DTStudy: Rolling Home to Dear Old England

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: Frivolous Sal
Date: 23 Sep 02 - 08:20 PM

I am sorry. I played it some more. You are right. It is a variant. The library has found the original poem, and I should be able to post it shortly.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: Snuffy
Date: 23 Sep 02 - 07:50 PM

Mehitabel

The tune ROLLHOM3 is used for Rolling Home 2, Rolling Home 3, and Rolling Home to Old New England in the DT. This is the traditional "Kevin Barry" tune, and the only one I have ever heard the song(s) sung to.

WassaiL! V

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: Frivolous Sal
Date: 23 Sep 02 - 12:51 PM

After drowning myself in the tune to rolling home, I believe that the tune in digitrad is not a variant. I believe it is an error. All other versions are almost the same, and I have not been able to find this tune connected to this song.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 02 - 03:18 PM

Forgot to mention, the "Rolling Home" audio on American Memory site is the English one (with the verse rolling home "from Australia").

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 21 Sep 02 - 03:03 PM

Roy Palmer (The Oxford Book of Sea Songs, re-issued as Boxing the Compass, 2001) states that Charles MacKay (1814-1889) wrote his poem Rolling Home "on 26 May 1858 while homeward bound from America as a passenger on the Europa. Its verses were indeed augmented by sailors."

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 02 - 02:39 PM

A great version is sung by Leighton Robinson, Alex Barr, Arthur Brodeur and Leighton McKenzie, 1939 (mp3, wav and Real Audio), Cowell Coll., American Memory, California Gold, Northern California Folk Music From The Thirties, item 6 0f 500.
Put Rolling Home in American Memory Search and click on Cowell Collection.
The song is recorded on American Folklife Center AFS L 27, "American Sea Songs and Shanties."
Search (Sorry, can't figure out the direct hit. Perhaps someone can help?).

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 02 - 02:07 PM

Does anyone have Charles Mackay "Rolling Home ...." from 1858(?). The original has been credited to this poet, but the Ballad Index questions this. I have found a couple of his poems, but not this one.
If it can be found and posted, comparison can be made with the sea songs given here.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Sep 02 - 11:15 AM

OK, so what about the tune Golden Ring uses on this song? Is it traditional? Where's it from?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: ROLLING HOME (TO DEAR NEW ENGLAND)
From: old moose
Date: 20 Sep 02 - 11:37 PM

All the notes tell me how much this song was liked, and I find it pleasing but not a favorite. Going through the books and tapes available to me I have found Stan Hugills' version, of course, and two others not mentioned so far in the thread. I give them with proper citations, but no scores. I have a score for the version in the "Songs of the Sea" and in "American Sea Songs and Shanties" but none for the LP version. If asked I will make shift to fax any score wanted
A further note to give some dimension to all this. My spouse, aka Mehitabel tells me that her grandfather, 1888 -1965, loved this song above all others; he and his forefathers were British seamen, and this was the song sung at his funeral.


pp 141-143 American Sea Songs & Chanteys c.1948 Frank Shay and Edward A. Wilson from Iron Men and Wooden Ships c. 1924


This ballad, so completely English, is a great favorite on the vessels of all nations. Several attempts have been made by eager patriots to give it a Yankee slant, such as "rolling home to dear old Boston" or to New York or some other two-syllable port but without any auricular success. Americans, letting go as the song deserves, still roll home to merry England.

Rolling Home

Up aloft amid the rigging,
Swiftly blows the favoring gale,
Strong as springtime in its blossom,
Filling out each bending sail.
And the waves we leave behind us,
Seem to murmur as they rise,
We have tarried here to bear you,
To the land you dearly prize.

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea;
Rolling home to dear old England,
Rolling borne, dear land, to thee!

Full ten thousand miles behind us,
And a thousand miles before,
Ancient ocean waves to waft us
To the well-remembered shore,
Newborn breezes swell to send us
To our childhood's welcome skies,
To the glow of friendly faces
And the glance of loving eyes.

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea;
Rolling home to dear old England,
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!


The Oxford book of Sea Songs - Song 116 p.238

Call all hands to man the capstan
See your cable is all clear
For tonight we'll sail for England
And for England, sure, we'll steer

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea;
Rolling home for dear old England,
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!

Up aloft amidst the rigging,
Loudly roars th' exulting gale,
Like a bird with outstretched pinions,
Rolling on 'neath billowing sail.

Chorus

Many thousand miles behind us,
Many thousand miles before,
Ancient ocean waves to waft us
To the well-remembered shore,

I have heard it in various parts of the world, and I think that on the whole it has given me more pleasure than any song I have ever heard. 'It has many stanzas, for I expect that many of its lovers have added to it.' So John Masefield wrote of 'Rolling Home', which was originally a poem written by Charles Mackay (1814— 89) on 26 May i858 while homeward bound from America as a passenger on the Europa. Its eight verses were indeed augmented by sailors. Hugill, who calls it 'the most famous homeward-bound song of them all', prints well over twenty, many with variants. Bob Roberts (1907—82) heard this version sung in the forecastle of the barquentine, Water witch, coming up-Channel, when an American sailor remarked: 'Goddam, that song almost makes me wish I was a "limey".' He need not have worried, for there are versions in which 'dear old England' is replaced by New England, fair Columbia, and New York City, not to speak of bonny Scotland, dear old Ireland and even Deutschland Heimat. The song was also used as a capstan shanty.



Songs of The Sea Norman Luboff Choir Columbia c. 1948

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea;
Rolling home to dear New England,
Rolling home, dear land, to thee!

Call all hands to man the capstan
See your cable is run clear
We'll heave and heave together
And for New England we will steer

Chorus

All the waves we leave behind us
seem to murmur as they go
there's a hearty welcome waiting
In the land to which you go

Chorus

Then we'll sing in joyful chorus
Thru the watches of the night
Till we see the shores of dear New England
In the early morning's light

From Mehitabel -
I noticed that every available tune is slightly different, consistent with sailors making up tunes or words as they carry it from ship to ship and can't quite remember it. The "Rolling Home tune #1" in my family is quite different from the two in the data base.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: ROLLING HOME to Dear Old England
From: greg stephens
Date: 19 Sep 02 - 04:14 PM

Not quite sure what information is required, or what we already have. Things that obviously spring to mind are that the words are attributed to Charles Mackay,in 1858.(I take thisfact from Hugill, "Shanties from the Seven Seas"). Often sung as "Rolling home to dear old Ireland", and doubtless other countries.
Songs which later used the tune include "Kevin Barry" and "Will me soul pass through Ireland".

Subject: DTStudy: Rolling Home to Dear Old England
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Sep 02 - 03:53 PM

This is an edited DTStudy thread, and all messages posted here are subject to editing and deletion.
This thread is intended to serve as a forum for corrections and annotations for the Digital Tradition song named in the title of this thread.

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I came across eleven threads discussing the John Tams song When We Go Rolling Home and a few messages discussing "I've Got Sixpence" when the Tams song was wanted, and one requesting Eric Anderson's Rollin Home. I found very little mention of "Rolling Home to Dear Old England/Old New England," and I think it would bve worthwhile to discuss the origins and versions of this lovely song. To start things off, here are the versions we have, along with the Traditional Ballad Index entry.
-Joe Offer-

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ROLLING HOME 2

Pipe all hands to man the windlass.
See our cable running clear.
As we heave away the anchor,
For old England we will steer.

Rolling home, rolling home,
Rolling home across the sea.
Rolling home to dear old England,
Rolling home, fair land, to thee.

Let us all heave with a will, boys,
Soon our cable we will trip,
And across the briny ocean
We will steer our gallant ship.

Man the bars; heave with a will, lads,
Let all hands that can clap on;
And while we heave round the capstan
We will sing that well-known song.

To Australia's lovely daughters
We will bid a fond adieu.
We shall ne'er forget the hours
That we spent along with you.

We will leave you our best wishes,
We will leave your rocky shores.
For we're bound to dear Old England,
To return to you no more.

Up aloft amongst the rigging
Blows the wild and rushing gale,
Straining every spar and backstay,
Stretching stitch in every sail.

Eighteen months away from England,
Now a hundred days or more
On salt-horse and cracker-hash, boys,
Boston beans that made us sore.

Eastwards, ever eastwards
To the rising of the sun.
Homewards, ever homewards
To the land where we were born.

Ten thousand miles now lay behind us,
Ten thousand miles or more to roam.
Soon we'll see our native country,
Soon we'll greet our dear old home.

Round Cape Horn one winter's morning,
All among the ice and snow
You could hear them shellbacks singing,
``Sheet her home, boys, let her go!''

Heave away, you sons-of-thunder,
For the nor'ard we will steer,
Where the gals and wives are waiting,
Standing there upon the pier.

Cheer up, Jack, bright smiles await you
From the fairest of the fair.
There are loving hearts to greet you
And kind welcomes everywhere.

And the gal you love most dearly,
She's been constant, firm and true.
She will clap you to her bosom,
Saying, ``Jack, I still love you.''

And we'll sing in joyful chorus
In the watches of the night,
And we'll greet the shores of England
When the grey dawn breaks the light.

@sailor @home
See also ROLLHOME
filename[ ROLLHOM2
BR

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ROLLING HOME TO OLD NEW ENGLAND

Call all hands to man the capstan
See the cable running clear
Heave away and with a will, boys
For new England we will steer

Rolling home, rolling home
Rolling home across the sea
Rolling home to old New England
Rolling home dear land to thee

Fare you well, you Spanish maidens
It is time to say adieu
Happy times we've spent together
Happy times we've spent with you

"Round Cape Horn one frosty morning
And our sails were full of snow
Clear your sheets and sway your halyards
Swing her out and let her go

Up aloft amid the rigging
Blows a wild and rushing gale
Like a monsoon in the springtime
Filling out each well known sail

And the waves we leave behind us
Seem to murmur as they flow
There's a hearty welcome waiting
In the land to which you go

Many thousand miles behind us
Many thousand miles before
Ocean lifts her winds to bring us
To that well remembered shore

@sailor @home
Ed Trickett learned from Lawrence Older
Recorded on Golden Ring
filename[ ROLLHOME
SOF

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ROLLING HOME 3

Call all hands to man the capstan
See the cable flaked down clear.
Heave away, and with a will, boys,
For ol' England we will steer.

Rolling home, rolling home
Rolling home across the sea,
Rolling home to dear ol' England
Rolling home, fair land to thee.

Now Australia we are leavin'
For Old England give a cheer,
Fare thee well, ye dark-eyed damsels
Give three cheers for English beer!

Goodbye Heads, we're bound to leave you
Haul the tow=rope all inboard,
We will leave old Aussie sternward
Clap all sail we can afford.

Round Cape Horn on a winter's morning
Now among the ice and snow,
You will hear our shellbacks singin'
Sheet her home, boys, let 'er go!

WIghteen months away from England
Only fifty days, no more,
On salt horse and cracker-hash, boys
Boston beans that mke us sore.

Now the Lizard Light's a-shinin'
And we're bound up to the Nore,
With the canvas full an' drawin'
Soon we'll be on England's shore.

From Songs of the Sea, Hugill
@sailor @home @work
filename[ ROLLHOM3
Tune file : ROLLHOM3

CLICK TO PLAY

RG

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Rolling Home

DESCRIPTION: The sailors are "Rolling home, rolling home, rolling home across the sea, Rolling home (to wherever home is)." They describe they voyage, the girls or whatnot they have left behind, and the joys of returning to home (and sweethearts)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906
KEYWORDS: ship travel return reunion
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE) Australia
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 155-160, "Rolling Home" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 54-55, "Rolling Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 95, "Rolling Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 320-321, "Rolling Home" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 96, "Rolling Home" (1 text)
DT, ROLLHOME ROLLHOM2 ROLLHOM3
RECORDINGS:
Capt. Leighton Robinson w. Alex Barr, Arthur Brodeur & Leighton McKenzie, "Rolling Home" (AFS 4230 A, 1939; on LC27; on LC27, in AMMEM/Cowell)
Notes: Silber credits this to Charles Mackay, but I have seen no other support from this claim, and the variety of verses known to me (most of which do not occur in Silber) implies that this is a genuinely traditional song. - RBW
File: Doe155

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I know there are other songs that use this tune. I'd like to have a list of them here; but if the songs are related to this one just by tune, maybe we could discuss them in another thread. The tune we have for "Rolling Home 3 (CLICK TO PLAY) is almost like the tune we have for Kevin Barry in the Digital Tradition (and exactly the tune I know for Kevin Barry). I know "Rolling Home to Old New England" from the Golden Ring recording - with a different tune. I don't think we have that tune posted anywhere, and I think we should have it.