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Subject: Lyr Add: THE LAST WHALE HUNT (Capt. Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 19 Oct 10 - 07:59 PM THE LAST WHALE HUNT (Captain Kendall Morse) When I was a young man I dreamed of life at sea, For adventure and for riches and the dream did capture me, But the whaling life is bitter, and the owners get the gold, And we settle for a pittance when the oil is sold. Ever since I was a young man I've hunted for the whale, Around the world's great oceans I've gone with oar and sail, But I'm tired of the killing, I'm tired of the sea, And the voices of my loved ones are calling me. The ship is always stinking the bunks are often wet, I mind the years I've wasted and it fills me with regret, But when this voyage is over, and I am safe ashore, I'll turn my back on this life, and sail no more. Last week from the mast head the cry of "There he spouts" We chased him with the long boat until he wore us out, But the sperm whale is a killer, and he turned on us at last, And his tail fluke smashed the long boat as he went past. The first Mate and the Harpooner met their fate that day, I've lost my lust for whaling, I can no longer stay, But, the ship is full of oil now, there's no more need to roam, There's a fair wind on our quarter, we're rolling home. A fair wind on our quarter, we're rolling home. by Captain Kendall Morse |
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Subject: RE: lyrics added the last whale hunt From: kendall Date: 19 Oct 10 - 08:01 PM I write very little 'cause the stealing is so good. I borrowed the melody from Gordon Bok's DUNA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU9Fxz0NY70 |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: ClaireBear Date: 19 Oct 10 - 08:34 PM It had me rapt, Kendall. Thank you for writing this. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Rapparee Date: 19 Oct 10 - 08:57 PM Nice, Kendall. ClaireBear, did it have you wrapped as described in "Moby Dick"? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: olddude Date: 19 Oct 10 - 09:05 PM Absolutely Wonderful !! Can I put a melody also on it for fun Captain. Like to mess with it if you don't mind Wonderful |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Midchuck Date: 19 Oct 10 - 09:52 PM I write very little 'cause the stealing is so good. That's my problem too. That's a good one, though. Peter |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Amos Date: 19 Oct 10 - 10:02 PM Mighty fine lyric, skipper!! Puts me right in the song. A |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST,999 Date: 19 Oct 10 - 10:18 PM Darned good piece of writing, Kendall. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Beer Date: 19 Oct 10 - 10:21 PM WOW!!!! Adrien |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Oct 10 - 01:58 AM congratulations sandra |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: VirginiaTam Date: 20 Oct 10 - 02:12 AM ohhh... melody needs a repeat of each last line so we can all sing along with lots of strands of harmony |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST,kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:28 AM Virginia Tam, sing it anyway you wish. Old Dude, go for it. Anyone else want to try? Sinsull wrote her own melody too.I like the one I stole from Gordon, but, I'm open to almost anything. I am convinced that I was there in a former life. When I was a very small boy I had nightmares about being in a sinking ship. That was long before I went to sea. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: olddude Date: 20 Oct 10 - 07:39 AM My ship has been sinking for a while Captain ... OH wait .. that is my belly !!! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: jacqui.c Date: 20 Oct 10 - 07:43 AM A couple of years ago we were due to take part in the Portsmouth (NH) Maritime Festival at the end of September. I got back from the UK about three weeks before this and it was then that Kendall asked me to learn this song for the festival. I didn't know the words or the tune and didn't want to listen to Gordon's song for the tune because that would mess me up with learning Kendall's words. That led to quite an interesting time with Kendall trying to teach me the tune but getting frustrated when I got it wrong and he couldn't sing it to me. We got it about right for the event and I have sung this one with Kendall and alone ever since. It gets quite a bit of interest whenever I do sing it - it's nice for a relative newbie to the folk scene to be able to sing something that much more experienced folk haven't heard before! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:12 AM I still like it, Kendall. Thanks for posting "The Last Whale Hunt" here. Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: gnu Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:18 AM Me too. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Charley Noble Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:13 AM Maybe we can tease a few more songs out of the good Captain in this thread. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST,mg Date: 20 Oct 10 - 04:09 PM It is beautiful. I like the idea of a totally new tune for it. mg |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: EBarnacle Date: 20 Oct 10 - 04:39 PM Well wrought. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Dan Schatz Date: 20 Oct 10 - 04:42 PM Thanks for posting this, Kendall. It's good to see your muse in action again. Dan |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:10 PM I've written some poetry and a couple of things that I did talking blues style. Any interest? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:17 PM Always, Kendall. Need you ask? Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:18 PM Believe it or not, I'm somewhat shy. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:28 PM :) I know. I'd love to read anything you've written, whether here or via email, Kendall. Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Nick E Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:11 PM Why is the first mate out in a harpooning boat? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:31 PM Well let's see...I found this: "1820: The whaling ship Essex is rammed and sunk by a sperm whale 2,000 miles off the west coast of South America. The ordeal of the crew inspires Herman Melville's classic, Moby Dick... The ship's three remaining whaleboats — one had been destroyed by a whale's flukes during an earlier hunt — were dispatched for the kill. As the harpooning began, First Mate Owen Chase, commanding one of the whaleboats, looked back and saw a large sperm whale, which he estimated at 85 feet, approaching the Essex." http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/11/dayintech_1120 |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:11 PM Thanks maeve. |
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Subject: Lyr ADD: Untitled (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:30 PM You asked for it, here is something from my real life. Untitled (Kendall Morse) Each day I hear the Siren's call To go back out on the bay, I "Swallowed the anchor" years ago for a job with better pay. In the autumn of my life the lure of the sea is strong, But, I'm stuck on shore with my time passing by, And I'm not where I belong. refrain And I tell myself, "It's an old man's dream, Your youth is past and gone, And that ocean rolls as it always has It doesn't care that I'm long gone". After years of struggle to take my pay from the sea I went ashore and never looked back, that bitch would never kill me. Through fog and rain and pitch black nights I answered the call of the sea, But, she stole my youth, now, I face the truth, The land is no place for me. repeat refrain But, fighting the sea is a young man's game, Too much for an old fool like me, But, by God I'd rather die on my feet than to end my days on my knees. I tied the boat up long ago and turned my back on the sea, It just didn't pay out there on the bay, I needed more for the kids and me. Too many winters in a drafty old boat made me old before my time, I worked day and night but with a wife and kids, I couldn't save a dime. Driven by duty I left that life for a better job on shore, I raised the kids and left the wife and walked right out the door. Now the kids are grown and on their own, My duty to them is met, in the Autumn of my days I stand and gaze At the ocean til I'm cold and wet. repeat refrain I think of a Viking funeral, the dead in his own long ship, They set it afire, then set it adrift with a dog at the warrior's feet. That's how I'd go if I had my way, to sail the great beyond, But, it never can be because, you see, there are too may laws in this nation, They would never allow such a funeral now, 'twould be a hazard to navigation. I've never bothered to edit or worry about how it scans. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:37 PM There's gold in those lines, Kendall. I can hear you reciting it. Thank you. (PM on the way to you.) Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:58 PM You are so sweet. Thanks. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 20 Oct 10 - 10:07 PM Naw, just telling you how I view it. You're a storyteller and musician and historian. For now, you sing your music by way of the rhythm, the word pictures and the pacing. I'd like to see all this carry you through to an album of your own songs and narrative poems. Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Seamus Kennedy Date: 20 Oct 10 - 11:32 PM Oh, I see a whole new career opening up....great stuff, Kendall. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST,karen k Date: 21 Oct 10 - 07:01 AM Hey Kendall, Love the 1st one. Have you shown the 2nd one to Gordon? I bet he could make tht one really special. I can hear him singing it in my head but just can't quite make out the tune. Love them!!! k |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 08:39 AM Karen, the tune I stole from him is DUNA. It's on his first album, the Verve Folkways one. I should have cleaned this stuff up; it's ragged in place as some of it doesn't scan very well. Seamus, I take that as a high compliment from a performer of your stature! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 08:40 AM That gloomy untitled one is from my past when I was really down in the dumps. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: maeve Date: 21 Oct 10 - 09:28 AM That "gloomy, untitled one"- I call it "Siren's Call", Kendall. Sure, it has a few ragged edges. Set to a decent tune and sung it will clean up nicely. Most of it strides along quite well. Who knows; you may find yourself polishing a gem with one of your classic lines of dark-yet-candle-lit humor. Go forth and write, Young Man! Maeve |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 09:32 AM Anyone is welcome to play with it. Seamus, I just heard/saw Andy Stewart singing Rambling Rover with a guitar playing side man. He did it slower and the guitar sounded like it was tuned to an open key. I prefer your version. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Amos Date: 21 Oct 10 - 09:56 AM Dang, skipper. You got the knack, all right! A |
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Subject: Lyr Add: SIREN'S CALL (Captain Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 12:06 PM I gave maeve permission to play around with it so she did, and I like what she did. Here 'tis. SIREN'S CALL by Captain Kendall Morse (Maeve playing around with revisions & tune) rhyme pattern aabcb Each day I hear the Siren's call to go back out on the bay, I "Swallowed the anchor" years ago for a job with better pay. Now, in the autumn of my life, the lure of the sea is strong, But, I'm stuck on shore with time passing by, And I'm not where I belong. refrain And I tell myself, "It's an old man's dream, Your youth is past and gone, And that ocean rolls as it always has She sings a Siren's song." After years of struggle to take my pay as I fought with the angry sea I went ashore and never looked back. That bitch would never kill me. Through fog and rain and pitch black nights I answered the Siren's song, But she stole my youth. Still, I face the truth: I've stayed on the land too long. Fighting the sea is a young man's game, too much for an old fool like me, But by God, I'd rather die on my feet than to end my days on my knees. It just didn't pay out there on the bay. I couldn't save a dime. So I tied up the boat, my back to the waves. I was old before my time. Driven by duty I left that life for a better job on shore. I raised the kids and left the wife and walked right out the door. My kids are grown and on their own. My duty to them is met. I stand on the shore of Life's autumn, and gaze Out to sea 'til I'm cold and wet. repeat refrain Think of a Viking funeral, with the dead in his own long ship, They'd set it afire, with his dog at his feet, as the ship sailed away from the slip. That's how I'd go if I had my way, to sail from all creation. But they would never allow such a funeral now- 'twould be a hazard to navigation.* ( |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 12:08 PM Old Dude or anyone else can have at it, or anything I have posted here. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST Date: 21 Oct 10 - 02:19 PM I think I'll wait a while before I post anymore lyrics. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 02:40 PM That was me, lost my cookie. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 07:27 PM Maeve has done a great job of cleaning this up. Now I need a tune. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 21 Oct 10 - 09:32 PM This has been moved to its own thread. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: The last whale hunt From: kendall Date: 05 Feb 18 - 08:58 PM I was poking through the dt and suddenly there it was, two of my songs. The last whale hunt and Hazards to navigation. If you want to give me your opinion of them I would be very grateful. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: Joe Offer Date: 05 Feb 18 - 09:13 PM Well, I don't see the songs in the Digital Tradition, but they certainly are in the Forum - and I like both songs. I didn't find recordings of the songs at YouTube, but there are plenty of other Kendall Morse recordings at this link:Kendall's recordings are favorites at our house. The guy does good work. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: kendall Date: 05 Feb 18 - 10:54 PM I get lost easily. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Last Whale Hunt (Kendall Morse) From: GUEST Date: 04 Aug 20 - 06:51 PM I;ve bween away from picking, singng too many slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune to eat my time. my last book is Father fell down the well tthe one I was working on was just too eexpensive to do. good one too. called "TRUE ENOUGH. |
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