Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Nov 12 - 08:28 AM

This is interesting! I've just received my first fan e-mail on this song from China:

"Dear Mr. Charles Ipcar:

Great to see you! I am a girl from Fuzhou , the Province of Fujian in China, work in the Pagoda Anchorage Park. Recently, I am in your web site (http://charlieipcar.com) found a song " By the Old Pagoda Anchorage ", very excited. I find the relevant information, and know that this song is adapted from the poem of "By the Old Pagoda Anchorage" the British poetess Cicely Fox Smith wrote in 1926. I really like the lively style of music. I would very much like to learn more about this song and the history and stories of the Pagoda Anchorage, I do not know if fortunate enough to be able to buy your 《Sailortown Days Sea Songs 》CD, complete listen to it again. Thank you very much!"

I almost dumped it as SPAM without reading it. Anyway I did send back a thoughtful reply with an attached color image of the painting I use as a header graphic.

Maybe I'll get a gig to play at her local tea-house!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 08:48 PM

I've just heard from Di Franklin and will add her recording to the Discography.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Aug 10 - 10:40 AM

I've just run across an old review of another musical setting for "By the Old Pagoda Anchorage." It was evidently recorded by Di Franklin on her CD titled Across A Starry Heaven LYNG225CD and was reviewed by Colin Andrews in What's Afloat, No. 78, Autumn 2005, Devon's Folk Magazine, pp. 38-39.

I can't seem to find any contact information for Di Franklin in the UK and would appreciate any leads posted to this thread or via PM.

My own version of this song was recorded on Sailortown Days in 2009 and is available from my website: Click here for website

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 27 Jun 09 - 05:22 PM

In Ocean Racers, Cicely Fox Smith described the difficult passage up the Min River to the Pagoda Rock anchorage.

It was at Mawei that the French Far East Fleet destroyed the Fujian Fleet in 1884. Earlier (1842), Fuzhou (Foochow) became one of the treaty ports when the British colonialists won the "Opium War."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Jun 09 - 04:21 PM

I'm finally getting to record this one on a forthcoming CD and I've done some more changes. I now introduce the song with the chorus and add a reprise of the clipper ship names at the end (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Adapted by Charlie Ipcar, 8/9/08
Tune: Charlie Ipcar
Key: D (2/C)

By the Old Pagoda Anchorage [1926]-2


Chorus:

Am-----F-------------------C
Racing home for London River!
------------F-----------------C
Crack her on for London River!
--------F----------------C----------------Am--------------C
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea –
------------F----------------Am
With her chests of China tea!


Am---C--------------------------------F-----------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage they lay full fifteen strong,
-------F-------------------C------------Am-----------------C
Their spars were like a forest, their names were like a song –
F------------------C
Fiery Cross and Falcon there,
F---------------------C
Lay with Spindrift, doomed and fair,
F------------------C
Robin Hood and Hallowe'en –
Am---------------------------C
With Le-ander there were seen –
F-------------C----------F--------------------C
Ariel and Ti-tania, and proud Thermopy-lae,
--------F-------------C--------------------Am------------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
--------F--------------------Am
When clippers sailed the sea: (CHO)


By the old Pagoda Anchorage, so many years ago,
What a sight it was to see them with their decks like new laid snow:
Their brasses winking bright,
Their gleaming gold and white,
Their tall and slender spars
Humming shanties to the stars –
Those ships so brave and beautiful that never more shall be,
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
When clippers sailed the sea: (CHO)


By the old Pagoda Anchorage the clippers lie no more,
There's silence on the river, there's silence on the shore –
Yet the silted channels seem
Still to murmur as in dream
Of the ships so fair and fleet,
By those shores that used to meet –
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
Logging fourteen on a bowline, ay, an' seventeen running free,
An' seventeen running free. (CHO)

Reprise:

F------------------C
Fiery Cross and Falcon there,
F---------------------C
Lay with Spindrift, doomed and fair,
F------------------C
Robin Hood and Hallowe'en –
Am---------------------------C
With Le-ander there were seen –
F-------------C----------F--------------------C
Ariel and Ti-tania, and proud Thermopy-lae,
--------F-------------C--------------------Am------------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
--------F--------------------Am
When clippers sailed the sea!


Notes

From Full Sail: More Sea Songs and Ballads, edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Houghton Mifflin Co., NY, © 1926, pp. 84-87.

Other, less complete, versions of this poem may be found in an earlier edition of Punch Magazine and in Smith's own The Return of the Cutty Sark published in 1924.

The Pagoda Anchorage at Mawei was twenty-five miles from the entrance to the Min River and twelve miles below the City of Foochow (Fuzhou) in Southern China.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Sep 08 - 08:25 PM

Oh, I just discovered that the tune of this song has a Cmaj7 which I didn't even know existed; I figured it was a C7. Amin makes a convenient substitute but I haven't got a clue why, other than must of the notes sound compatible.

Maybe I'll go back to C/F/G.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Aug 08 - 04:36 PM

Well, I've edited out more lines, shortening the verses, and I've standardized the chorus (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Adapted by Charlie Ipcar, 8/9/08
Tune: Charlie Ipcar
Key: C (7/F)
By the Old Pagoda Anchorage [1926]-2


Am---C--------------------------------F-----------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage they lay full fifteen strong,
-------F-------------------C------------Am-----------------C
Their spars were like a forest, their names were like a song –
F------------------C
Fiery Cross and Falcon there,
F---------------------C
Lay with Spindrift, doomed and fair,
F------------------C
Robin Hood and Hallowe'en,
-----------Am----------------C
With Le-ander there were seen –
F-------------C----------F--------------------C
Ariel and Ti-tania, and proud Thermopy-lae,
--------F-------------C--------------------Am------------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
--------F--------------------Am
When clippers sailed the sea:

Chorus:

Am-----F-------------------C
Racing home for London River!
------------F-----------------C
Crack her on for London River!
--------F----------------C----------------Am--------------C
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea –
------------F----------------Am
With her chests of China tea!


By the old Pagoda Anchorage, so many years ago,
What a sight it was to see them with their decks like new laid snow:
Their brasses winking bright,
Their gleaming gold and white,
Their high and slender spars
Humming shanties to the stars –
Those ships so brave and beautiful that never more shall be,
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
When clippers sailed the sea:

Racing home for London River!
Crack her on for London River!
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea –
With her chests of China tea!

By the old Pagoda Anchorage the clippers lie no more,
There's silence on the river, there's silence on the shore –
But the silted channels seem
Still to murmur as in dream
Of the strong and fair and fleet,
By those shores that used to meet –
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
Logging fourteen on a bowline, ay, an' seventeen running free,
An' seventeen running free:

Racing home for London River!
Crack her on for London River!
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea –
With her chests of China tea!

Here's a link to a picture of the Pagoda Anchorage and an MP3 sample of the first verse and chorus: Click here and search for MP3 Sample!

This song certainly makes a fine tribute to the old China tea Clippers.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Aug 08 - 08:52 PM

It's shaping up better. The chords have mellowed a bit (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Am---C--------------------------------F-----------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage they lay full fifteen strong,
-------F-------------------C------------------Am-----------------C
Their spars were like a forest, and their names were like a song –
F------------------C
Fiery Cross and Falcon there,
F---------------------C
Lay with Spindrift, doomed and fair,
F------------------C
Belted Will and Hallowe'en,
-----------Am----------------C
With Le-ander there were seen –
----F---------------C----------------F--------------------------C
Sir Lancelot of a hundred famous fights with wind and wave:
------F-------------C-----------Am--------------C
And Ariel and Ti-tania and Robin Hood the brave –
-------F----------C-------------------F--------------------C
Thya-tira of the lovely name, and proud Thermopy-lae,
--------F-------------C--------------------Am------------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage, when clippers sailed the sea,
--------F--------------------Am
When clippers sailed the sea:

And there are a few more wording changes that I may post later.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 10:10 PM

Barry-

The image of the Old Pagoda Anchorage is quite clear but I have to admit the image of C. Fox Smith herself is pathetic; we just don't have access to any good pictures of her. Actually her brother Paul evidently portrayed her several times in drawings of her "dock walloping" in Sailortown and we should use one of those images.

I'm not sure the melody is holding up for this song. I'll have to give it another try tomorrow.

There are also all those jaw-breaking ship's names.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 10:01 PM

Because the stone is granite, its preservation is excellent, according to what I've read.

Fuzhou has sprouted those highrise urban towers that seem to be all over China now. They have fancy hotels and spas, and all the luxury chains of stores. A busy city of 6.6 million, an international airport with 4 million passengers in a year; a far cry from the old seaport town of the days of sail. Now it's container shipments.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Barry Finn
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 09:59 PM

Charlie, that was a grainy picture of her. Are there any others that you can link to that are better?
Will we be hearing the song soon?
Barry

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 09:31 PM

Q-

The Naval Museum at Mawei would seem an interesting place to nose around.

The link to Luoxing Tower doesn't work for Safari but probably does for other browsers. The Pagoda is made of stone and is quite impressive.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 05:43 PM

The seven story granite pagoda is actually named the Luoxing Pagoda or Tower. The photo gallery at this website has a photo on page 5 of the gallery. Northern Song Dynasty.
Luoxing Tower

This period in time (950-1100 AD approx.) is known for its Song (Sung) teabowls, with 'rabbit fur glaze.' They are prized especially in Japan.

The modern Naval Museum of China is at Mawei.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 05:14 PM

Actually Kipling is referring to an entirely different pagoda in his poem "Mandalay," one which overlooks Moulmein Harbour in Burma, not the great pagoda in Mawei, China.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: Old Pagoda Anchorage (C. Fox Smith)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 02:00 PM

This is another of Cicely Fox Smith's poems that has been haunting me for some time. It's her tribute to the old Pagoda Anchorage in Southern China, one of the major tea ports for the 19th century clipper ships. So I've finally set it to music and it seems to work (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Adapted by Charlie Ipcar, 8/9/08
Tune: unknown

By the Old Pagoda Anchorage [1926]-2


Am---C-------------Am---------------F-----------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage they lay full fifteen strong,
-------F-------------------C------------------Am-----------------C
Their spars were like a forest, and their names were like a song,
F------------------C
Fiery Cross and Falcon there,
F---------------------C
Lay with Spindrift, doomed and fair,
F------------------C
Belted Will and Hallowe'en,
-----------Am----------------C
With Le-ander there were seen –
----F---------------C----------------F--------------------------C
Sir Lancelot of a hundred famous fights with wind and wave:
------F-------------C-----------Am--------------C
And Ariel and Ti-tania and Robin Hood the brave;
-------F----------C-------------------F--------------------C
Thya-tira of the lovely name, and proud Thermopy-lae,
--------F-------------C-------------------Am------------------C
By the old Pagoda Anchorage when clippers sailed the sea,
--------F--------------------Am
When clippers sailed the sea:

Chorus:

Am-----F------------------C
Racing home to London River —
------------F-----------------C
Crack her on for London River —
--------F----------------C----------------Am--------------C
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea,
------------F----------------Am
With her chests of China tea!


By the old Pagoda Anchorage, so many years ago!
A sight it was to see them with their decks like drifted snow,
And their brasses winking bright,
And the gleaming gold and white,
And the high and slender spars
Humming shanties to the stars –
And the hulls whose speed and strength are a dead man's secret now,
And the carven kings and maidens on each slim and soaring bow,
The ships so brave and beautiful that never more shall be,
By the old Pagoda Anchorage when clippers sailed the sea,
When clippers sailed the sea:

Racing home to London River —
Crack her on for London River —
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea,
With her chests of China tea!

By the old Pagoda Anchorage the clippers lie no more,
There is silence on the river, there is quiet on the shore –
And the silted channels seem
Still to murmur as in dream
Of the strong and fair and fleet,
By those shores that used to meet –
Of the tea ships in their glory, lifting seaward on the tide,
And the valiant master mariners that walked their decks in pride,
By the old Pagoda Anchorage when clippers sailed the sea,
Logging fourteen on a bowline, ay, and sixteen running free,
And sixteen running free:

Racing home for London River —
Crack her on for London River —
Carry on for London River with her chests of China tea,
With her chests of China tea!


Notes

From Full Sail: More Sea Songs and Ballads, edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Houghton Mifflin Co., NY, © 1926, pp. 84-87.

Other, less complete, versions of this poem may be found in an earlier edition of Punch Magazine and in Smith's own The Return of the Cutty Sark published in 1924.

Rudyard Kipling has a prior poem, "The Road to Mandalay," which also refers to the Pagoda Anchorage.

The Pagoda Anchorage at Mawei was twenty-five miles from the entrance to the Min River and twelve miles below the City of Foochow (Fuzhou) in Southern China.

Here's a link to the original poem with a lovely header graphic of the Old Pagoda Anchorage: Click here for original poem!

No doubt this current version will undergo further changes before I learn it and record it.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble