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05 Jul 07 - 01:50 PM (#2094869) Subject: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone? From: LesB Tich Frier sings a great song called "Isaac Lewis" written by Tom Russell. Does anyone have the lyrics and/or a link to a sound clip for the tune? Cheers Les |
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05 Jul 07 - 03:45 PM (#2094959) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone?(Tom Russ From: Joe Offer Tom Russell has a very nice Website, http://www.tomrussell.com/. If you go to "merchandise," you can view the track listings for all of his recordings. The page instructs you to click on the song title for lyrics, if available - but I didn't find lyrics for any of the songs I clicked on. This song is on the 2003 album, Modern Art. Tom does a number of duets with Nanci Griffith on the CD, so I just may have to buy it. -Joe- |
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05 Jul 07 - 04:33 PM (#2095013) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone?(Tom Russ From: Joe Offer Here's my transcription of the fragment available at Amazon ....We could do, too. So it's up that Mersey River out of Liverpool we flew And some of us were sailors, all hardies, young and old And some of us were pioneers, bound off for the gold There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of (In case you question the value of a fragment - Jim Dixon and I post fragment transcriptions to help others search for the full lyrics) |
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05 Jul 07 - 05:52 PM (#2095070) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone?(Tom Russell) From: LesB Thanks Joe, I did the Tom Russell website too, & found no link. When I heard Tich sing it last Sunday at the bothyfolkclub I am sure that i had heard it sung by an artist in a club within the last year. It may be that I heard Tich do it at Whitby Folk Week Last Aug, but it seemed fresher than that. Cheers Les |
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06 Jul 07 - 07:28 AM (#2095511) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone?(Tom Russell) From: LesB refresh |
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06 Jul 07 - 10:38 AM (#2095639) Subject: Lyr Add: ISAAC LEWIS (Tom Russell) From: Simon G ISAAC LEWIS (Tom Russell) My name is Isaac Lewis; I'm an able-bodied man On the ship the Royal Charter, bound off for Van Diemen's Land. Oh, the sea that took six months to cross, we could do in two, So it's up that Mersey River, boys, out of Liverpool we flew. And some of us were sailors, all hardy, young and old, And some of us were pioneers, bound off for the gold. There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of the cross. We stared into that foamy sea, saw our dreams down in the broth. CHORUS: Sail on; sail on and on and on, [For] my name is Isaac Lewis [and] this shall be my song. So we landed there in Botany Bay, and the boys went on the town, And I met a girl named Emma Gray; I loved her up and down, And I swore that I'd return for her, one more tour of sea, But I had to tell my father what he meant to me. For every night I dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails, That I was in my father's house back in northern Wales, And I reached out for my father; I said, "I love you very much," But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch. CHORUS So I kissed the lips of Emma Gray and set sail for Liverpool, And the parrots perched in the riggings, boys; dolphins swam in schools, And our trip it was a pleasant one till we reached the coast of Wales. One day out from Liverpool, God unleashed a gale. Good Lord! I've seen some squalls, me boys, hurricanes at sea, And many nights I'd rediscovered faith on bended knee, But I never seen it blow so hard; we anchored her at last, But the waves rolled o'er the top of us; we had to cut the mast. And all the mining magnates clutched their gold, believing they'd be saved, But their bloody greed destroyed them first beneath the angry waves. All the women and the children, lost to eternity! Ah, man has tamed and shaped the land, but he'll never tame the sea. And every night I had dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails, That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales, And I reached for my father; I said, "I love you very much," But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch. CHORUS We were caught upon the rocks ten yards from the shore, And we saw men standing on the rocks, maybe three or more, And I swear I saw my father waving at me through the squall, And I screamed that I was coming home; that's all that I recall. For the waves they swept me overboard with broken mast and sails, And I drowned where as a child I'd fished on the rocks of northern Wales, And in three days time I washed upon the whitened sandy shore, One hundred yards from Moelfre and my father's white oak door. CHORUS And some will cry coincidence, or say this can't be true. I only say just tell your loved ones what they mean to you, For ye may sail the sea of life, pursuing golden schemes, Yet drown so closely to your home, the cradle of your dreams. CHORUS: Sail on; sail on and on and on, My name is Isaac Lewis; this has been my song. My name is Isaac Lewis, and this shall be my song. |
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06 Jul 07 - 10:45 AM (#2095640) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis, lyrics anyone?(Tom Russell) From: LesB Thanks Simon, all i've got to do now is remember the tune. Cheers Les |
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29 Jul 08 - 02:03 PM (#2400497) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: GUEST,WildBilly Thanks- This song sounds like an orignal British folk ballad. Thanks for the good work transcribing it! |
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12 Oct 09 - 06:43 PM (#2744492) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: evansakes In a couple of weeks it will be the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the 'Royal Charter' in a gale off the coast of Anglesey. http://www.anglesey-hidden-gem.com/royal-charter.html Tom had written 'Isaac Lewis' after an old man handed him a copy of a book telling the story of the lost ship (Tom had been playing a gig at the Victoria Hotel, Menai Bridge eight or nine years ago and wrote the song shortly after) http://www.avidpublications.co.uk/golden_wreck.htm The song's story is basically true. After travelling to Australia and back Isaac Lewis really did did drown within sight of his family home in Moelfre, Anglesey. Just to clarify the last line of the penultimate verse above should in fact read "One hundred yards from Moelfre" Finally, here's a great video of Tom performing the song accompanied by Andrew Hardin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ALfs81CFdE |
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06 Jul 10 - 12:52 PM (#2940712) Subject: RE: Lyr Req:chords : Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: GUEST,les anybody got the chords for this great song please |
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08 Jul 10 - 04:23 AM (#2941626) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: GUEST,les Hi for LesB on youtube you can see tom russell or tich frier perform this great song good luck and enjoy les |
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25 May 11 - 04:20 AM (#3160182) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: GUEST,Isaac Lewis This is weird, my name really is Isaac Lewis (my home page), and I'm from North Wales. I was never in a shipwreck, though |
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31 May 11 - 08:13 PM (#3163397) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Isaac Lewis (Tom Russell) From: Jim Dixon For background, here are some articles from Wikipedia: Royal Charter (ship) Royal Charter Storm Moelfre |