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Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightfoot)

09 Dec 96 - 03:56 PM (#703)
Subject: yarmouth castle lyrics
From:

Anyone know where we can get the full lyrics for this great Lightfoot song?

Thanks

10 Dec 96 - 09:45 PM (#733)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Arnowitt@sover.net

I have the Sunday Concert album on which Lightfoot Sings The Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle. I've been known to sit down and write 'em out before. If this is not an option you have (you don't have the record) Just let me know via this forum and I'll do it. I haven't listened to the album in a while, and wouldn't mind refreshing my memory.

12 Oct 00 - 02:27 PM (#317387)
Subject: ADD: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle^^
From: Abby Sale

BALLAD OF THE YARMOUTH CASTLE
(Attributed to Gordon Lightfoot)

Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From Miami to Nassau,
She's bound across the waves

She'll be headin' south through Biscayne Bay
Into the open sea
Yarmouth Castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it

Now the many years she's been to sea
She's seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest
As they cast away her lines

And the grumble of her engines
And the rust along her spine
Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailin'

But the sands run out within her heart
A tiny spark glows red
It smoulders through the evening
There's laughter overhead

Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
And the drinks are passed around
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'

Now it's midnight on the open sea
And the moon is shining bright
Some people join the party
And others say good-night

There's many who are sleeping now
It's been a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'

"Oh Lord," she groans, "I'm burning!"
"Let someone understand!"
But her silent plea is wasted
In the playin' of the band

Everybody's dancin' on her deck
And they're havin' such a time
Then a voice says
"Shut up and deal, I'm losin'"

Deep within the Yarmouth Castle
The fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways
And climbs and twists and grows

And the paint she wore to keep her young
Oh Lord, how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a-ragin'

Up beneath the bridge it's climbin' fast
the captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain, 'n' says
"Boatswain, we are lost"

For the ragged hoses in the racks
No pressure do they hold
And the people down below
Will soon be dyin'

All amidships, oh she's blazin' now
It's spreadin' fore and aft
The people are a-scramblin'
As the fire blocks their path

The evil smoke surrounds them,
And they're fallin' in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'

Oh then the ship, Bahama Star
Comes steamin' through the night
She sees the Castle blazin'
And 'tis a terrible sight

"Jump down, jump down!" the captain cries
"We'll save you if we can!"
Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'

"God help the ones who sleep below
And cannot find the way!
Thank God for those we've rescued
Upon this awful day."

Now the heroes, they are many,
But the times are growin' slim
And now from stern to bow
She's a-blazin'

Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin'
She's cryin' like a child.
You can hear her if you listen
Above the roar so wild

Is she cryin' for the ones who lie
Within her molten sides?
Or cryin' for herself, I'm a-wonderin'

But the livin' soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
From the Star they watched her
As she died there in the swells

Like a toy ship on a mill pond
She burned all through the night
Then slipped 'neath the waves
In the mornin'

(sung by Gordon Lightfoot on Sunday Concert Plus)^^

12 Oct 00 - 03:24 PM (#317415)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Peter T.

Abby, this must be a record!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for upholding the honour of Mudcat. (thanks to the reporter thread for pointing this out). Beat this, Joe Offer. yours, Peter T.

12 Oct 00 - 03:26 PM (#317416)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Joe Offer

This may be a new record. A response time of almost four years.... Congratulations, Abby!

The Yarmouth Castle was an aging cruise ship that burned badly in the Bahamas in 1965. 90 people died in the fire.
-Joe Offer-

12 Oct 00 - 03:32 PM (#317424)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Joe Offer

Heck, I can't even beat Peter in responding to the response...
(Ahem. I was busy harvesting the lyrics for the database, and researching the ship fire.)
-Joe Offer-

12 Oct 00 - 05:29 PM (#317511)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Peter T.

Pretty funny. Nobody does nothing for 4 years, and then we elbow each other making comments about Abby! yours, Peter T.

12 Oct 00 - 09:32 PM (#317719)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Abby Sale

:-)

16 Oct 00 - 06:56 PM (#320280)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Susanne (skw)

Thanks, Abby - but too late for me. Took the words down all by hand and ear and put them here. :-)

29 Sep 01 - 06:57 PM (#561552)
Subject: LYRICS WANTED
From: Glimmer

Does anyone have the lyrics for Gordon Lightfoot's wonderful song 'The Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle'? THANK YOU.

29 Sep 01 - 07:44 PM (#561578)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: LYRICS WANTED
From: Morticia

here you go blickie

29 Sep 01 - 07:59 PM (#561595)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: LYRICS WANTED
From: Susanne (skw)

Try here or here

29 Sep 01 - 08:09 PM (#561597)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: LYRICS WANTED
From: Susanne (skw)

Actually, I've just noticed a mistake in my transcription. Thanks!

01 Oct 01 - 05:01 AM (#562393)
Subject: RE: yarmouth castle lyrics
From: Glimmer

Many thanks for the lyrics to The Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle, I love that ballad.

30 Jan 07 - 10:54 AM (#1952439)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightf
From: GUEST,PNK

Beating this record I would like to tell you that im just listening to the album "The Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle" and looking for all the songtextes.
Waiting for the next message in about 10 years, cheerio, pnk

30 Jan 07 - 11:12 AM (#1952467)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightfoot)
From: Charley Noble

PNK-

Thanks for bringing this old thread back to the surface. Many of us have never seen it.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

30 Jan 07 - 01:50 PM (#1952685)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightfoot)
From: SouthernCelt

Since "...Yarmouth Castle" discussion is being resurrected, does anyone know if the Sunday Concert album by Lightfoot has ever been put out on CD? I've gotten virtually everything he's ever done, including some Euro-made collections that were someone's idea of a "greatest hits" collection, but I've never been able to find Sunday Concert anywhere.

SC

30 Jan 07 - 09:17 PM (#1953071)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightfoot)
From: vlmagee

Yes, it's on CD. In fact, Abby mentions the CD version (or rather one of many) at the bottom of the lyrics he posted - so it's been here on Mudcat since October 2000.

It is on several CDs, but the one Abby mentions, Sunday Concert Plus, Bear Family (Germany) is the best choice. The "Plus" is 5 previously unreleased studio tracks, and the mastering is probably the best of the CD bunch. If you are interested in all the other possibilities, you can find the information on the Albums page of my Gordon Lightfoot web site at gordonlightfoot.com.

And PNK, you can find the lyrics for all of Lightfoot's songs (except for the most recent album) on my web site as well.

21 Nov 08 - 10:05 PM (#2499752)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle (Lightfoot)
From: Cluin

I've got a better than 10 year lag between question and answer right here.

If it's the right answer. And I think it is.