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Lyr Add: Wreck off Charleston Bridge (BillyMorris)
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Lyr Add: Wreck off Charleston Bridge (BillyMorris) |
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Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: MMario Date: 08 May 02 - 03:39 PM WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE (Billy Morris 1867) 'Twas a-bout two thous-and years a-go On a fine but rain-y day. A smart young chap nam'd Will-iam Jones, Was bound for_Aus-tra-li-ay So_he went on board of_a pen-ny steam-boat To cross the o_cean main And_he bid a-dieu to Bos-ton Bar Like wise to his Sus-an Jane. sing-ing fare ye well my Sus-an Dear, I may nev-er see you more, Oh my heart's in a com-mo-ti-on I'm a goin' a-cross the o-ce-an Where the winds and wa-ters roar When the ship a-rove off Charles-ton bridge an _ an-gry storm a-rose At first the wind it got to words and then it came to blows Poor Will-iam Jones felt rath-er queer He look'd as tho' in pain He thought of_the land where he was born, _ al-so of Sus-an Jane sigh-ing (etc) The _ gal-lant Capt-ain rush'd on deck With _ fren-zy in one eye. Cried he "Stand by the main jib-boom!" "My bold brave crew stand by!" the no-ble crew stood by some time 'Twas use-less it was vain The storm rag'd wild poor Will-iam dropp'd A _ tear to Sus-an Jane. sob-bing (etc) Will _ rush'd be-low un-to his trunk and _ o-pened wide the lid Then kiss'd his sus-an's por-trait twice (He kiss'd it twice he did!) The capt-ain hailed a pass-ing barge for ass-is-tance all_in vain For_the ship went down with crew and will who _ love'd fair Sus-an Jane. gurg-ling (etc) When the news was broke to Sus-an how Her _ Will-iam had been drown'd She broke out in the fain-ting fits Her an-guish knew no bound Said she with sor-row I'll go mad Or else I''ll go in-sane! For I did love my Will-iam and He lov'd his _ Sus-an Jane she heard: (etc) One _ night as Sus-an sat in grief For the loss of her Will Jones There came a knock at_the front door bell Cried she that voice! Them bones! It was her Will, he was not dead But had come back a-gain And vio-lent-ly threw his arms a-round the neck of sus-an Jane. sing-ing No more fare-well Sus-an Dear for I'll nev-er leave you more oh My heart's in a com-mo-ti-on To the dick-ens with the o-ce-an And the winds and waves that roar MIDI file: wrecko~1.mid Timebase: 192 Name: Wreck Off Charleston Bridge This program is worth the effort of learning it. To download the latest version of MIDItext and get instructions on how to use it click here ABC format: X:1
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Charley Noble Date: 08 May 02 - 04:54 PM The tears were cascading down my cheeks, eroding new gullies, until I came to the last two verses. Is Willie really back from the dead or is it his ghost - bones? Inquiring minds need to know! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: MMario Date: 08 May 02 - 09:19 PM ?? Danged if I know - sentimental me says he survived - those more mystical probably would say it was his ghost.
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Joe Offer Date: 08 May 02 - 10:15 PM Where'd you find the song, MMario? I take it that's the bridge I walked over to get from downtown Boston to the Charleston Navy Yard. If that's the case, then I guess the wreck was in a fairly-protected part of Boston Harbor. I can e-mail you photos I took from the bridge. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Bob Bolton Date: 09 May 02 - 02:22 AM G'day MMario (and Charley), Hmmm ...! Once you get to the ending (and take note of Joe's remark that "I guess the wreck was in a fairly-protected part of Boston Harbor") it starts to remind me of the line of 'spoof' sea-disaster songs ... ones like The Irish Rover or, more inland The Erie Canal. In Australia we have a few of these and the one that this brings to mind is A Nautical Yarn ... about a Murray River paddlewheeler that runs aground in a storm ... on a sandbank ... and they all walk ashore! The same sort of sudden salvation, with little explanation. I guess that I need to decode the MIDI and hear what the tune sounds like. If it seems to be in the comic genre, then the sudden re-appearance of Willie is just part of the style. (I can't see A Nautical Yarn in the DT ... I'll do a bit more of a check for threads with an unharvested version ... and maybe post it, if needed.) Regards, Bob Bolton |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Joe Offer Date: 09 May 02 - 02:27 AM Bob, are you thinking of A Sailor's Yarn? -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Bob Bolton Date: 09 May 02 - 02:29 AM Er ... G'day again, Maybe I shouldn't skip the front parts when I'm looking at the Mudcat in a quiet break! I see from the first few stanzas that this is clearly a music hall comic song - much in the style of The Whallopping Window Blind (a parody of 10,000 Miles Away). I'm afraid I'm more used to the Australian dry style - where you don't telegraph the punches quite so soon in the song! Anyway, I'll have a listen to the tune ... it could be a useful comic spot ... justified by its single reference to sailing for Aus-tra-li-av ... on a penny steamboat! Regard(les)s, Bob Bolton |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Bob Bolton Date: 09 May 02 - 02:37 AM G'day Joe, "Bob, are you thinking of A Sailor's Yarn"?"
No ... A Nautical Yarn starts:
I'll sing of a captain who's well known to fame, This goes to either the tune of Willikins and his Dinah (aka Sweet Betsy From Pike in the US or Dinki Di! in Australian military circles) or a lugubrious minor tune name The Dreadnaught. I'll see what is in the file, at home. Regards, Bob Bolton
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Charley Noble Date: 09 May 02 - 08:50 AM Bob - Do dredge up a few more verses to "A Nautical Yarn" and while you're at it you might also post an image of one of them river steam boats. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: MMario Date: 09 May 02 - 08:51 AM Joe - I found it in the Levy Sheet Music collection - yes - it's a musichall-ish tune - with a nautical flavour (to me at least)
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: Bob Bolton Date: 09 May 02 - 09:03 AM G'day Charley, I don't seem to have the words lurking anywhere on the computer, so I will have to type them in. I will also geta few pix of the old Murray River steamboats ... I have some old photos in books - and there should be some slides from the last time I spent much time in the riverboat towns (er ... Summer 1983 ...?). I'll have to e-mail them to you directly, as I have never gotten around to setting up my own web site (I look after the corporate ones during the working day - and this makes playing with my own site look too much like work! [My excuse, anyway!]...) I can't go and look it up in the library right at the moment - we have a guest (son of a friend up in the Blue Mts ... down in Sydney for a technical training course) sleeping in there - so I'll get it together tomorrow. Regards, Bob Bolton |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTON BRIDGE From: GUEST,Bruce Downes, Melbourne Australia Date: 09 May 02 - 09:35 AM Hi Bob, I've just had a quick look at my reference books but I cann't find "A Nautical Yarn" but I know I've got a recording of it somewhere. Bruce |
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Subject: ADD: A Nautical Yarn From: Bob Bolton Date: 09 May 02 - 10:25 PM G'day Charley, Joe & Bruce, Here are the words to A Nautical Yarn. I usually sing a slightly folk-processed set of the words and I have always used the Villikins and his Dinah tune (but given it a slow, mock-sad, rather minor treatment).
These are the the words as they appear in Keighley Goodchild's 1883 poetry book Who Are You ... but critics maintain it is too far removed from his style to be his own compositions ... more likely to have been heard in a pub in the Echuca area.). I have used the original Goodchild form and spellings ... and the chorus, which is sung with the (probably more authentic) Dreadnought tune
I will post this in a separate Lyric thread, complete with the MIDItxt of the <>Dreadnought tune. I recently heard that, up north on the Darling River, the other arm of the Murray-Darling system where flow depends on distant monsoon rains up in Queensland, the boats could be stranded without water for months - and some captains would pull out the steam engine and set up a steam sawmill to make money while they waited for it to rain ... a thousand miles away! Regards, Bob Bolton No need for a new thread, Bob - just change the name of the message. I made the change for you. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: Lyr Add: WRECK OFF CHARLESTO'N BRIDGE (B Morris) From: Jim Dixon Date: 27 Apr 11 - 12:26 AM The sheet music can be viewed at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music. (Click for a PDF.) [The lyrics are only slightly different from those already posted, but I think it's useful to have a copy without all those hyphens; these lyrics will be more easily found with a search engine.] WRECK OFF CHARLESTO'N BRIDGE or WILL JONES AND SUSAN JANE. Billy Morris Boston: G.D. Russell & Company, 1867. 1. 'Twas about two thousand years ago On a fine but rainy day. A smart young chap named William Jones Was bound for Australia. So he went on board of a penny steamboat To cross the ocean main, And he bid adieu to Boston Bar, Likewise to his Susan Jane. CHORUS: Singing, "Fare ye well, my Susan dear. I may never see you more. Oh, my heart's in a commotion; I'm a-going across the ocean Where the winds and waters roar." 2. When the ship arove off Charlesto'n bridge, An angry storm arose. At first the wind it got to words And then it came to blows. Poor William Jones felt rather queer. (He looked as though in pain.) He thought of the land where he was born, Also of Susan Jane. CHORUS: Sighing, "Fare ye well...." 3. The gallant Captain rushed on deck With frenzy in one eye. Cried he, "Stand by the main jib-boom! My bold brave crew, stand by!" The noble crew stood by some time. 'Twas useless. It was vain. The storm raged wild. Poor William dropped A tear to Susan Jane. CHORUS: Sobbing, "Fare ye well...." 4. Will rushed below unto his trunk And opened wide the lid, Then kissed his Susan's portrait twice. (He kissed it twice, he did.) The Captain hailed a passing barge For assistance, all in vain, For the ship went down with crew and Will Who loved fair Susan Jane. CHORUS: Gurgling, "Fare ye well...." 5. When the news was broke to Susan how Her William had been drowned, She broke out all over in fainting fits. Her anguish knew no bound. Said she, "With sorrow I'll go mad, Or else I'll go insane!! For I did so love my William and He loved his Susan Jane." CHORUS: And on parting he said, "Fare ye well...." 6. One night as Susan sat in grief For the loss of her Will Jones, There came a knock at the front door bell. Cried she, "Them voice! That tones!" It was her Will. He was not dead, But had come back again, And violently threw his arms around The neck of Susan Jane. CHORUS: Singing, "I'll no more say farewell, Susan dear, For I'll never leave you more, My heart's in a commotion. To the dickens with the ocean, And the winds and waves that roar." |
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