Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver (A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson)

Subject: The Pearl Diver
From: GUEST,Roll&Go-C
Date: 06 Feb 01 - 02:35 PM

THE PEARL DIVER

This old Music Hall (?) song was learned from the singing of Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven, Long Island, NY, in the 1950's.


Rich men who go to Woolworth's
Buying treasures for their girls,
Little dream of all the perils
Of those who dive for pearls.

See the diver in the ocean
Fighting with the octopus,
While the cruel sharks lie waiting,
Saying: "Here's a meal for us!"

And the rich man drives by
In his carriage en pair,
Little does he care
Little does he care,
Though the diver cries "Help!"
He heedeth him not,
But tells his man in livery
"Drive on at a trot!"

Quickly the lifeboat
Puts out from the shore,
But it's too late,
He meets a cruel fate; In the shark's inner organs
He breaths a last prayer,
While the rich man drives by
In his carriage en pair.

I would love to find out more information about this song.

Subject: Chords Add: THE PEARL DIVER
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Aug 01 - 01:41 PM

Finally got around to doing the chords for this one. Copy and paste into Word using size 12 Times font and the chord positions should be fairly close:

THE PEARL DIVER
(Learned from the singing of the late Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven, Long Island, NY, in the 1950's.)

C
Rich men who go to Woolworth's
-------F
Buying treasures for their girls,
------G
Little dream of all the perils
---C
Of those who dive for pearls.

---------------G-C
See the diver in the ocean
--------------------G-C
Fighting with the oc-to-pus,
G----C--F
While the cruel sharks lie waiting,
---------G7
Saying: "Here's a meal for us!"

--------C
And the rich man drives by
------F
In his car-ri-age en pair,
G
Little does he care,
C
Little does he care,
-----------F----------F7
Though the diver cries "Help!"
---C------E7—A7
He heedeth him not
----D7
But tells his man in livery
-------G----G7
"Drive on at a trot!"

C
Quickly the lifeboat
----F
Puts out from the shore
G
But it's too late,
---C
He meets a cruel fate;
----------F--------------F7
And in the shark's inner or-gans
---C-------E7-A7
He breaths a last prayer,
---------D7------------G
While the rich man drives by
------G7---------C
In his car-ri-age en pair.

Subject: Chords Add: THE PEARL DIVER
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Apr 04 - 03:28 PM

This is the way I do these lyrics now:

The Pearl Diver


C
Rich men who go to Tiffany's
-------F
Buying treasures for their girls,
------G------------G7
Little dream of all the perils
---C-------------G-C
Of those who dive for pearls.

---------------G-C
See the diver in the ocean
--------------------G-C
Fighting with the oc-to-pus,
G----C--F
While the cruel sharks lie waiting,
---------G7
Saying: "Here's a meal for us!"

--------C
And the rich man drives by
C7--/96F
In his car-ri-age and pair,
G-----------G7
Little does he care,
C--------G-C
Little does he care,
-----------F----------F7
Though the diver cries "Help!"
---C------C7—A7
He heedeth him not
----D7
But tells his man in livery
------G--C/G7
"Drive on at a trot!"

C-------------G
Quickly the life-boat
C--F
Puts out from the shore
G---------G7
But it's too late,
---C-----C7--C
He meets a cruel fate;
----------F--------------F7
And in the shark's inner or-gans
---C-------C7-A7
He breaths a last prayer,
---------D7------------G
While the rich man drives by
------G7---------C
In his car-ri-age and pair.

And if you'd like to access a MP3 rendition of how it sounds, it's now loaded on my personal website:Click here!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PEARL DIVER (A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson)
From: Teribus
Date: 05 Apr 04 - 09:09 AM

There's this one, much better story from the pen of Banjo Paterson:

THE PEARL DIVER
(A. B. "Banjo" Paterson)

Kanzo Makame, the diver, sturdy and small Japanee,
Seeker of pearls and of pearl-shell down in the depths of the sea,
Trudged o'er the bed of the ocean, searching industriously.

Over the pearl-grounds the lugger drifted -- a little white speck:
Joe Nagasaki, the "tender", holding the life-line on deck,
Talked through the rope to the diver, knew when to drift or to check.

Kanzo was king of his lugger, master and diver in one,
Diving wherever it pleased him, taking instructions from none;
Hither and thither he wandered, steering by stars and by sun.

Fearless he was beyond credence, looking at death eye to eye:
This was his formula always, "All man go dead by and by --
S'posing time come no can help it -- s'pose time no come, then no die."

Dived in the depths of the Darnleys, down twenty fathom and five;
Down where by law, and by reason, men are forbidden to dive;
Down in a pressure so awful that only the strongest survive:

Sweated four men at the air pumps, fast as the handles could go,
Forcing the air down that reached him heated and tainted, and slow --
Kanzo Makame the diver stayed seven minutes below;

Came up on deck like a dead man, paralysed body and brain;
Suffered, while blood was returning, infinite tortures of pain:
Sailed once again to the Darnleys -- laughed and descended again!

* * * * * *

Scarce grew the shell in the shallows, rarely a patch could they touch;
Always the take was so little, always the labour so much;
Always they thought of the Islands held by the lumbering Dutch --

Islands where shell was in plenty lying in passage and bay,
Islands where divers could gather hundreds of shell in a day.
But the lumbering Dutch in their gunboats they hunted the divers away.

Joe Nagasaki, the "tender", finding the profits grow small,
Said, "Let us go to the Islands, try for a number one haul!
If we get caught, go to prison -- let them take lugger and all!"

Kanzo Makame, the diver -- knowing full well what it meant --
Fatalist, gambler, and stoic, smiled a broad smile of content,
Flattened in mainsail and foresail, and off to the Islands they went.

Close to the headlands they drifted, picking up shell by the ton,
Piled up on deck were the oysters, opening wide in the sun,
When, from the lee of the headland, boomed the report of a gun.

Then if the diver was sighted, pearl-shell and lugger must go --
Joe Nagasaki decided (quick was the word and the blow),
Cut both the pipe and the life-line, leaving the diver below!

Kanzo Makame, the diver, failing to quite understand,
Pulled the "haul up" on the life-line, found it was slack in his hand;
Then, like a little brown stoic, lay down and died on the sand.

Joe Nagasaki, the "tender", smiling a sanctified smile,
Headed her straight for the gunboat--throwing out shells all the while --
Then went aboard and reported, "No makee dive in three mile!

"Dress no have got and no helmet -- diver go shore on the spree;
Plenty wind come and break rudder -- lugger get blown out to sea:
Take me to Japanee Consul, he help a poor Japanee!"

* * * * * *

So the Dutch let him go; but they watched him, as off from the Islands he ran,
Doubting him much -- but what would you? You have to be sure of your man
Ere you wake up that nest-ful of hornets -- the little brown men of Japan.

Down in the ooze and the coral, down where earth's wonders are spread,
Helmeted, ghastly, and swollen, Kanzo Makame lies dead.
Joe Nagasaki, his "tender", is owner and diver instead.

Wearer of pearls in your necklace, comfort yourself if you can.
These are the risks of the pearling -- these are the ways of Japan;
"Plenty more Japanee diver plenty more little brown man!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Apr 04 - 11:08 AM

Teribus-

Very good story!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver
From: Amos
Date: 05 Apr 04 - 12:34 PM

Wow, Teribus. Thanks for as rollicking tale.

A

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Nov 25 - 07:12 PM

The music-hall song that mentions a pearl diver is actually derived from WHILE THE RICH MAN RIDES BY IN HIS CARRIAGE AND PAIR by R. P. Weston & Bert Lee, ©1926. Lyrics, links, and other info can be found in this thread: Lyr Add: While the Rich Man Rides By in His ...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver (A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Nov 25 - 09:11 PM

Thanks again, Jim.

Cheerily,
Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pearl Diver (A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson)
From: GerryM
Date: 24 Nov 25 - 01:03 AM

See also Sayonara, Nakamura – a song by Ted Egan. There's a thread about it here, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=48892