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02 Jul 00 - 03:10 AM (#250492) Subject: Lyr Add: A SAILOR'S LIFE (Traditional English) From: Alan of Australia G'day, From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of A Sailor's Life can be found here.
A SAILOR'S LIFE Click here for a slightly different version.
Previous song: A Sailor In The North Country.
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02 Aug 00 - 08:36 PM (#270678) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Malcolm Douglas From the notes to the Penguin Book (1959): "This favourite song has an obscure connection with another popular piece sometimes called Died For Love (from which the students' song There is a Tavern in the Town has descended). Though it lacks the central story of the girl's ocean search for her sweetheart, Died For Love has a similar tune, and some versions use the opening stanza of A Sailor's Life. In revenge, some sets of A Sailor's Life borrow the conclusion of the other song, with the girl directing that her grave be dug wide and deep, and a white turtle dove be put on it, to show that she "died for love". In fact, various singers seem to have "cross-pollinated" the two songs in several ways. Mr. Hills' version has a story at once completer and more concise than usual, and less contaminated with Died For Love. In England, the song has been reported, sometimes under the titles of Sweet William, or Early, Early all in the Spring, from Lincolnshire (FSJ vol.II [issue 9] pp.293-4), Dorset (FSJ vol.VIII [issue 34] p.212), Worcestershire (English County Songs, L.E. Broadwood, 1893), Somerset (English Folk Songs, vol.II, Cecil Sharp, 1921), and Suffolk (Six Suffolk Folk Songs, E.J. Moeran, 1932). Kidson (A Garland of English Folk Songs, 1926, p.92) prints a set of unidentified origin. Pitts and Catnach both published broadsides of the song (the latter called it The Sailor Boy and his Faithful Mary ). It seems particularly common in the United States, and has been adapted to the life of timber-raftsmen." -R.V.W./A.L.L. This version was collected by W. Percy Merrick from Henry Hills of Lodsworth, Sussex, in 1899, and was first published in the Folk Song Journal, vol.I, [issue 3], p.266. There are two other versions on the DT: A Sailor's Life Transcribed from Fairport Convention's recording, tune ditto. Probably derived from the Penguin version. The Pinery Boy American version, with tune. DT #403 Laws K12 @love @parting @sailor @drown There are four American versions at the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection: Sailor Boy As sung by Mrs. Ed. Newton in Gainesville, Missouri on July 1, 1958. Willie Boy As sung by Mrs. Lucy Quigley, Eureka Springs, Arkansas on June 3, 1958. Sailor Boy As sung by Mr. Harrison Burnett in Fayettville, Arkansas on June 15, 1959. Black, Black, Was The Color Of My True Loves Hair As sung by May Kennedy-McCord in Springfield, Missouri on September, 23, 1958. There is also a fragment, Black is the Color of My True Loves Hair (As sung by Mrs. "Bobbie" Barnes, Eureka Springs, Arkansas on June 21, 1958), which may belong to this song. See also, however, Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair on the DT, which, in spite of the overlap, is probably best considered a quite separate song. There is an entry at The Traditional Ballad Index: The Sailor Boy (I) Some other titles: Papa, Papa, Build Me a Boat A Shantyman's Life I Have No One to Love Me Captain Tell Me True I'll Sit Down and Write a Song The Sailor's Sweetheart There are several broadside texts at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads. Where duplicate copies exist, I have linked to the most easily legible. The Sailor Boy and his Faithful Mary Printed between 1840 and 1866 by J. Harkness, 121, Church Street, Preston. On the same sheet is Sailor Boy, printed between 1819 and 1844 by J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy and Marble Warehouse. 6 Great St Andrew Street, Seven Dials, London. A New Song call'd the Young Lady's Lamentation for the Loss of her True Love Printed c.1867 by P. Brereton, 1, Lower Exchange St., Dublin. These last are all large images. In connection with Died For Love, see also I Wish, I Wish Malcolm |
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05 Aug 00 - 11:49 PM (#272178) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Art Thieme Pat Foster did an album for Riverside Records with this in the 1849 California gold rush version of the song that was titled "THE CALIFORNIA BOY". I recorded the American lumber camp version, "The Pinery Boy", on my album called Art Thieme -- On The Wilderness Road. (Folk Legacy Records FSI-105) This album is still available as a cassette tape from Sandy Paton at Folk Legacy. [see Franz Rickaby's book Ballads and Songs Of The Shanty-Boy--page 85. Art Thieme |
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24 Sep 00 - 09:02 PM (#304699) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Malcolm Douglas Snuffy has now posted another version, here: One Fine Morn All Early In Spring which was recorded between 1985 and 1987 by John Howson from Fred Whiting of Kenton, Suffolk. Tune given in miditext and .abc format. |
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30 Jul 03 - 07:34 PM (#993807) Subject: ADD Version: A Sailor's Life From: Joe Offer Here's one that Sharp calls "Sweet William." -Joe Offer- SWEET WILLIAM A sailor's life is a merry life He'll rob young girls of their heart's delight Then go and leave them to sigh and moan No tongue can tell when he will return O father, father, build me a boat That on the ocean I may float And the first king's ship that I chance to meet I will enquire for my William sweet. She had not sail-ed far on the deep Before a king's ship she chanced to meet O all you sailors come tell me true Is my sweet William on board with you? Oh, no, fair lady, he is not here For he is drown-ed I greatly fear On yonder island as we passed by There we lost sight of your sailor boy She kneel-ed down and she wrote a song She wrote it neat and she wrote it long At every line, O, she shed a tear And at the end: Fare you well, my dear The grass it groweth on every lea The leaf it falleth from every tree How happy that small bird doth cry That hath her true love close to her side. Source: One Hundred English Folksongs (Cecil Sharp - Dover Publications) Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on the song: Sailor Boy (I), The [Laws K12]DESCRIPTION: A girl asks her father to build her a boat so that she may search for her lover. She describes the boy to a passing captain, who tells her he is drowned. She gives directions for her burial, then dies of grief or dashes her boat against the rocksAUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Journal from the Elizabeth) KEYWORDS: ship death lover drowning loneliness separation sailor FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South,West)) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Queb) Scotland REFERENCES (18 citations): Laws K12, "The Sailor Boy I" Belden, pp. 186-191, "The Sailor Boy" (6 texts, 1 tune) Randolph 68, "The Sailor's Sweetheart" (3 text plus 2 fragments, 4 tunes) Eddy 33, "Sweet William" (6 texts, 3 tunes) Rickaby 18, "The Pinery Boy" (1 text, 1 tune; also a fragment in the notes) Leach, pp. 736-737, "The Sailor Boy" (1 text) Warner 53, "I'll Sit Down and Write a Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp-100E 72, "Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 35, "Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 94, "A Sailor's Life" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 110, "Sweet William (The Sailor Boy)" (3 texts plus mention of 6 more) BrownII 104, "The Sailor Boy" (5 texts, mostly short, plus excerpts from 4 more and mention of 2 more and 1 very short fragment; several texts, notably "C," are mixed with "The Butcher Boy"; "E" is a mix with something unidentifiable as only part of the song is printed; "H" is apparently a mix of floating material, only partly printed; "J" is mostly from some unidentified ballad; "L" appears to mix this with "The Apprentice Boy" [Laws M12]) Scott-BoA, pp. 39-40, "Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune, a composite version) Lomax-FSNA 55, "The Pinery Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 272-273, "A Sailor's Trade Is a Roving Life" (1 text, with the manuscript damaged by water) MacSeegTrav 25, "Sweet William" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Darling-NAS, pp. 97-98, "Sweet Soldier Boy" (1 text) DT 403, PINERYBY* SAILIFE* RECORDINGS: Dock Boggs, "Papa, Build Me a Boat" (on Boggs2, BoggsCD1) (a complex version, with this plot but many floating verses, e.g. from "The Storms Are On the Ocean") Mrs. Otto Rindlisbacher, "The Pinery Boy" [instrumental] (AFS, 1941; on LC55) Art Thieme, "The Pinery Boy" (on Thieme04) CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (lyrics) cf. "The Deep Blue Sea" (plot) cf. "Taven in the Town" (lyrics) ALTERNATE TITLES: The Pinery Boy Papa, Papa, Build Me a Boat A Shantyman's Life I Have No One to Love Me Captain Tell Me True Notes: Paul Stamler suggests that "The Deep Blue Sea" is a worn-down version of this song. He may well be right, but I believe that the characteristic of Laws K12 is the girl's request of a boat. Since "Deep Blue Sea" lacks that feature, I tentatively separate the songs. - RBW File: LK12 Go to the Ballad Search form The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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31 Jul 03 - 03:43 AM (#993997) Subject: ADD Versions: A Sailor's Life From: Roberto Four recordings of A Sailor's Life, Martin Carthy's; A. L. Lloyd's; Ewan MacColl's and Cran's. Bye. Roberto a) Sailor's Life, Martin Carthy, Second Album, Topic TSCD341 (1993), first released on Fontana STL 5362 (LP, 1966) SAILOR'S LIFE A sailor's life is a merry life They robs young girls of their hearts' delight Leaving them behind for to weep and mourn They never know when they will return Oh there's four-and-twenty all in a row My sweetheart cuts the finest show He's proper tall genteel withal If I don't have him I'll have none at all O father build me a bonny boat That on the wide ocean I may float And every queen's ship that we pass by There I'll enquire for my sailor boy Now they had not sailed long upon the deep Before the queen's ship they chanced to meet: You sailors all pray tell me true, Does my sweet William sail among your crew? Oh no fair maid he is not here For he's been drowned, we greatly fear On yon green island as we pass by There we lost sight of your sailor boy Now she wrung her hands and she tore her hair Much like a damsel in great despair Her little boat 'gainst a rock did run, How can I live now my William is gone! b) A Sailor's Life, A. L. Lloyd, England & Her Traditional Songs, A selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, Fellside FECD173 (original Collector LP and EP, 1960) SAILOR'S LIFE A sailor's life is a merry life They rob young girls of their hearts' delight Leaving them behind to sigh and mourn They never know when they will return Here's four-and-twenty all in a row My sweetheart cuts the brightest show He's proper tall and gente withal If I don't have him –She said- I'll have none at all O father fetch me a little boat That I might on the wide ocean float And every queen's ship that we pass by We'll make enquire for me sailor boy We hadn't sailed long upon the deep Before a queen's ship we chanced to meet: You sailors all come tell me true Does my sweet William sail among your crew? Oh no fair lady he isn't here For he has drowned, we greatly fear On yon green island as we passed by There we lost sight of your sailor boy She wrung her hands and she tore her hair Much like a woman in great despair Her little boat against a rock did run, How can I live now my William is gone! c) My Sailor Boy (My Boy Willie), Ewan MacColl, Matching Songs of the British Isles and America, Riverside RLP 12-637 MY SAILOR BOY One morning early in the year I parted from my dearest dear The night was dark and the wind blew high And the tears did blind me as he passed by O, father, father, build me a boat It's on the wild sea that I must go Where I can watch the big ships go by And where I can search for my sailor boy She sailed away on the rolling tide She sailed away on the ocean wide She sailed by night and she sailed by day Till a man-of-war came by that way She cried and called in the wind so high She hailed that ship as it passed her by O, captain, captain, pray tell me true Is my boy Willie aboard with you? What sort of boy is your Willie, dear? What sort of rig does your Willie wear? He wears a suit of the royal blue And you'll ken him fine for he's leal and true I know him well and the other day I saw him lying as cold as clay By yon green isle that we passed by He was lying there in the terror's eye d) Early, Early, Cran, Music from the edge of the world, Black Horse Records BRRCD004, 2002 EARLY, EARLY It was early, early all in the spring When my love Willie went to serve the king. The night being dark and the wind being high, And they parted me and my sailor boy Right well he knows that I can wash and wring Right well he knows that I can card and spin. I can make up his linens, be they coarse or fine But the want of money leave s me behind Come get me into a little wee boat Where on the ocean that I might float To view the French fleet as they pass by That I might enquire for my sailor boy O, she hadn't been long sailing on the deep When the lofty French fleet she chanced to meet: Come tell to me now, my bold ship's crew, Does my love Willie sail on board of you? O, no, fair maiden, you love's not here. He has been drownded of late, I fear. Near yon dark island that we passed by, It is there that we lost your fine sailor boy She wrung her hands and she tore her hair Saying, I'm a maid that's in deep despair. Against the rocks her wee boat she flung Saying, What will I do now my love is gone? Come get me ink, pen and paper too. And with her pen, these few lines she drew, And every word sure she shed a tear And at every tear she cried, Willie dear! Come dig my grave and dig it wide and deep With a marble stone at my head and feet And around my neck, place a turtle dove For to warn the world that I died for love |
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31 Jul 03 - 10:03 AM (#994146) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Malcolm Douglas Both Martin Carthy and A.L. Lloyd recorded arrangements of Henry Hills' set, as published in Penguin and already quoted. They are not traditional variants in their own right. The set recorded by Ewan MacColl was collected by him from Betsy Henry of Auchterarder, Perthshire (n.d.) and published in MacColl and Seeger, The Singing Island, 1960, p. 28. A final verse is omitted on the record: "O, dig my grave both wide and deep, And lay a rose at my head and feet, And on my breast a turtle dove, To show the world that I died of love." The set recorded by Cran will be one from Irish tradition (the opening lines seem to be typical of Irish variants, and appeared on Brereton of Dublin's broadside editions of the song; perhaps borrowed from The Croppy Boy). I gather that Cran are generally good about acknowledging their sources, so probably the liner notes will say where they got the above text; could you perhaps quote the relevant bit? The Sharp set is a collation; the tune, and verse 2, were noted from Mr Gordge at Bridgwater, Somerset, 2 January 1906. Verse 1 (and perhaps 3 and 5, altered) is from Tom Sprachlan, Hambridge, Somerset, September 1903. Some modifications appear to have been made with reference to Mr Hills' set (notably in verses 3 and 4; verse 4 may have been taken directly from his version), and the final verse is a mystery. |
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02 Aug 03 - 11:23 AM (#995557) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Roberto Cran write they had the song (Early, Early) from Johnny Magee, from Rosgor, Co. Fermanagh. |
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15 Feb 04 - 05:10 PM (#1116537) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: Allan C. I found a version that is much like the d) version posted above by Roberto. One main difference is the inclusion of this verse: "A deep blue jacket he used to wear, With rosey cheeks and coal black hair, His lips were of a velvet fine, And oft time used to meet with mine." Source: "Heart Songs Dear to the American People"; 1909, Chappele Publishing. |
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24 Mar 16 - 07:38 AM (#3780811) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: GUEST "Rosgor" mentioned above should, I am sure, be "Roscor"; it is near Belleek (home of the famous Belleek Pottery), in the far west of County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. I came across this thread (though previously aware of Mudcat) when Googling for the words "When my Love Willie went to serve the King". Last week at a local "Open Mic" I heard a woman sing a song which I found very nice; she didn't known the name of the song but gave me a few words of it which has led me to this forum. The song she sang MAY be the song "Early Early" by Cran; I can remember the last, "floating" verse (she sang, about a marble stone at the head and feet, snow-white dove, etc, which also appears in "Rake and Rambling Boy" and I suspect other songs); however I will need to show her the words to see if this was true. I had been listening to a version of (A) Sailors Life not long before (and have heard Sandy Denny's version of Sailor's Life with Fairport Convention about the late 1960s) but did not notice any similarity with the words of this at the time the woman sang the song, though perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention. |
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25 Mar 16 - 09:56 PM (#3781309) Subject: RE: Penguin: A Sailor's Life From: GUEST I looked on the Internet including You Tube for Cran performing "Early Early" without success, although came across a John Doyle singing "Early Early" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObtqjBnrJWQ (although he called at "Early In the Spring"; he said that he got it from a Robert Cinnamond who lived near Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland - Cinnamond in turn told him it was a Child Ballad which he got from an English singer. There is also a version by Judy Collins at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujx69_shh6Q |
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