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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST Date: 11 Oct 21 - 05:45 PM Dolly Blue; In 1890 Johannes Eggestorff whose father had set up an Ultramarine blue pigment factory in Hull for James Reckitt and Son acquired the vacant Backbarrow cotton mill site including the mill and all the accommodation for workers, and started to manufacture ultramarine blue powder the under the name of the Lancashire Ultramarine Company, it became so successful that the company was taken over in 1928 by Reckitt and Colman Ltd. The factory closed in 1982 not because of lack of business but because the factory could not meet the required environmental standards, strict control of waste water and the chimneys act designed to stop air pollution. The main factory building is now the luxurious four star Whitewater Hotel which has on display in its grounds examples of machinery and inside smaller items are tastefully displayed. When you drove through Backbarrow - near Ulverston in Cumbria - the site always stood out because the walls of the mill and the banks of the River Leven were stained bright blue. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: gillymor Date: 11 Oct 21 - 10:27 AM I fell for this song since I first heard the Planxty intro on After the Break and still sing it. I've always assumed, for no good reason, that China Hottentot, or Chinese Hottentot in the Nick Jones version, referred to opium. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Steve Gardham Date: 11 Oct 21 - 09:45 AM Mick McGarry of Spare Hands sings this Clifton song. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: The Sandman Date: 11 Oct 21 - 05:50 AM a tutorial on how to accompany on English concertina if anyone is intersted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlKZphms-Fo |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,bthebert Date: 09 Oct 21 - 09:17 AM At first I thought the verse: "To a fine young man that drives a van for Chapman Son & Co.” meant it had to be a 20th Century song, but then I looked up Chapman Son and Co. and found out they have been around since the 18th c. I also looked up the origin of "Van" and found out in the late 19th century, when it was written, Van was a common shortening of "Caravan," which also meant "covered horse-drawn wagon" dates from the early 19th century. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,bthebert Date: 09 Oct 21 - 08:56 AM Harry Clifton (1824-1872) The earliest surviving sheet music was published in 1865, words credited to Harry Clifton and music to John Candy, and published in 1856. http://folksongandmusichall.com/index.php/on-board-o-the-kangaroo/ https://www.contemplator.com/sea/kangaroo.html |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,Tilly Date: 18 Jun 16 - 04:52 PM Clueless Don, It definitely depends on the version you hear. The version I've heard is Bram Taylor's from his album 'Bide Awhile,' which has the verses in an order that leads me to the same conclusion as you. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: The Sandman Date: 18 Apr 12 - 03:45 PM the song was collected in the fifties from elizabeth cronin of macroom by seamus ennis |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Phil Edwards Date: 18 Apr 12 - 02:19 PM Doesn't work - the laundry references run right through, to the point in the last verse where he says farewell to patent starch (etc)... and hello to "some Chinese hottentot". |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: clueless don Date: 18 Apr 12 - 08:48 AM I know this song from the Planxty version. This is how I have always interpreted it (unencumbered by documentation or other facts!): This fellow returns home, having been at sea longer than he originally planned, and finds that his true love has married another (specifically the smart young man who drives the van.) Broken-hearted, he finds another love - a "China Hottentot". I interpret this as a "foreign lady", as mentioned in previous posts, not as opium or other drugs. It is this "China Hottentot" whose age is two score, and who is a washer in the laundry for one-and-nine a day. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! Don |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Steve Gardham Date: 17 Apr 12 - 04:14 PM Travis and Emery is the name of the shop. They have a website. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Steve Gardham Date: 17 Apr 12 - 03:14 PM Greg, I could easily find the details of the shop and you could email them and pay by PayPal? |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Greg B Date: 16 Apr 12 - 09:23 PM Oh, Steve, if "Cruelty to Yanks" were only a crime, you'd be up in the Old Bailey in a trice. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Steve Gardham Date: 16 Apr 12 - 01:47 PM There's a pristine copy of the original sheet music for £20 down Cecil Court back of Leicester Square tube station. Can't remember the name of the shop but it specialises in sheet music. As you go into the shop the sheet music is flat on shelves under a counter on your left. I left this copy on the top of a pile a couple of weeks back. Needless to say I can't afford it or I'd have got it. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Phil Edwards Date: 16 Apr 12 - 01:00 PM I've just recorded this for 52 Folk Songs: On board the 'Kangaroo' My source was Tony Rose's version, which was a generation or so away from the original and had lost the trade names. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: MartinRyan Date: 22 Nov 11 - 06:11 PM refresh |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Charley Noble Date: 29 Oct 10 - 07:53 AM I wonder how much singers got for "product placement" in their songs. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,shipcmo Date: 29 Oct 10 - 07:08 AM refresh |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Joe Offer Date: 30 May 10 - 12:35 AM Thanks to Artful Codger, MIDI added for Harry Clifton's "On Board the Kangaroo." Click to play |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,thurg Date: 10 Nov 06 - 09:11 PM Doesn't sound like the toughest line of work though - not like being a bouncer in, say, a biker bar ... |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Charley Noble Date: 10 Nov 06 - 07:40 PM FC- "She's a bouncer at a folk club for very little pay." I like that line! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Flash Company Date: 10 Nov 06 - 06:03 AM Can't remember where I got this one from, but I know I sang it a time or two, I had the first line as:- Once I was like any man who stays at home at ease.... And I used to change the profession of the 'lost love'to fit my surroundings:- Twas not her wealth and property that stole me heart away, She's a bouncer at a folk club for very little pay. or on one occasion:- She's a scrubber at a knocking shop for three and six a day FC |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: GUEST,Paul Mercer Date: 09 Nov 06 - 12:41 PM A live version performed by Nic Jones in the 70s(?) has been issued on one of the fine compilations of Jones' live and/or radio recordings. The CD title is "In Search of Nic Jones." The label is Mollie Music (Nic and Julia's private label). |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo From: Geoff the Duck Date: 09 Nov 06 - 11:13 AM If you want an explanation of different types of Blue LOOK HERE (near the bottom of the page)! Quack! GtD. |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Fidjit Date: 08 Nov 06 - 12:42 PM All part of Tescos stock Snuffy ?? Chas |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: ossonflags Date: 08 Nov 06 - 11:36 AM I got the version I do of a Planxty recording.I think it was the last LP they put out in the 1980's |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Betsy Date: 08 Nov 06 - 05:39 AM To guest Ffred Clegg and the question: - any Welsh connection? Google "Milford Haven "and view History. There is no doubt that Milford was a most important port in its time. Amongst other things, in 1649 Cromwell sailed from Milford Haven to Ireland with large army which he claimed would accomplish "final settlement of the Irish problem". Cheers, Betsy |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: GUEST,Amanda Kerby Date: 08 Nov 06 - 04:51 AM For those of us searching for the ship info this thread has been very useful, thanks!! I had an ancestor who joined the ship KANGAROO in 1812, and have a double page from teh Captains log from Kew records recording a terrible storm it went through in 1815 in Halifax. So I wonder if this was the Nova Scotia owned ship. Wondered if the lister from Nova Scotia has ancestor on this same ship? Amanda |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: MartinRyan Date: 10 Jul 06 - 09:53 AM Good stuff... Regards |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Betsy Date: 09 Jul 06 - 08:20 AM Late 1960's there was a little manfacturing plant Reckitts Dolly Blue bags just off the A6 on the Barrow Road, I was working at Ulverston at the time. Also, rhyming-slang South of the River Tees, Middlesbrough. Haven't gotta Dolly (Blue) ....... i.e. I haven't got a clue. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Billy Weeks Date: 08 Jul 06 - 01:39 PM That seems authoritative. I stand corrected. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Snuffy Date: 08 Jul 06 - 12:32 PM If Clifton died in 1872, Reckitts had been producing their blue for the previous twenty years. From the Reckitt's site that Les linked to: This laundry starch company began producing laundry blue in 1852 by using a combination of a synthetic ultramarine and sodium bicarbonate. The advent of using this synthetic made the product affordable to the masses since the active ingredient was previously made by grinding the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Billy Weeks Date: 08 Jul 06 - 12:22 PM Blue powder has been (perhaps now more correct to say was?) used for at least the last three hundred years to make whites look whiter, but I don't think Clifton could have meant Reckitt's Blue. I believe that trade name came into use long after his death. Sorry - hardly worth commenting on - but what I do think is interesting is the frequency with which Clifton's songs (not always identified as such at the outset) appear in this forum. Lots of feral songs can be traced to a theatre or music hall origin, but some writers and singers seem to achieve a particularly high score in this respect and Clifton must be among the top four or five. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Snuffy Date: 08 Jul 06 - 10:49 AM But Dolly Blue was from Bolton. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Les from Hull Date: 07 Jul 06 - 04:16 PM When Harry Clifton talks about 'blue', he presumably means: Reckitt's Blue Reckitt's Blue was also 'from Hull'. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Jim Dixon Date: 07 Jul 06 - 12:43 PM Thanks for the links, Snuffy. It's hard to explain why, but I find the mentioning of specific brand names in this song adds significantly to its humor. I think the term for this is "bathos"—not a word I use often; in fact, I think this is the first time I've ever used it. Just to be sure I was on safe ground, I looked it up: "An abrupt, unintended transition in style from the exalted to the commonplace, producing a ludicrous effect." Fine, but I'm sure the effect was intended in this case—intended by Harry Clifton, that is, not by the fictional narrator. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Jul 06 - 05:05 PM I personally like the line from Joe's first post: "I always liked seafaring life, and BIT my love adieu..." Some aspiring sea cooks are indeed serpant like! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Good Ship Kangaroo (Harry Clifton) From: Snuffy Date: 06 Jul 06 - 01:14 PM "Product Placement" seems to be nothing new: According to this site Chaplin, Horne and Co was described at the time as the largest coaching and carrying business in Great Britain, but was taken over by the London & North Western Railway in 1878 Glenfield starch (bottom left) Harper Twelvetrees' washing powder |
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Subject: Lyr Add: ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO (Harry Clifton) From: Jim Dixon Date: 06 Jul 06 - 12:52 AM Transcribed from the sheet music at The National Library of Australia (I have corrected some "eye dialect" such as "forrin" for "foreign" etc.): ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO Harry Clifton [1865?] 1. Once I was a waterman and lived at home in ease. Now I am a mariner and plough the angry seas. I thought I'd like seafarin' life, so bid my love adieu, And shipped as cook and steward, boys, on board o' the Kangaroo. CHORUS: I never thought she would be false or ever prove untrue When we sailed away from Milford Bay on board o' the Kangaroo. 2. My love she was no foolish girl; her age it was two score. My love was not a spinster; she'd been married twice before. And they could not say it was her wealth that stole my heart away; She was a starcher at a laundress's for eighteen pence a day. 3. "Oh, think of me, oh, think of me," she mournfully did say, "When you are in a foreign land carousin' far away; And take this lucky thrup'ny bit. 'Twill make you bear in mind The loving, faithful, trusting heart you leave in tears behind." 4. "Cheer up, cheer up, my own true love. Don't weep so bitterly." But she sobbed, and sighed, and choked, and cried, and couldn't say goodbye. "I shan't be gone so very long, only months a few. And when I does come back again, in course, I'll marry you." 5. Our vessel it was homeward bound from many a foreign shore, And many a foreign present unto my love I bore. There was tortoises from Tenerife, and toys from Timbuktu, A Chinese rat, and a Bengal cat, and a Bombay cockatoo. 6. Paid off, I sought her dwellin' in the suburbs of the town. A hancient dame upon a line was hanging out a gown. "Where is my love?" "She's married, sir, about six months ago, To a smart young man what drives a van for Chaplin, Horne and Co." 7. Farewell to dreams of married life, to soap, to suds and blue; To Glenfield starch and Harper Twelvetrees' washing powder too. I'll seek some far and distant clime. I can no longer stay, And on some Chinese Hottentot I'll throw myself away. Click to play |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 11 Dec 03 - 03:33 PM I don't think I've ever heard Peter Kennedy sing, though I suppose he must do. He certainly recorded Kangaroo from Harry Cox of Catfield in Norfolk, back in 1963. |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: GUEST,JohnB Date: 11 Dec 03 - 03:26 PM Peter Kennedy does this song, although I don't remember his source. JohnB |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: GUEST,Ffred Clegg Date: 11 Dec 03 - 12:56 PM I wonder if there is also a Welsh connection here? I came recently across a reference to a Swansea man who ran foul of the Poor Law authorities for not maintaining his family and who was a sailor on the Kangaroo (late 1840s this time). Given that some versions reference Milford Bay and the known connections between South Wales and Cork, are there any takers for this theory? |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Phot Date: 13 Nov 03 - 01:41 AM The Cornwall(UK) based shanty crew, Hanging Johnny, do a good rendition of this shanty on their CD "To pass away the time." They do hawe a web site, but I can't think of the address at the moment. Wassail! Chris |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Herga Kitty Date: 12 Nov 03 - 08:45 PM I think I remember both Eric Ilott and Nic Jones singing this. |
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Subject: ADD Version: Aboard the Kangaroo From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Nov 03 - 05:13 PM This is the first of the two versions from Stanley Slade, from Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas. This one is about the same as what Charley Noble posted above, but I thought I'd inclued this one since it's from a documented source. ABOARD THE KANGAROO 1. Once I was a waterman an' lived a life of ease But now I am a mariner ploughing the angry seas CHORUS I never thought she would be false Or ever prove untrue As we sailed away from Bristol quay On board of the Kangaroo 2. I thought I'd like seafarin' life, so I bid my love adieu, And sailed away as bosun's mate, aboard of the Kangaroo. 3. You would not say it was her wealth that stole me heart away, She was starcher at a launderer's for eighteen-pence a day. 4. My love she was no foolish girl, her age it was two-score, My love she was no spinster, she'd been married twice before. 5. Paid off I sought her dwelling 'way on Bristol Down, Where an ancient dame upon a line was hangin' out her gown. 6. 'Where is my love?' 'She's married, sir, about six months ago, To a smart young man who's commander of a barge that trades in coal. 7. Farewell to dreams of married life, to soapsuds and the blue, Farewell to all the Bristol gals, they're fickle-minded too. 8. I'll seek some distant foreign clime, no longer will I stay, An' on some Chinese Hottentot I'll throw this life away! from Hugill's notes: As to the name of the ship Mr. Slade writes: 'There was a schooner named Kangaroo, 84 registered tons, built at Douglas in 1867, and owned by Mrs. Eleanor Qualtrough of Douglas, I.O.M. There were also two others, one owned in Halifax, N.S., and one in St. John's, New foundland.' There was a sailing steamer also named Kangaroo. Click to playThere are two full versions, some tunes, and a fragment in the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection. I'll post the lyrics an tune if anybody wants them, but they're more-or-less the same as the two Hugill versions. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Wolfgang Date: 12 Nov 03 - 05:10 PM "throw [him]self away" on a foreign girl The Traditional Ballad index says here something else than what I remember from Planxty's liner notes to this song. For them 'China hottentot' was opium and not a foreign girl. Wolfgang |
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Subject: ADD Version: On Board of the Kangaroo From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Nov 03 - 04:53 PM This is the second version from Stanley Slade, from Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas ON BOARD OF THE KANGAROO 1. At first I was a waiter man that lived at home at ease But now I am a mariner that ploughs the angry seas I always liked seafaring life, and bit my love adieu I shipped as steward and cook, my boys, on board of the Kangaroo CHORUS Oh, I never thought she would prove false, Or either prove untrue, Till we sailed away through Milford Bay, On board o' the Kangaroo. 2. 'Oh, think of me, oh, think of me,' she mournfully did say, 'When you are in a foreign land and I am far away. Take this lucky threepenny bit, 'twill make you bear in mind Of a loving, trusting faithful heart you have left in tears behind.' Oh, I never thought she would prove false... 3. 'Cheer up, cheer up, my own true love, don't weep so bitterly,' She sobbed, she sighed, she choked, she cried, and could not say goodbye. 'Oh, I won't be gone so very long, just but a month or two, And when I will return again, of course I'll marry you.' Ch. Oh, I never, etc. 4. Our vessel she was homeward bound from many a foreign shore, And many a foreign present unto my love I bore. I brought tortoises from Teneriffe and ties from Timbuctoo, A china rat, a Bengal cat, and a Bombay cockatoo. 5. Paid off I sought her dwelling in a suburb of the town, Where an ancient dame upon a line was hanging out her gown. 'Where is my love?' 'She's married, sir, about six months ago, To a smart young man that drives the van for Chapping, Son and Co.' 6. Here's a health to dreams of married life, to soap, to suds, and blue, Hearts, true lovers, patent starch and washing soda too. I will go unto some distant shore, no longer can I stay, And on some China Hottentot I'll throw myself away. 7. My true love she's not a foolish girl, her age it is two score, My love she's not a spinster, she was married twice before. I cannot say it was her wealth that stole me heart away, She's a starcher and a laundress for eighteen-pence a day. Click to play |
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Subject: ADD Version: Aboard of the Kangaroo From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Nov 03 - 03:29 PM Meredith/Hansen's Folksongs of Australia has just a fragment, but more of a tune that we have in the DT:
Don't weep so bitterly. She sobbed, she sighed, she choked and cried, And could not say goodbye. I shan't be gone so very long— Just only a month or two— But when I do return again Of course I will marry you. [4 lines missing] I never thought that she'd prove false, Or ever be untrue, As I sailed away from Ilford Bay On board of the Kangaroo. Click to play |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Nov 03 - 03:19 PM Not much in the Traditional Ballad Index on this one. -Joe Offer- Good Ship Kangaroo, TheDESCRIPTION: The singer goes to sea on the Kangaroo. His sweetheart gives him a token to remember her by. On his return home, he learns the she has run off with another man. He vows to go to a foreign shore and "throw [him]self away" on a foreign girlAUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1955 KEYWORDS: love separation sailor return infidelity FOUND IN: Ireland Australia REFERENCES (2 citations): Meredith/Anderson, p. 60, "Aboard of the Kangaroo" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SHPKNGR* Roud #925 File: MA060 Go to the Ballad Search form The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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Subject: RE: Good Ship Kangaroo? From: GUEST,Nova Scotia Date: 12 Nov 03 - 12:07 PM Hey the Kangaroo really was a ship! My great grandfather sailed on and survived her sinking in the Crimean War, 1856. Could this be the very ship of which people sing? --Bruce Nunn write me here: novascotiaknowitall@yahoo.ca |
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