Lyr Req: Titanic

Subject: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Boston Bill
Date: 17 Jan 99 - 01:34 PM

Some words are as follows:

"The world o'er from shore to shore whilst mourners at the loss on that big ship on her first trip the ocean for to cross There was no fear but joy and cheer on that good ship's deck but who would think that she was to sink and become a total wreck."

(Should be close but not exact) For an old County Mayo accordian player.(not myself) Thanks to anyone. Boston Bill

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Boston Bill
Date: 20 Jan 99 - 11:54 PM

still hoping! Boston Bill

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Boston Bill
Date: 23 Jan 99 - 01:49 AM

HELPPPPPPP!!! This is a tough nut to crack.

Subject: Lyr Add: SINKING OF THE TITANIC (R "Rabbit" Brown)
From: darwin
Date: 23 Jan 99 - 10:24 PM

You should know that more than a hundred songs were written within a year of the sinking. Have you heard Rabbit Brown's version? - Amazing on 12 string; just try for those lyrics! By, "not the 8 in 'DT'", I hope you don't mean "not 'Darby and Tarlton'". I see that yours is another...Their version follows:

SINKING OF THE TITANIC
As recorded by Richard "Rabbit" Brown, 1930. (Victor 35840)

When the moon rose in its glory
And it drifted to the olden west
It told a sad new story
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest

Captain Smith surely must have been a-drinking
Not knowing that he was doing wrong
He tried to raise a record
And let the Titanic go down

Well, the porter had retired and was sleeping
He was dreaming of some bad dream
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Way out on the bottom of the sea

Mr. Smith, he says to the rich man
"Oh, try and come to light
Try and save your baby
Also your little lovin' wife."

Mrs. Smith heard her husband was a-drownin'
Way out on the deep blue sea
She cried out, "Oh Lord, have mercy
Oh Lord, send him back to me!"

When the sad news reached the city
That the Titanic had gone down
Many widows and poor little orphans
Was walkin' all 'round the town

Subject: Lyr Add: TITANIC
From: Pete
Date: 24 Jan 99 - 07:22 AM

Well they built the ship Titanic
To sail the ocean blue
And they thought they built a ship that the water wouldn’t go through
But the Lord’s almighty hand
Knew the ship would never land
It was sad when that great old ship went down

It was sad
It was sad
It was sad when that great old ship went down
Husbands and their wives
Little children lost their lives
It was sad when that great old ship went down.

I don't know the rest of the song!

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 11-Mar-02.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TITANIC (Paddy Goes to Holyhead)
From: Harald Schmidt
Date: 24 Jan 99 - 07:58 AM

Another song about the Titanic?

The Titanic

On the 11th of April 1912
The queen of the ocean had started her life
With 1300 passengers she sailed out from Cork
Lead by 900 sailors on her way to New York

On the 14th of April at 11.40 pm
An outlook guy named Freddy Fleet the alarmbell he did ring
Captain Smith gave the order: "Half steam ahead!" he cried
As the steamer got a narrow shave from a giant in the night

The water filled the liner
The death-struggle takes 3 hours
The operator's working hard an emergancy he morsed
"California(n) can't you hear me - is your wireless working there?"
Wallace Hartley and his rag-time-band played a tune called Derry Air

On the 15th of April 1912
The queen of the ocean had ended her life
18 Lifeboats were in store 700 for to save
But 1500 passengers rest in their icy grave

Uh, uh, uh - Riddle of the century
Uh, uh, uh - Pride of The White-Star-Line
Uh, uh, uh -Ye became a wet reliquary
Uh, uh, uh - A victim of the brine

...more

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: johnm (inactive)
Date: 24 Jan 99 - 03:02 PM

From "Georgia Sea Island Songs" collected by Alan Lomax


Chrorus
God moves on the water April the 14th day
Yes,God moves on the water, everybody had to run and pray

Titanic left Southampton with all their sport and game.
But when they struck that iceberg, I know their minds was changed.
Chorus

Them mothers told their daughters, on the pleasure trip they may go
But when they struck that iceberg, they haven't been seen anymore.

Chorus

One man, John Jacob Astor, was a man with pluck and brains
While this great ship was sinkin' all the womens he tried to save,

Chorus

He was warn-ednred by a freightful (sp?) Captain Smith would not take heed
But instead of givin' a warnin' he ran with the greater speed.

Chorus

He kissed his wife the last time when the boilder did explode.
He helped her in the life boat saying I won't see you anymore

Chorus

The story of this shipwreck is almost too sad to tell
One thousand and six hundred went down forever to dwell

Chorus

Yeah the 14th day of April twas in 19 hundred and 12
The ship had a wreck by iceberg it went down forever to dwell

Chorus

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From:
Date: 02 Feb 99 - 09:59 PM

Close but no cigar! Need to match the words in the 1st message! Thanks to all! Bill

Subject: Lyr Add: MIDNIGHT ON THE SEA
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 02 Feb 99 - 11:18 PM

From an earlier thread. To find these, click on Forum Search at the top of the page, and type Titanic into box labeled Subject.

A friend of mine, John Bachmann of Chapel Hill, performs this song better than anyone I've heard. He performs it as a narrative, with his 12-string going and singing occasional verses. He calls it "Midnight on the Sea" and attributes it to Huddie Ledbetter, AKA Leadbelly. I'm not going to enter everything here, because the power has gone off once after entering most of it, then after re-entering but before I sent, I froze up and had to restart. So here are the essentials. (I looked up John's address and requested info on the song - if he sends it I will forward to you. Otherwise, I have a low-fi cassette tape of him performing it a few years ago.)

"It was midnight on the sea,
The band played 'Nearer my God to Thee'
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well: (repeat)

Then some narrative about Jack Johnson being heavyweight champion of the world in 1912, going to Europe, being afraid of water and choosing the unsinkable ship, going to the dock, and being told.

“When Jack Johnson tried to get on board,
Cap'n said, 'We don't haul no coal,'
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well: (repeat)

Then the boat leaves port, Captain Lord gets drunk and goes to his cabin, and

"Well, Titanic came 'round a curve,
And she run into a great big iceberg,
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well: (repeat)

More narrative with the lifeboats etc., and

"It was midnight on the sea,
The band played 'nearer my God to thee,
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well, (repeat)

Then "There was lifeboats all around,
Men sayin', 'Don't let women and chillun go down,"
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well.
There was lifeboats all around,
And even Unsinkable Molly Brown,
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well."

Then the narrative describes Jack Johnson going out for a newspaper, and reading about the sinking of the Titanic, and running back to his apartment, grabbing his wife, and saying,

"When Jack Johnson heard that news,
He said, ‘Honey get me my dancing shoes,’
Farewell, Titanic, fare thee well: (repeat)

Sometimes, if John is really rocking and hammering the Guild, he'll include a Leadbelly field holler, like "keep your hands off her" along about this part. Then he describes how Leadbelly took this song to his publisher, and the publisher asked him why he wrote a funny song about a great tragedy, and Leadbelly tells him that the great thing about the Titanic was that not a single black person lost his life.

For the music, I'd have to get my guitar and work out the parts - I don't have one here. I haven't played it for a while, but I can work on it for you. I might even locate the tape - it's not John's best performance, but it's a signature song of his and I've never heard him not stop the show with it. I've never heard about the 97 feet of rope - I'd like to know if we're referring to the same song.

Bob Haight
[e-mail]

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 11-Mar-02.

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Laurel
Date: 03 Feb 99 - 08:42 AM

Pete- Iknow the rest of the song, but have to go to school now. I'll put it down then.

Laurel

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Boston Bill
Date: 11 Feb 99 - 01:27 AM

Close but no cigar! Need to match the words in the 1st message! Thanks to all! Boston Bill

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Boston Bill
Date: 31 May 99 - 01:53 AM

Still looking for this song. Anyone?

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From:
Date: 04 Jul 99 - 09:12 PM

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SHIP TITANIC
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 05:57 PM

Schoolyard version of Titanic:

THE SHIP TITANIC

Oh they built the ship Titanic
To sail the ocean blue
And they thought they had a ship
That the water wouldn't go through
But the good Lord raised his head
Said the ship would never land
It was said when the great ship went down

Chorus:
Oh, it was said, oh, it was said
It was said when the great ship went down
To the bottom, to the bottom of the sea

Uncles and aunts
Little children lost their pants
It was sad when the great ship went down
Ker-plunk
It sunk
What a piece of rotten junk
Made in Tai-waaan!

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 05:59 PM

Forgot to credit Tiki

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Mar 02 - 04:09 PM

Dick Greenhaus: This may be obvious but the version of TITANIC that refers to the "497 feet of rope" was done in the late 60's or early 70's by Jamie Brockett. The reference is about a question that the captain asks the first mate as he was boarding the ship aboput the contents of the bag over his shoulder. It went something like: "Now let me tell you about the first mate. He was working down in a rope factory down there in Mexico and one day the rope factory caught fire and well he ran back in there to save his sardene sandwich and got that got that smoke up in his head and sat down and said.... Shhheeeiiittt, I ain't gonna make rope no more..." So later in the song when the captain is asking him what he is carrying on board he says something like: "I got my B.V.D.'s, I got my mas Marvel comic bboks, I got my sardene sandwich and I got 497 feet of rope... So the Captain says.. 497 feet of rope, What's that for?.... Oh, i just carry it..."

If you haven't heard the song, it's great. 18 minutes of frantic story telling. If you would like a tape, send me a PM and I'll get you one...

The offer stands for other Catboxers, too....

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: TITANIC not the 8 in DT
From: Haruo
Date: 09 Mar 02 - 03:20 AM

Uh, Dicho, the Lord raised his hand, not his head.

Uh, Tiki, it's "itty-bitty kiddies" not "little children". Good bad version, though, otherwise.

When I was in fifth or sixth grade (ca. 1965) I wrote a song on the model of The Titanic about the Miss Exide, an unlimited hydroplane that had crashed. It was sung in several (SE Green Lake, Seattle) neighborhood concerts that year. I regret to say I don't recall the lyrics.

If Ralph Hammersmark or Brad Pederson is out there, maybe they kept a copy.

Liland