Lyr Req: East Ferry (Jimmy Crowley)

Subject: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: radriano
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 02:12 PM

"East Ferry" is one of the songs on Jimmy Crowley's album "The Coast of Malabar" - it's a lovely album but Crowley's Cork accent defeats my attempts to transcribe lyrics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: michaelr
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 11:10 PM

You might try a PM to Bonnie Shaljean who knows Jimmy personally. I'm not familiar with the song or the album (how old is it?) but I do believe that a J.C. songbook is in print.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: Lyr Add: EAST FERRY (Jimmy Crowley)
From: radriano
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 12:52 PM

Michael,

"The Coast of Malabar" is Crowley's latest release. I've reached Jimmy by e-mail directly but his response was "Sure, you can get the words right off the cd." The problem is that some of the songs have local Irish names and places which are hard to make out with his Cork accent. Since the album is brand new I doubt whether lyrics would appear in Jmmmy's songbook.

Actually, "East Ferry" is not as bad as some of the other songs to understand but there are still a few phrases I can't make out. I'll PM Bonnie, thanks for the tip. In the meantime, here's what I've got transcribed:


EAST FERRY
Jimmy Crowley, The Coast of Malabar
Written by Jimmy Crowley

[deangelas] is rigging out from old Crosshaven Town
The boys are on the jetty, we'll soon be outward bound
Seagulls reel above her and sunbeams dance around
The good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

Chorus:
[so let trabo] boys, jump aboard, it's good to be alive
The wind is free and easy, we'll catch the flowing tide
We'll shoot the breeze together, boys, and reach the other side
On the good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

Tony takes the tiller and Kevin takes the keel
Dominic's on the mainsail and Spike is on the [ ]
And [Gorgon's] on the mandolin playing the Conemara Queen
To shorten the passage to East Ferry

We talk about the new ways and the sun it disappears
Hunger for the old days, south of Queenstown Pier
Ever seeking the passage between life's woes and cares
On the good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

[It's Silver Moon] , a cozy creek, an alehouse by the pier
A bonny berth for Nora, [ ] drinks his beer
And if I could sail forever with those tawny buccaneers
From the good ship Nora Lee in East Ferry

Notes from the album: I [Jimmy Crowley] have a little sailboat called Nora Lee and I take her round the coast to West Cork in the summer, but she's in Cork Harbour most of the time. I was trying to time-freeze a wonderful day with three good friends on board on the passage from Crosshaven to the pretty harbour of East Ferry, a regular watering hole where we sometimes have a session and stay overnight and try and solve all the problems of existence.

Richard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 03:13 PM

Richard

I'll have a listen.

Regards

Subject: Lyr Add: EAST FERRY (Jimmy Crowley)
From: radriano
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 07:25 PM

Well, I sent off another e-mail to Jimmy Crowley with my transcription. He's in the middle of touring but he was very gracious and filled in the missing words. Here are the amended lyrics:

EAST FERRY
Written by Jimmy Crowley
Jimmy Crowley, The Coast of Malabar


The Angelus is ringing out from old Crosshaven Town
The boys are on the jetty, we'll soon be outward bound
Seagulls reel above her and sunbeams dance around
The good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

Chorus:
So let her go, boys, jump aboard, it's good to be alive
The wind is free and easy, we'll catch the flowing tide
We'll shoot the breeze together, boys, and reach the other side
On the good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

Tony takes the tiller and heaven takes the keel
Dominic's on the mainsail and Spike is on the beam
And Dorgan's on the mandolin playing the Conemara Queen
To shorten the passage to East Ferry

We talk about the new ways and the sun it disappears
Hunger for the old days, south of Queenstown Pier
Ever seeking the passage between life's woes and cares
On the good ship Nora Lee to East Ferry

A silver moon, a cozy creek, an alehouse by the pier
A bonny berth for Nora, where the barn owl drinks his beer
And if I could sail forever with those tawny buccaneers
From the good ship Nora Lee in East Ferry


Notes from the album: I [Jimmy Crowley] have a little sailboat called Nora Lee and I take her round the coast to West Cork in the summer, but she's in Cork Harbour most of the time. I was trying to time-freeze a wonderful day with three good friends on board on the passage from Crosshaven to the pretty harbour of East Ferry, a regular watering hole where we sometimes have a session and stay overnight and try and solve all the problems of existence.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: radriano
Date: 03 Oct 02 - 12:11 PM

Thanks to all for help with these lyrics.

I would heartily recommend Jimmy Crowley's cd to all sea music fans. I ordered my copy from CAMSCO. The full title is "The Coast of Malabar, Romantic songs of ships and the sea from Ireland, England, Scotland and America." The arrangements for these songs are wonderful. Here is Jimmy's introduction notes from the cd followed by the track list.

"My love affair with the sea began with a stint as a trainee on board the Irish sail-trailing brigantine, Asgard 2. This album is a collection of the sea songs I love best and represents an ongoing body of work drawn from newly composed ballads to fresh arrangements of traditional ones. Feeling that sea shanties are well represented in the recorded work of other folk singers, a choice was made to feature the romantic nature of the sea as a living force which has both separated and united the people of these islands and America for many years.

It was a joy to work with bouzouki maestro, Niall Ó Callándin, whose skill as a producer and consummate musician was a source of comfort and delight. I thank him for going along with my crazy notion of working exclusively with musical arrangements on the mandolin family - instruments such as bouzouki, mandola, mandocello: many of them of great antiquity, as well as a new instrument designed especially by Dublin luthier Joe Foley, called a dordán or bass bouzouki.

So, this album fulfills a twofold role, celebrating the romance of ships, boats and the power of the ocean over all our lives on the one hand and paying tribute to the great luthiers like Stefan Sobell, Joe Foley, Andy Manson, Dave Farmiloe, Oakwood bouzoukis who make Niall's instruments, Ibanez and Washburn and the great craftsmen and innovators like Lloyd Loar who worked for the Gibson guitar and mandolin company in the States.

Finally, I am gratefull to Tommy Munnelly who kindly provided additional information on some of the older ballads."

Jimmy Crowley, April 2000

Track List:
The Coast of Malabar (traditional)
The Girls of Ballytrapeen (traditional)
The Lowlands Low (Sailing in the Lowlands Low) (P.J. McCall)
The Hills of Isle au Haut (Gordon Bok)
St. Brendan's Fair Isle (Jimmy Driftwood)
East Ferry (Jimmy Crowley)
Fiddlers Green (John Conolly)
The Lady Leroy (traditional)
Titanic Queenstown (Jimmy Crowley)
My True Love She is Beautiful (traditional)
My Love is a Tall Ship (Jimmy Crowley)
The Wild Caribee (Jerry O'Neill)
The Balena (traditional)
Sailortown (Bill Meek)


Radriano

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: GUEST,pattyClink
Date: 05 May 09 - 09:56 AM

I bought this CD when Jimmy came to town this spring, what a treasure it is. (along with the new Captain Mackey's which is pretty extraordinary too).

This song and "Hills of Isle au Haut" are just haunting me and demanding to be learned. Yet real life is getting in the way of transcribing all that text off that teeny print.

So thanks, you guys, for the fact that I was able to come here and find this.   I'll use it and hopefully teach it to a few other people.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 May 09 - 09:43 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: East Ferry written by Jimmy Crowley
From: pattyClink
Date: 06 May 09 - 09:07 PM

I was looking at the liner notes and in fact there are no lyrics, even in teeny print. So it is doubly good that is has been accurately transcribed and archived here!