Bold Daniels (from Frank)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Apr 22 - 12:16 AM

BOLD DANIELS

1. On the twenty-second of February from old England we set sail,
Bound down to La Guire with a sweet and pleasant gale.
Our captain called all hands right aft, and unto us did say,
"There's money for you today, my boys; tomorrow we'll sail away."

2. We had not been long sailing all under Callanding shore,
When [to] a man [in] our main mast head a strange sail did [appear] With a black flag on her mizzen peak came bearing down this way.
“I’ll be bound she’s some pirate,” Bold Daniel he did say.

3. In the space of twenty-five minutes, my boys, this pirate ranged alongside,
With a loud and speaking trumpet, “Where are you from?” he cried.
“The Roaming Lizzie we are called; Bold Daniel is my name;
We sailed from La Guire just under the Spanish Main.”

4. “Come, back your fore main topsails and heave your ship to under my lee.”
“O no, O no!” cried Daniel, “I would rather sink at sea.”
So up went their bloody flag, our lives to terrify;
With their great guns to our small arms at us they then let fly.

5. We mounted [five six-pounders] to fight one hundred men,
And when this action first began, it was about half past ten;
We mounted [five six-pounders], our crew being twenty two.
In the space of twenty-five minutes, my boys, those pirates cried,
“Mirbleu.”

6. So now we fought ’em and taken [a] rich prize all under Callanding shore,
A good old place in America; we named it Baltimore;
We’ll drink success to Daniel; likewise his jovial crew
Who fought and be[a]t those pirates with his noble twenty-two.


NOTES (from Frank) BOLD DANIELS (Laws K-34)
Of this rare ballad about an encounter with a Caribbean pirate Laws reported no broadsides, it is not in any songsters, and all of Laws’ citations (including Colcord’s Songs of American Sailor¬men) trace to Minnesota and the singing of one Michael C. Dean. Another specimen is reported from Labrador by MacEdward Leach, who says of its shorter text, “The ballad gains by this compression.” It appears to have been influenced by “The Bold Princess Royal" [#20].
"La Guire” (”La Guayra” in some texts; corrupted to “Maguire” in at least one) refers to La Guira, founded in 1588, the seaport for Caracas, Venezuela, which is indeed "under the Spanish Main."

Source: #24 in The New Book of Pirate Songs, by Stuart M. Frank (2011, CAMSCO Music) - page 63

Subject: ADD Version: Bold Daniel (from Dean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Apr 22 - 01:52 AM

The song was collected in September 1924 by Robert Winslow Gordon. The singer was Michael Cassius Dean.

BOLD DANIEL

It was on the fourteenth day of January,
From England we set sail,
We were bound down to Laguire,
With a sweet and pleasant gale;
The Roving Lizzie we are called,
Bold Daniel is my name,
And we sailed away from Laguire,
Just out of the Spanish Main.

And when we reached Laguire,
Our orders did read so,
“When you discharge your cargo,
It’s sail for Callao,”
Our Captain called all hands right aft,
And unto us did say,
“Here is money for you today, my lads,
For tomorrow we'll sail away.”

It was early the next morning,
As daylight did draw nigh,
The man from at the masthead
A strange sail did espy;
With a black flag under her mizzen peak,
Came bearing down that way;
“I’ll be bound she is some pirate,”
Bold Daniel he did say.

In the course of three or four hours,
This pirate ranged alongside,
And with a speaking trumpet,
“Where are you from?” he cries.
“The Roving Lizzie we are called,
Bold Daniel is my name,
And we sailed away from Laguire,
Just out of the Spanish Main.”

“Come, back your topsails to your mast,
And heave your ship under my lee.”
“Oh, no! oh, no!” cried Daniel,
I’d rather sink at sea.”
They hoisted up their bloody flag,
Our hearts to terrify.
With their big guns to our small arms,
At us they did let fly.

We mounted four six-pounders
To fight a hundred men,
And when the action did begin,
It was just about half-past ten;
We mounted four six-pounders,
Our crew being twenty-two;
In the course of an hour and a quarter,
Those pirates we did subdue.

And now our prize we’ve taken
Unto Columbia’s shore,
To that dear old place in America,
They call sweet Baltimore;
We’ll drink success to Daniel,
Likewise his gallant crew,
That fought and beat that Pirate
With his noble twenty-two.

Source: Is Part Of:Gordon Collection of Minnesota Recordings, 1924
http://www.minnesotafolksongcollection.org/item/mcd/a003

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Bold Daniels
From: RTim
Date: 18 Apr 22 - 12:48 PM

A version collected in Hampshire by Dr. Gardiner..
Tim Radford..

Bold Daniel - Thomas Stone – Portsmouth by Dr. Gardiner
Roud 1899 (also Lovett) Battle of Guaira was March 2nd 1743

‘Twas on the twentieth of September from St. Helens we set sail,
May heaven guard and guide us with a sweet and pleasant gale,
We are called the Roving Lizzie. But Bold Daniels tis our name,
And we’re bound to La Guaira upon the Spanish Main. (Repeat line)

When we got to La Guaira our orders they ran so,
To discharge our cargo and proceed to Callao. (in Peru)
Our Captain called all hands right aft, and unto us did say,
Here’s money for you today my boys, tomorrow we’re going away.

We had not been sailing past days two or three,
When a man from our masthead a strange sail he did see,
With a black flag under her mizzen peak came bearing down our way,
Oh, hang it, that is a pirate, Bold Daniel he did say.

Quite early the next morning the strange sail hove alongside,
With a loud speaking trumpet, where are you from, he cried?
We are called the Roving Lizzie, but Bold Daniels’ is our name,
And we’ve come from La Guaira upon the Spanish Main.

Haul down your main courses and heave your ship under my lee.
I’ll see you be hanged, said Daniel, I’d rather sink at sea;
So up with our undaunted flag their hearts to terrify,
With our small arms and our big guns and damn it, we did let fly.

They mustered twelve twelve-pounders and a crew of one hundred men,
From the time the action did begin ‘twas just about half past ten,
We mustered six six-pounders and a crew of twenty-two,
But in twenty-five minutes by my watch, the Spaniard sung out, Mon Dieu!

And now the prize we’ve taken upon the Columbian shore,
We’ll sail for a place in America called the city of Baltimore,
We’ll drink success to Bold Daniel, like wise his noble crew,
For we fought and beat the Spaniard with his noble twenty-two.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Bold Daniels
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 18 Apr 22 - 03:16 PM

We can take it back another 4 years to 1886 and it must be considerably older than that.

We gave a version collected by Hammond in Hampshire from George Lovett in 1906 in our book Southern Songster. There are at least 3 versions in the Hammond Gardiner Collection (see VWML website).

The 1886 version was given in an autobiographical account 'Spunyarn and Spindrift, a sailor boy's Log of a Voyage Out and Home in a China Tea-Clipper'. The ballad shares phrases with 'Bold Princess Royal' and with 'The London Man-o-war' which is no big surprise.