Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl (Bob McNeill)

Subject: Lyr Add: NORWAY YAWL (Bob McNeill)
From: Stewie
Date: 14 May 07 - 02:56 AM

^^
NORWAY YAWL
(Bob McNeill)

There were men that my father knew
Worked oars as well as a plough
Strong men who came home like the waves on the shore
But these old men are all gone now

The Norway yawls lie tattered and broken
On the earth where these old men now lie
They have earned their sleep but I would keep hold
Of the life that with them has died

Chorus:
And there are no men left in Derry
None in Donegal
There are no men left on Islay
Build me a Norway yawl

They fished the grounds off Ardara
Took the herring from off Tory Isle
But the old men have all gone now
And we can't believe our time

Chorus

We have not the life of the fisherman
And our hardships are nothing besides
Our hands are not battered and frozen
Upon oars opposing the tide

Chorus

Ran the yawls from St John's to Port Ellen
Rathlin, Port Stewart and Glengad
Tory and Derry and Moville between
The lines that are part of our past

Chorus (X2)

Source: ben the hoose 'The Little Cascade' (No Label)

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 14 May 07 - 06:10 AM

I was hoping that this might be another 'all-hands-lost-at sea' epic but no - mustn't be greedy! Nevertheless, on reflection, the 'loss-of-the fishing-industry' side of my repertoire could do wth beefing up a bit (to provide a touch of contrast to the 'all-hands-lost' side) - so this will do fine!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 14 May 07 - 06:14 AM

I thought it was going to be a parody of the Galway Shawl, and am pleasantly surprised to find it isn't... although I bet I'm not the only one who thinks that.

LTS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Stewart
Date: 14 May 07 - 11:58 AM

Hear a 2 min sound clip here

Nice song.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Stewie
Date: 14 May 07 - 06:15 PM

Bob McNeill's explanation of this song is as follows:

The Norway Yawl was a graceful open boat built and used by northern and northwestern Irish fishing communities from the early 19th to the mid-20th century. The design dates from the 17th century and was based on Norwegian boats. In the north of Ireland, particularly Antrim, Derry and Donegal, the boats were widely used and were called Norway yawls or Drontheims. They were also used by fishermen from inshore Scottish islands, particularly Islay and Jura, where they were usually known as 'Irish skiffs'. They were phased out abruptly in the 1950s with the advent of marine diesel. Donal MacPolin described the last generation of men who crewed them as 'the last waves on the seashore'. This description always stuck with me. For the second half of the 20th century, the only place the Norway yawl could be seen was on the coast where they lay abandoned or converted to sheep shelters. At the very end of the century, a few Irish families began building them again as pleasure boats. I wrote this song in 2003, and sing it occasionally at concerts, but have never recorded it before.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 14 May 07 - 06:26 PM

Liz - exactly what I thought, but you beat me to it! And there must be a (potential) Les Barker version lurking somewhere.....

Kitty

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 14 May 07 - 06:27 PM

Or a Micca version even. Oh dear.

kitty

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Norway Yawl
From: Stewart
Date: 14 May 07 - 07:02 PM

"In the case of the Norway yawl, these boats were entirely open and double-ended, that is sharp at both stem and stern. Dimensions for this type varied slightly, but they usually had a keel length of 18-20 feet with a beam of 5.5-6 feet. (McCaughan, 1982, 178) The yawls were primarily used for line fishing and rowed with four oars but often set a lug or sprit sail. (Joe McClean, oral evidence) Norway yawls were regarded as safe, service-able boats and could be easily hauled out of the water by two men. (Malcolm Collins, oral evidence) As the name suggests these boats were imported direct from Norway but were modified in Ireland by the addition of one or two �strakes�. (McCaughan, 1982, 176) Commentators have suggested that by the 1840�s these boats were in some areas coming to the end of their working lives. The explanation was believed to lie in the decline of the timber trade with Norway brought on by raising duties on Baltic timber. (Davis, 1979, 46) This effected the shipment of Norway yawls as they were brought in with the timber cargoes."

http://www.angelfire.com/mn/marion/irishboat.html

Also known as the
DRONTHEIM

Cheers, S. in Seattle