Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?

Subject: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: ShipSing
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 03:31 PM

We are looking for information about a song that is probably called 'Nova Scotia Men'. It was on a CD called 'The History of East Coast Pub Music', distributed free with cases of Alexander Keith's beer, sometime before June 2002. One of us heard it aboard a boat he was working on in 2002, and sang it for us recently at one of our chantey sings. We would like to know the name of the songwriter, and, if possible, the band that played the song on the CD. We don't have the original CD, and apparently it's not in print anymore. Here's the chorus:

They've heard of us around the world
The sea knows where we've been
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia men

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: meself
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 03:34 PM

Seems to me that the sea has claimed one or two Nova Scotia men.

No help, I know; just a thought ....

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: ShipSing
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 03:40 PM

In this particular maritime disaster song, everyone lives. It's a great song, and I'd love to know where it came from.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 07:31 PM

The GODS are not with me. I have:

2001    Imported From Nova Scotia
2002
2003    Sociable
2004    An Authentic Seacoast Experience

I am also very curious to your request as I have not heard this tune before and I sure would like to. I will keep an eye on this thread and hopefully friend George Seto will drop in.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: meself
Date: 17 Mar 10 - 12:55 PM

Everyone lives? Sounds like a pretty lame disaster!

No help, I know ....

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 17 Mar 10 - 01:34 PM

Could it be by Rita McNeil? mg

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 01:02 PM

refresh
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Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: gnu
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 02:03 PM

Crap... I can't find my book of NS songs and Google hasn't been of help... yet.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Simon G
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 03:12 PM

If you search for - alexander keiths cd - you get information on a few CDs but known have a song called Nova Scotia Men, I wonder if it has a different title.

The search does find a CD called The Evolution of East Coast Music but none of the tracks seem to match this song.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: gnu
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 06:30 PM

May I suggest an email to Kieth's? I cannot as their website only allows me to use an MS email program and I don't do that.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 06:33 PM

Excellent idea.
On it.
ad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 06:56 PM

I can't place this song at all. It must have been back in the dark days when I was drinking Moosehead. :-}

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 08:47 PM

Hahahaha!!!
Good on Sandy.
ad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 19 Mar 10 - 04:02 PM

Sent an e-mail last evening to alexander keiths
ad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: ShipSing
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 03:15 AM

Bingo! I followed your suggestions (thank you Simon
G and the rest of you) and found the song listings for the Alexander Keith's CDs - I had only looked at their web site, no CDs for sale there.

The song is 'Captain Tom O'Brien', and the band is Mackinaw.

The CD is
Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale: The Evolution of East Coast Music, Volume 1: Pub Roots

Now if I could only find some way all of you could hear it. The CD doesn't seem to be available except for Ebay. Is there anywhere that this track by Mackinaw can be downloaded? Has anyone else recorded it?

Here are the lyrics, as near as we could make them out from the pub recording:

CAPTAIN TOM O'BRIEN

"Are you brave or are you crazy?" The sea asked Tom O'Brien
"Tend to your tides", the captain said, "I'm not afraid of dyin'"
His ship was born in River John, The William H. McNeill
800 tons would rest upon the hardwood upper keel      

They've heard of us around the world
The sea knows where we've been
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia men

'A two-year maiden voyage' Captain Tom began his log
The mate he brought with him was his young bride Mary Vonn
First New York, then Liverpool, Then around the Horn they went
500 days away from home they left the Orient

Early in December her crew enlarged by one
With Mary now a mother, the Captain held his son
On Boxing Day the sky went gray in 1885
The glass was showing hurricane, They stabbed it in the eye

No rope could hold the canvas, No canvas had been made
Could hold the wind that hit the sails, A heavy sea obeyed
Her masts were snapped like matchsticks, The ocean claimed her rudder
The captain's order: "Rip the planks, we'll have to make another!"

The sea came in to take a look around the rudder post
All hands below to man the pumps or we'll never see the coast
At 6 foot six the water sits inside the lower hold
If the carpenter can't shore the leak, we'll none of us grow old

With kicks as hard as cannon balls, and winds hone like a knife
The William H McNeill withstood without a loss of life
The cyclone made a barge of her, took every inch of sail
And the men went out to sea again to find another gale

They've heard of us around the world
The sea knows where we've been
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia men

She can't take us, she can't break us
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia Men, We're Nova Scotia Men

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 08:43 AM

Good for you ShipSing. Now to find the music for it.
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Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Simon G
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 08:51 AM

Mackinaw's CD Key Anacon Road also has the song. There is mention of Jean Hewson singing it as well.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: gnu
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 03:00 PM

Nothing in the Digitrad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: ShipSing
Date: 23 Mar 10 - 03:04 PM

Simon G, thanks for the tip about the Key Anacon Road CD. It's out of print, but I ordered a copy so I could find out who wrote the song, and find out if Mackinaw recorded any other gems.

If anyone would like to hear the song, please send me a message.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:15 AM

Thank you ShipSing for the song. I must say it was new to me.
ad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Simon G
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 01:37 PM

I'm asking around to see if anyone here in our little corner of Nova Scotia has the Keith's CD. No success yet.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Simon G
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 09:17 PM

I've located a copy of the Keith's CD. Should be able to get it tomorrow - Friday.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 09:44 PM

Great.
I wrote a long note to A. Keith's last week but they are to busy to reply I guess... Hope they do otherwise I will be dropping them from my beer intake and switch to Gnu's beer.
Ad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 09:55 PM

Careful of that Gnu's beer, Beer! Bud is equine kidney extract for sure!

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Beer
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 10:20 PM

Actually I'm drinking a local puke called "Tremblay". It's a lager. Once in awhile I'll go out and get a 6 pk of Bud. I'm busy building a wine and beer section in my garage. I'm close to $500.00 in material already. I think I should of just went out to the local refilling stations and for 60 bottles of wine at about $3.50 a bottle I would be farther ahead.
Ad.
Going to bed depressed on his idea of a great idea.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: Simon G
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 07:57 PM

@Shipsing I've sent you a PM

Subject: ADD: Captain Tom O'Brien (Eric Leblanc)
From: ShipSing
Date: 28 Mar 10 - 06:14 AM

I ordered a copy of Mackinaw's Key Anacon Road CD and it arrived - with a lyrics booklet! Mackinaw was from New Brunswick.

The songwriter is Eric Leblanc. He's not in the band Mackinaw, but he is one of the musicians in the Grasse Circle Kitchen Jam, just on that track. The track is the same recording as the one on the Alexander Keiths CD.

Here's a site about Eric Leblanc:
http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=83855

There were a few corrections in the lyrics, so I'm posting them again with the changes:

CAPTAIN TOM O'BRIEN
(Eric Leblanc)

"Are you brave or are you crazy?" The sea asked Tom O'Brien
"Tend to your tides", the captain said, "I'm not afraid of dyin'"
His ship was born in River John, The William H. McNeill
800 tons would rest upon the hardwood of her keel      

They've heard of us around the world
The sea knows where we've been
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia men

'A two-year maiden voyage' Captain Tom began his log
The maiden he brought with him was his young bride Mary Hogg
First New York, then Liverpool, Then around the Horn they went
500 days away from home they left the Orient

Early in December her crew enlarged by one
With Mary now a mother, the Captain held his son
On Boxing Day the sky went gray in 1885
The glass was showing hurricane, They stabbed it in the eye

No rope could hold the canvas, No canvas had been made
Could hold the wind that hit the sails, A heavy sea obeyed
Her masts were snapped like matchsticks, The ocean claimed her rudder
The captain's order: "Rip the planks, we'll have to make another!"

The sea came in to take a look around the rudder post
All hands below to man the pumps or we'll never see the coast
At 6 foot six the water sits inside the lower hold
If the carpenter can't shore the leak, we'll none of us grow old

With waves as hard as cannon balls, and winds honed like a knife
The William H McNeill withstood without a loss of life
The cyclone made a barge of her, took every inch of sail
And the men went out to sea again to find another gale

They've heard of us around the world
The sea knows where we've been
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia men

She can't take us, she can't break us
She can't claim us, she can't tame us
We're Nova Scotia Men, We're Nova Scotia Men

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: GUEST,Eric LeBlanc
Date: 28 Mar 10 - 11:39 AM

Hi folks,
I can clear up a couple of things. (1) I wrote the song and it is called "Captain Tom O'Brien". The chorus says "She can claim us, she can't tame us" and also "She can take us, she can't break us". It is the true story of Captain Tom O'Brien of Nova Scotia. Mackinaw recorded the song live at a Grasse Circle Jam and I have recorded my studio version on the CD "TRACKS from Grasse Circle". The vocal is done very well by Walter Young and on the chorus I included Scott O'Brien who is a great grandson of Tom O'Brien. (2) I am the founder of the Grasse Circle Jam which began 30 years ago at my home on Grasse Circle. If you need more information you can contact me at the email and website below:
[e-mail]
www.sonicbids.com/EricLeBlanc

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: ShipSing
Date: 30 Mar 10 - 05:02 PM

Thanks, Eric, that's a great song.

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: GUEST,guest, ken tully
Date: 04 Mar 14 - 08:28 PM

Subject: RE: Origins: Nova Scotia Men - songwriter?
From: GUEST,Ron
Date: 09 May 14 - 07:35 PM

Capt. Tom O'Brian - Nova Scotia Men. I have the disk. I just have to find it to see who sings it.