Lyr Add: The Land of Fish and Seals

Subject: Lyr Add: The Land of Fish and Seals
From: Felipa
Date: 30 Jun 21 - 06:20 PM

GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador
http://gestsongs.com/34/land.htm

THE LAND OF FISH AND SEALS
(Margaret Sharp Peace)

Let sunny India her wealth proclaim,
her gorgeous glowing sky,
Her silken stores, her golden veins,
and flowers of every dye;
We envy not her gaudy show
where death insidious steals,
For wealth's bright diamond deck our brow
in the land of fish and seals.

Let Italy and France and Spain
their vine-clad valleys praise,
Let Greece and Rome take up the strain
and sing of bye-gone days;
Of classic fames and gorgeous names
which fame's loud trump reveals,
We boast not of past glory
in the land of fish and seals.

No great immortal names are ours
whose deeds our annals trace,
No sunny skies, no golden mines,
nor vines our valleys grace;
And yet our ice-girt Isle can claim
the true, the brave, the leal,
For slave and tyrant we disdain
in the land of fish and seals.

We boast not of our mighty dead,
but of our living brave,
Who the frozen ocean fearless tread,
or skim the angry wave;
Heaven's blessing on their gallant hearts
our country's pride and weal,
Who brave the perils of the deep
in quest of fish and seal.

May plenty cheer our hardy sons
and fortune on them smile,
If milk and honey are not ours
may we have lots of oil;
It will make each face shine with joy,
each bosom grateful feels,
And give contentment, joy and peace
in the land of fish and seals.

####.... Margaret Sharp Peace c.1850 ....####

This variant was printed in St John's in 1905 on page 19 of Murphy's Sealers' Song Book and in 1925 on page 19 of Songs Sung By Old Time Sealers Of Many Years Ago, both published by James Murphy [1867-1931].

James Murphy's Publisher's Notes:
This song was written by the late Mrs Peace, a Scottish lady, and a resident of St John's in the 1850s.

Margaret Sharp Peace nee Ferguson [1822-1897] was from Greenock, Scotland, but lived with her husband Albert in St John's from 1847 to 1864 before moving to Aukland, NZ. She was a poet and author of a book of poems entitled The Convict Ship and Other Poems published by Robert A Baird, Greenock, Scotland, 1850.

From Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Leal - chiefly Scottish: loyal, true.
Weal - well-being; sound, healthy, prosperous state.
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the first song in Keith Murphy's concert set at Northern Roots 2016 festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey8v26fVGYg