US & Canada Versions 7A. The Sailor Boy, or, Sweet William Roud 273 Laws K12 (Sailor Boy; Sweet William; Sailing Trade; The Pinery Boy; Papa, Papa, Build Me a Boat; A Sailor's Life; I Have No One to Love Me; Captain Tell Me True; The Sailor Boy and his Faithful Mary; Sailin', Sailin's a Weary Life; The Broken-Hearted Lover; Moment's River Side; Oh Captain, Captain, Tell me True; Soldier Boy; Sweet Soldier Boy; Sailor's Wife; I'll Sit down and Write a Song; Black is the Color; Song of the Sea)
[The ballad "Sailor Boy," or, "Sweet William" is well-known in North America. The ballad texts in North America are very diverse and have been combined with stanzas of other Died for Love songs (usually Butcher Boy) and their extended family. New England whalers sang Sailor Boy since the early 1800s, the fisherman of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia sang the ballad as they tended their nets and the mountaineers of Appalachia sang it as they curled around their fireplaces in their log cabin homes in the cold evenings. The following version, my U, appears to be the first extant version printed version in North America with the suicide. Curiously, it is from an African-American source in North Carolina. The text, published in 1900, is as it appears in The Young Woman's Journal, Volume 11, by Mrs. Henry Purmort Eames. It was collected by her husband, Henry Purmort Eames, probably before 1898. This North Carolina ballad-- from an unknown source-- was written in dialect[1]:
"MY SWEET WILLIAM."
Oh! captain, captain, tell me true,
Does my sweet Willyum sail with you?
Oh! captain, captain, tell me true,
Is my sweet Willyum with the gallant crew?
Oh no! fair maid, he is not heah,
He's drownded in some deep, I feah,
The night was dark, and the winds blewed high,
And I lost the sight of my sailor-boy.
She wrung'd her hands, she tored her ha'ah,
Jest like-a-fair maid, all in despa-ah!
She wrung'd her hands, she tored her ha-ah,
Crying, Oh! my haht is in despa'ah.
She went home to write a song:
She wrote it true, she wrote it long;
On every word she dropped a teah.
On every line cried. "Oh, my deah."
Eight lawyers they came a-riding by,
And saw her a-hangin' on a limb so high,
They took a axe and cut her down.
An' on her bress' these words was foun':
Go dig my grave both wide and deep;
Place a marble toom at my head an' feet:
An' on my breash a turtle duv,
To inform this worl' I died fur lov.
Not only does this version have the "died for love" ending stanza but it is a rare version with the suicide[2] by hanging as adapted from The Butcher Boy. An earlier version of ballad with the hanging suicide[3] was collected during the Civil War but it not published until 1917. Except for the ending, the version is generic and missing the identifying opening stanza.
The ballad is relatively rare in New England. The most important New England versions are the three written down in the logs of Massachusetts' whaling ships dated 1824 to 1868. Not only are they complete versions but they reveal clues to the English ballad's origin not found in the extant broadsides in the UK. Another old fragment was taken from Susie Carr Young of Maine that can be dated back to the 1850s through her grandmother. A composite version of Young's version was given by Barry in his Maine Songster. Flanders collected and recorded two versions: an almost incoherent recitation by Ellen Sullivan of Vermont and "Willie on the Sea" a short version by Mr. W. Thompson in 1942. One New England version printed in Heart Songs, 1909 (see below) claims be dated back to the early 1800s. I recently discovered a New England version by Christine Chaplin (1842-1892), a novelist and watercolorist, who was born in Maine and was active in Boston from 1878. An excellent version of Sailor Boy was presented in her second book, Inside Our Gate. The novel was published under her married name, Christine Chaplin Brush, by Roberts Brothers in Boston, and written about 1884. Here's an excerpt from the novel with the ballad text[4]:
The ballad of "The Sailor Boy" made a deep impression on Douglas. He suggested learning it to repeat in Sunday-school, the only appropriateness consisting evidently in its "telling about a dead sailor." Here it is just as Mary used to sing it: —
THE SAILOR BOY.
"Early, early in the Spring,
My love Willy went to serve the king;
The raging seas and the wind blew high,
Which parted me and my sailor b'y.
"Father, father, make me a boat,
That on the ocean I may float I
And every ship that will pass by,
I will inquire for my sailor b'y."
This lady had not gone far,
Until she met with a man-of-war,
Saying, "Captain, captain, tell me true,
If my love Willy 's on board of you."
"What color of clothes does your Willy wear?
And what's the color of your sailor's hair?"
"His hair was light and his jacket blue;
It's easily known that his heart was true."
"I fear, great lady, your Willy is gone;
I fear, great lady, your sailor is drowned.
From yon green island as we passed by
We lost nine more and your sailor b'y."
She wrung her hands and tore her hair,
Like one distracted in despair,
Saying, "How can I live when my Willy's gone?
How can I live with my sailor drowned?"
She threw her boat against the rocks,
Saying, "Captain, captain, dress in black,
And, all you sailors, come do the same,
From the cabin back to the mainmast high.
Come mourn with me for my sailor b'y;
Come mourn with me for my sailor b'y;
Come mourn with me for my sailor b'y."
The ballad has the "Early, early in the spring" opening stanza found in the Irish broadsides and versions, my Oikotype A (see Goggins c.1770, the earliest extant Irish print). Chaplin's ending is the "sailors mourning" stanza where the sailors dress in black and hoist a black silk flag on the main mast sail to mourn for the fallen sailor boy. The next variant presented in this study, also published in New England[5], is the first traditional text of Sailor Boy published with music as it appears in Heart Songs dated 1909 (Boston). The suggestion that this version is "probably 100 years old," dating it to 1809, may be accurate but it's clearly a guess and no evidence is provided. I've dated it 1909 for now. I assume that this is a rare new England version although the identity of Mrs. W. A. Fisher is unknown.
A Song of the Sea- Written from memory by Mrs. W. A. Fisher. Probably 100 years old.
1. A sailor's life is a roving life,
It robbed me of my heart's delight,
And caused me to lament and mourn,
And sadly wait his return.
2. Go build me up some little boat,
That I may on the ocean float,
And ev'ry ship that I do pass by,
I will inquire for my sailor boy.
3. I had not sailed far o'er the deep,
Before a large ship I chanced to meet.
I said "Bold Captain, tell me true,
Does my sweet William sail with you?
4. "A deep blue jacket he used to wear,
With rosy cheeks and coal black hair.
His lips were of a velvet fine,
And oft time used to meet with mine."
5 "Oh no, fair maid, he sails not here,
He's drowned in the deep, I fear,
Near that lone island, which you passed by.
You've chanced to lose your sailor boy."
6 She wrung her hands, she tore her hair,
Like some fair maid in deep despair.
Her boat against the rocks she run.
Crying, "Alas, I am undone.
7 "Now, I'll go home and write a song,
I'll write it true, I'll write it long.
On every line I'll shed a tear.
On every verse, "Fare you well, my dear."
8 Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet.
And, on my breast, a turtle dove,
To show this world, I died for love.
This version has the common "sailor's life" opening and is a version the Scottish Oikotype B. These two texts are by no means the only early versions of the ballad in North America. The earliest extant version, my F, is dated c.1824 and version of Oikotypes C and A. Here's F, the archaic "Murmering Side," entered into the ship Alexander's log about 1824 by its captain, Samuel Bunker:
"MURMURING SIDE." As written by Samuel Bunker, master, ship Alexander of Nantucket, 1824-27. Original spelling changed.
1. Down by one murmuring river side,
Where purling streams do gently glide;
I herd a fair maid making her mourn,
How can I live and my true love gone.
2. It was early early all in the spring,
He went on board for to serve his king;
The raging seas and the winds blew high
Which parted me and my sailor boy.
3. If there be thirty all in a row
My love he bares the greatest show
The greatest show amongst them all
I'll have my sailor or none at all.
4. She built herself a little boat
That on the ocean she might float;
To view all ships as they pass by
Till I find out my young sailor boy.
5. She had not sailed long on the deep
Five sail of Frenchman she chanced to meet;
Come tell to me all ye jovial crew
Whether my love William is on board with[6] you.
6. No no fair maiden he is not here
For he is drowned poor soul I fear
We passed yon green Islands as we passed by
It was there we lost our young sailor boy
7. She wrung her hands and she tore her hair,
Just like some woman in great despair;
Her boat against the rocks she run,
How can I live and my sailor gone.
8. O this fair maid in fashion run,
With pen and paper she wrote a song;
At every letter she dropped a tear,
At every line she cried, "O my dear."
9. O this fair maid on a sick bed fell
And for a doctor loudly did call
My pain is great and I cannot live
And she descended unto her grave.
Finis.
Captain Bunker's version entered in his ship's Log between 1824-1825 is a variation of the archaic C-- the first line (with murmuring) is similar to the 1907 English version collected by R.V. Williams. The first stanza is C, resembling the English broadside Sailor Boy (Evans, 1810), then for the next stanza Bunker uses stanza 1 of A (Goggins 1770), the Irish oikotype. A seems to have been reworked from an older unknown variant of C with the "Down by a crystal rive side" stanza omitted. The missing broadside's existence is revealed by the lines used by John Gay by 1720 to write his "Black-Eyed Susan." The "murmuring side" corresponds to the older versions found in the US and England of Oikotype C. This is the oldest US extant version and the second oldest extant traditional version to Patrick Kennedy's Wexford version dated c. 1817. Kennedy's version, however, was possibly reworked in 1856.
H, dated c.1847, has the Scottish opening and was also taken from the log of a whaling ship in Massachusetts. It was first published in "Songs the Whalemen Sang" by Gale Huntington, dated 1847. Although Huntington transcribed it from the water damaged log aboard the whaling ship, Elizabeth, whose port was New Bedford, Massachusetts 1847 (Kendall repository), a better transcription appears in Frank's 2010 book, "Jolly Sailor's Bold." Frank's text follows:
A SAILOR'S TRADE IS A ROVING LIFE
1. A sailors trade is a roving life
Its robbed me of my own hearts delight
He has gone and left me a while to mourn
But I can wait till he does return.
2. That short blue jacket he used to wear
His rosy cheeks and coal black hair
His lips so smooth as the velvet fine
Ten thousand times he has kissed mine
3. Come father build me a little boat
That over the ocean I may float
And every ship I do pass by
I will enquire for my sailor boy
4. She had no[t] sailed far over the deep
Before a king's ship she then did speak
Captain Capt. come tell me true
Does my sweet William sail among [your crew]
5. Oh no fair lady he is not here
He's lately died [or so] I fear
On yon green isle as I did pass by,
Twas there [that] I lost your sailor boy.
6. She wrung her hands and she tore her hair
Like some female in deep despair,
And then her boat to the shore did run
Saying how can I live since my sailor's gone.
7. Come all ye young women that dress in white
Come all ye young men that take delight
Come hoist your colors at half mast high
And help me to weep for the sailor boy.
8. I will sit down and write a song
I will write it both sweet and long
At every line I will drop one tear
At every verse where is my dear.
9. Come dig me a grave both wide and deep
Place a marble stone at my head and feet
And on my breast place a turtle dove
To let the world know that I died for love.
This is a variant of the Scottish Oikotype B titled, "Sailing Trade." The last two stanzas are common to Butcher Boy-- with the last stanza common to the Died for Love songs. The Died for Love stanzas were frequently added in tradition. A second version, a fragment titled "The Sailor Boy's Song," was published by Huntington who calls it a version of Sweet William but clearly it is not. It begins, "I am a Yankee sailor boy/My heart is wild and free." The fragment "The Sailor Boy's Song" bears no resemblance to our ballad Sailor Boy (Roud 273), but it could possibly be related to the "Died for Love" Rambling Boy.
F was published in JAFL volume 30 in 1917 in the article, "Folk Songs" by C. M. Barbeau, whose notes precede :
1. Sailor Boy.
It was early, early in the spring,
Me love and I went to serve the King.
The night [had] been stormy, and the wind blew high,
Which parted me and my sailor boy.
O father, father! get me a boat;
For it's on the ocean I will float,
And watch the French fleet [while it sails by];
[There I must] inquire for my sailor boy."
I had not sailed far on to the deep
Till a French frigate I chanced to meet.
"Come, tell me, tell me, my jovial crew!
Is my love Jummy on board with you?" —
"Oh, no, dear lady! he is not here;
For he was drownded not far from here.
'Twas [near] that green island, as we pass by.
'Tis there we lost your fine sailor boy."
She wrung her hands and [tore] her hair
Like a virgin that falls into despair.
Her little boat began to rake around.
"What shall I do when my Jimmy is gone?
"Come, all [the] young ladies dressed in black,
And all the young sailors dressed in blue!
And the sail tip toppers all dressed in blue!
For 'tis now w' will mourn for my sailor boy!"
Hovington's version was learned from an Irishman and not surprisingly is related to the Irish Oikotype A. The sailor boy's name Jemmy (Jimmy) is also found in Oikotype C originally English but also Irish. Four other early versions were found in the US that date back to the Civil War period, 1863-1867:
J. "The Sailler Boy" written down by William Larken from Mrs. C. Froyaughehand of Cincinnati, Ohio; 1863. Ruth Ann Musick-The Old Album of William A. Larkin; JAFL Vol. 60, 1947.
K. "Sweet William (The Sailor Boy)" from Mr. C. A. Rogers of Mississippi during the Civil War (c.1864). JAF Kittredge 1917.
L. "Heart-Rending Boat Ballad" from an MS (diary) of William H. Landreth, soldier, recovered in Missouri, c. 1864.
M. "Captain, Captain, Tell me True" from the Brown Collection of NC Folklore, version B. This is a fragment of only two stanzas reported by Thomas Smith as sung to him by E. B. Miller of Boone, Watauga county, in May 1915. "Mr. Miller heard this song sung during the Civil War by a Mrs. Parsons of Wilkes county."
O. "The Pinery Boy" learned in 1867 by Mrs. M.A. Olin of Eau Claire, Wisconsin from Thomas Ward as collected by Franz Rickaby.
J is the earliest text of a new "American" ballad type, Oikotype E which has evolved from a stanza found in Sailing Trade c.1800:
5. The colour of amber is my true love's hair
His red rosy cheeks doth my heart ensnare
His ruby lips are soft, and with charms.
I've lain many a night in his lovely arms.
This stanza is a description by the maid of her Sailor Boy to the Captain so that he may determine if he's seen the Sailor Boy or knows his whereabouts. The order of the text in the first line was changed and has become "Dark/Black is the color of my true love's hair." By placing the stanza first, the variant becomes a version of Oikotype E[7] and several versions are titled "Black is the color." The earliest extant version with "Dark/Black is the color" stanza first was written down by William Larken from Mrs. C. Froyaughehand of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1863 [from Ruth Ann Musick-The Old Album of William A. Larkin; JAFL Vol. 60, 1947]. It is titled, "Sailler[sic] Boy" and the placement of the stanza is first:
Dark was the coler of my true loves hair
His eyes resembled a lady fair
For no one else can give me joy
None will I have but a sweet sailler boy. [original spelling kept]
The last two lines the Scottish stanza are changed in Oikotype E and appear similarly to:
If he would return it would give me joy,
For none will I have but my sweet sailor boy.
Another unique stanza associated with Oikotype E follows:
She hadn't been sailing far on the main,
She spied three ships come in from Spain;
She hailed each captain as he drew nigh,
And of him she did inquire of her sweet sailor boy.
[William H. Landreth's Civil War diary, 1865]
Other minor changes appear in these old American versions. One popular opening stanza is similar to the Scottish openings and begins, "A sailor's/soldier's life is a dreary/weary life." Here are some identifiers of Oikotype E:
1) Black/Dark is the color
2) bring me joy/sweet sailor boy
3) sailing on the main/ three ships from Spain
4) rocky isle (island)
5) drowned in the gulf
6) She called for a chair
7) sweet William (sweet Willie)
L, a variant of Oiktype E without an opening stanza, is titled "Heart-Rending Boat Ballad" as written by William. H. Landbeth in his Civil War diary dated about 1864. It was published with its original spelling and text in 1867 by Frank Moore[8]. Translated from the original, it reads:
1. Father, father build me a boat
And put it on the ocean that I may float
Her father was wealthy he built her a boat
And put it on the ocean that she might float
She stopped on the boat she rode out [in] joy
Now I'll find my sweet sailor boy.
2. She hadn't been sailing far on the main,
She spied three ships come in from Spain;
She hailed each captain as he drew nigh,
And of him she did inquire of her sweet sailor boy.
3. "Captain, Captain, tell me true,
If my sweet William is in your crew?"
"I'll tell you fair lady, I'll tell you my dear
Your Sweet William is not here."
4. "At the head of Rocky Island as we past by,
Will was taken sick and there did die."
She stove her boat against a rock,
I thought in my soul her heart was breaking
She wrung her hands, she tore her hair
Just like a lady in despair.
5. Go bring me a chair for to sit on,
A pen and ink for to set it down
At the end or every line she dropped a tear
At the end of every verse it was, "Oh my dear."
6. Go dig my grave both wide an deep
Put a marble stone at my head an feet
And on my breast you may carve a dove
To let the world know that I died for love.
Unlike the UK, the ballad [hereafter "Sailor Boy"] has not been printed here as a broadside or in chapbooks. Both Died for Love and Sailor Boy have the letter/song writing stanza in common. The function of this stanza in the ballad story is the writing of her will, or instruction for her burial. She has just learned of her sailor Boy's death and is writing her burial letter or song before she kills herself. In some versions she simply dies soon afterward-- apparently she has died for love (see, for example, Bunker's 1824 ending). Print versions have no other stanzas but the letter/song writing stanza in common with Died for Love. The ballad in tradition in both North America and the UK frequently has additional stanzas from "Died for Love"that are found in Butcher Boy, Alehouse (I Wish, I Wish) and other Died for Love ballads and their extended family. One explanation for this borrowing is that the Letter/song writing stanza triggers stanzas from Died for Love by traditional singer who know both ballads.
The US ballad story as told by Belden in 1940 was[9], "the girl asks her father to build her a boat that she may go in search of her sailor lover; that, meeting ships, she inquires for him and is told that he was drowned (or simply 'lost') at an island (commonly 'Rocky Island'); and that she then runs her boat upon a rock or throws herself overboard. Very often the conclusion is borrowed from The Butcher Boy: she calls for pen, ink, and paper and writes a letter directing that her grave be dug long and deep and a turtle dove be placed on her breast to show that she died for love."
Belden is describing Oikotype E which was very popular in the Mid-west. Some versions begin with the "Black is the color" stanza and are titled "Black is the color" (see also 1937 recording from Kentucky) while others have the stanza in a secondary position. Text from the "Black is the color" stanza is related to at least three different songs-- two of which are found in North America:
1) "Black is the Color," a love song first collected in 1916 by Cecil Sharp from Lizzie Roberts in North Carolina. It has been sung by John Jacob Niles whose version has helped popularize the song. The Lizzie Roberts/Niles "Black is the Color" is a different song with textual similarities found in the "Colour of Amber" stanza (Oikotype B). Only the first two lines are held in common.
2) "The Colour Of Amber" collected in 1951 from Nicholas (Nick) Davis of St Shott's, NL, by MacEdward Leach. This Newfoundland variant is a version of Early, Early in the Spring (Laws M1 Roud #152) which is based on the late 17th century Seaman's Complaint for his Unkind Mistress, of Wapping. The opening two lines of Early, Early in the Spring (Laws M1 Roud #152) are commonly found in Irish print and traditional versions of Sailor Boy (Oikotype A).
3) "The Colour of Amber," sung by Mary Ann Haynes in her home on High Street in Brighton, Sussex in 1974. This short English love song also has "Died for Love" stanzas.
These different songs are related to Sailor Boy by the important "colour of amber" stanza[10] which appears in North American versions of Sailor Boy as "Black is the color," "Brown is the color," or "Dark is the color." The stanza appears in Sailor Boy as a means for the maid to identify the sailor boy to the captain of a passing ship that she hails in her little boat. Her sailor boy is missing and she describes him to the captain to see if he's seen her love. Here's another example of the "colour of amber" stanza that's usually found in Sailor Boy[11]:
Brown was the color of my true love's hair,
His cheeks resembled a lily's fair.
If ever he returns it will give me joy,
For none can I wed but my sweet sailor boy.
[Belden A, 1909 from Mary Van Wormser of the West Plains High School, MO]
The "colour of amber" stanza is a bit different in 1847 stanza published in "Songs the Whalemen Sang[12]:"
That short blue jacket he used to wear
His rosy cheeks and his coal black hair
His lips as smooth as the velvet fine
Ten thousand times he has kissed mine.
Here's a Sailor Boy variant titled "Black is the Colour[13]":
BLACK IS THE COLOR- sung by a Missouri woman with a guitar; from a field recording in the possession of the late Bil Godsey, Champaign, Illinois before late 1950s.
Chorus: Black, black is the color of my true love's hair,
His face is like some lily fair.
If ever he returns it will give me great joy,
For none can I love but my sweet sailor boy.
Oh Ma, oh Mother, go build me a boat
That I may on the ocean float,
And call to the ships as they pass by,
Tell me, pray, have you seen my sweet sailor boy.
She built her a boat on the deep, deep main,
And she spied three ships come out from Spain,
And she called to the captain as they passed by,
Tell me, pray, have you seen my sweet sailor boy?
Chorus.
"Oh no," said the captain, "That never can be,
"For your love was drowned in the deep salt sea,
"There off Rock Island as we passed by,
"It was there that we lost your sweet sailor boy."
She stove her boat into the rocks,
And I thought that the poor lady's heart was broke.
She wrung her hands and she tore her hair
Just like someone in deep despair.
Chorus.
Go dig me a grave both wide and deep,
Place a marble slab at my head and feet,
And on my breast place a mourning dove
To show to the world I died for love
The color is varied in North American versions from the original "amber" (see Sailing Trade, 1800 Scotland) in the UK and appears as "black," "dark," "brown" and other forms.
The ballad in North America has also been localized. The "Pinery Boy" found in Wisconsin in the 1867 is about a timber raftsman (pine logger) while the "California Boy" variant suggests the boy is heading west in search of gold. According to Art Thieme[14]: "The old ballad "The Sailor Boy" from England became "The Pinery Boy" in the lumber woods and then "The California Boy" in 1849 in the gold rush. Only the occupation and a few details of the different jobs were changed from song to song. Other than that, the songs are the same.
Other local songs have been derived from the "Sailing Trade" opening including "A Shantyman's Life":
Oh, a shanty-man's life is a wearisome life,
although some think it void of care,
Swinging an ax from morning
till night in the midst of the forests so drear.
[Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy; Franz Rickaby 1926].
It's clear where the Cowboy song, "The Dreary, Dreary Life" got its opening line. According to cowboy Jack Thorp (1867-1940) this is "an old song, a jumble of several. I first heard it at Kingston, New Mexico, sung by a man named Sam Jackson (1920s):
A cowboy's life is a dreary, dreary life,
Some say it's free from care;
Rounding up the cattle from morning till night
On the bald prairie so bare.
The opening, "A sailor's trade(life) is a weary life" (see: Mary Leavitt, Utah) can be varied by trade to be almost any trade. The "weary life" or "dreary life" stanza frequently opens versions of Okiotype E and they become categorized as versions of Oikotype B with E identifiers.
Sailor Boy has also been combined with other songs or floating stanzas. Several composites surfaced in the early 1900s including one titled "Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea" or "Deep Blue Sea." In most cases the popular "Captain, captain" stanza has been borrowed from Sailor Boy to make these new songs. Several versions from the Brown Collection of NC Folklore are composites while others like banjoist Rufus Crisp's "Fall, Fall, Build Me a Boat" are related to the "Father, build me a boat" stanza but the relationship is only a line or two. Here's a composite version of Sailor Boy and Careless Love-- which was collected by my grandfather Maurice Matteson and Mellinger Henry. My grandfather was leading vocal music at Southern Music Vocal Camp at Banner Elk in the summer 1933 when he met Henry there. Mellinger was a good collector but he couldn't write music, so he persuaded my grandfather to help him. That persuasion ended up becoming the first of my grandfather's folk Music books, Beech Mountain Folk Songs and Ballads:
CARELESS LOVE- sung by Edward Tufts, Banner Elk, NC, July 15, 1933 from Beech Mountain Folk Songs and Ballads, M. Henry and M. Matteson.
"Captain, Captain, tell me true:
Does my Willie sail with you?"
No, oh no, he's not with me-
He got drowned in the deep blue sea."
Refrain: Love, O love, O careless love,
Love, O love, how can it be?
Love, O love, O careless love,
To love someone that don't love me.
Love, O love, O love divine.
Love, O love, O love divine.
Love, O love, O love divine,
Lucile, you know you'll never be mine.
Refrain
Hail that captain as he passes,
Hail that captain as he passes,
Hail that captain as he passes,
That's him, I have my Willie at last.
Refrain
The refrain and last stanzas are in the Careless Love form even though the last stanza is related to the Sailor Boy text. The 1st stanza and others like it are the presumed antecedents of "Deep Blue Sea":
"Captain, Captain, tell me true:
Does my Willie sail with you?"
No, oh no, he's not with me--
He got drowned in the deep blue sea."
Another version that is a composite with the "deep blue sea" line is "Oh Captain, Captain, Tell me True" recorded by Vernon Dalhart in December of 1925 in Camden, NJ and released on on Victor 19951 in March 1926. This first recording was either arranged by Dalhart or a Victor studio arranger using only the first two stanzas of Sailor Boy. Here is the text:
"Oh Captain, Captain, Tell me True"
[brief intro instrumental]
1 'Oh, captain, captain, tell me true,
Does my sweet Willie sail with you?'
'Oh no, he does not sail with me,
For he is on the deep blue sea.'
2 'Oh, father, father, build me a boat,
So on the ocean I can float,
And every ship that I pass by
I think I hear my Willie cry."
[brief inst.]
3 'Oh, gypsy, gypsy, tell me true.
Please tell me something I can do.
I'll travel o'er this whole wide world
To keep him from another girl.
4 'He told me that he loved me so.
But on a voyage he must go;
And some day he'd return to me
And then how happy I would be.
5 'When over the ocean he has roamed
He will come drifting back to home.
He'll fall into my waiting arms
And I'd be happy with his charms.
[brief inst.]
6 'Since first you came into my life
I often dreamed I was your wife.
But you have been untrue to me
And gone to sail the deep blue sea.
7 I see no pleasure without you.
You know you said what you would do,
You said a letter you would write,
That one I pray for every night.
8 'The days are very dark and blue;
I sit and dream of only you.
And pray that you'll return again
So in my heart there'll be no pain.'
Two versions of this "ballad" arrangement were collected (see Brown, version I as well as a version from Blaylock Collection). Neither collected version identified the Dalhart recording as the source. Another cover of Dalhart's version was printed in Farm Life (Arkansas) Volume 3, 1927.
Another composite, the popular "Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea" (also "Deep Blue Sea") is identified by the Carter Family's "I Have No One To Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea)" recordings (1928, 1934). This composite was collected by A.P. Carter probably in the Virginia and arranged by the Carters. Several possible antecedents have been found but none that is the obvious source, The Carters version entered tradition and similar versions were collected from the 1940s onward[15] in the south/southwest. Subsequent recordings include versions from Bascom Lamar Lunsford, his protege Obray Ramsey, New Lost City Ramblers, and the bluegrass favorites Flatt and Scruggs. "Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea" has been popular among folk and bluegrass musicians for many years. For a more complete list of versions with additional texts and headnotes see 7Aa, Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea, a separate appendix. Here's the text to "Deep Blue Sea" from The Carter Family in 1928:
I Have No One To Love Me (But the Sailor in the Deep Blue Sea)
1. It was on last Sunday evening
just about the hour of three,
when my darling started to leave me,
to sail on the deep blue sea.
2. He promised to write a letter,
he promised to write to me,
and I haven't heard from my darling,
who sails on the deep blue sea.
3. My mother is dead and buried,
My papa’s forsaken me,
And I have no one to love me,
but the sailor on the deep blue sea.
4. "Oh, captain, can you tell me,
Can you tell me where he may be?"
"Oh yes, my little maiden,
He’s drownded in the deep blue sea."
5. Farewell to friends and relations,
This is the last you'll see of me,
I'm going to end my troubles
By drowning in the deep blue sea.
Only stanza 4 can be considered to be directly from the "Sailor Boy" tradition. The stanzas of the Carters entered tradition to form a new group of "deep blue sea" variants that can be traced directly to the Carter's version.
A slightly different, bluesy variant of Deep Blue Sea that first appeared in the 1950s goes: Deep blue sea, Willie, deep blue sea (3X), with a final line in each stanza: "It was Willie who got drowned in the deep blue sea." One stanza from Sailor Boy is sometimes used in the different song, "What Does the Deep Blue Sea Say?" which will not be included in this study (see, for example, Woody Guthrie's version). These and other adaptations of the older Sailor Boy show the ballad's influence in the early 1900s. Clearly the "Captain, Captain" stanza became a "stock" stanza. Here's how it was used by Appalachian singer Ernest Stoneman in his version of "Careless Love[16]":
Love, oh love oh careless love,
Love oh love how can it be?
Love, oh love oh careless love,
To love someone that don't love me.
"Captain, captain tell me true,
Does my little Willie stay with you?"
"Oh no, kind miss, he is not here,
He lies in yonder deep, I fear."
* * * *
The "'Sailor Boy" at times becomes a "Soldier Boy" or a "Pinery Boy" or a "California Boy." More confusing are the myriad titles that have "sailor boy" in them: "The Faithful Sailor Boy" (Laws K 13); "The Sailor's Bride." [Laws K10]; "The Poor Little Sailor Boy" [Laws Q28] "The Prince of Morocco" --also titled "The Sailor Boy II" [Laws N18] and the old US broadside "The Little Sailor Boy." There are dozens of different "Sailor Boy" songs and titles. Randolph's master title for Sailor Boy is "Sailor's Sweetheart" which is used for other songs. Unless you can see the text, you don't know which song you're getting. Even the alternate title "Sweet William" is a name usually associated with another ballad, the Child ballad "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (No. 74). The shortened name for William is "Willie," a very common ballad name.
The North American variants are not based directly on print[17] and were brought by UK immigrants to America by the mid-1700s and early 1800s[18]. The ballad is rare in New England and well-know to areas of the Virginia Colony (James River basin) where it migrated south, north and west into areas of the Appalachians. Davis (Folk Songs of Virginia) in his summary of versions of 7. "Sweet William" gives 22 versions and none of them have been published. Cox, in Folk songs of the South (1925) only gives 3 of his 8 versions from West Virginia. There is a treasure trove of Appalachian versions that have been collected but not published.
The history of collected versions in North America begins with Louise Pound who reported two versions in her 1908, Syllabus of Nebraska Folk-Song. On p. 69 she says:
Sailor Boy. A girl asks her mother to build her a boat, "And every ship that I pass by, I will inquire for my sailor boy."
O mother, mother build me a boat
O build it long and narrer,
And o'er the ocean I will float
To my true love tomorrer.
Then later in her "Syllabus" Pound gives another stanza of a different variant:
3. Sailor's Trade
The sailor's trade is a cruel life,
It robs the maid of her heart and life;
It causes each heart to weep and mourn
The loss of a sailor boy never to return.
In 1917 Kittredge gave a version with the suicide in his "Ballads and Songs," article in the JAF and Sharp published some of his eleven collected versions from Appalachia (A-K)-- giving few complete texts. In Sharp's MS are three additional complete texts: one sent to Campbell by Isabel Rawn from Georgia, a complete text from Fanny Coffee of Virginia and a variant of C titled "Sweet Willie," sung by Nannie Weaver of Virginia in 1918. Add to that Sharp's eight one stanza music transcriptions with a single stanza of text found in his MS and there are over 20 versions from Sharp alone. The over 120 versions in my collection from North America are a far from complete view of the ballad in the new world, yet even the songs reported by Davis give the opening line which is enough in most cases to determine the ballad type. The four print types (Oikotypes A-D) correspond to the four early distinct broadsides (see main headnotes). North American versions that are complete can usually be identified by one of the ballad types or the tradition Oikotype E, a purely American adaptation of Scottish B.
It seems clear that the older English variants of Oikotype C, were brought to America long before they disappeared in England by the mid-1800s[19]. Oikotype D, (Sailor's life is a merry life) replaced C and was well know in England in the early 1900s but D is not found in America (see one stanza from Creighton as the lone example). Archaic Oioktype C is revealed by three lines in John Gay's 1720 rewrite and two versions from America (the 1824 version from a whaling ship log and Cox B). This archaic missing print versions theoretically may be dated to the late 1600s to early 1700s. Whether Sailor Boy came to America before the Revolutionary War as claimed by Scott in "Ballads of America" is speculation but it clearly was known by the late 1700s and early 1800s. The older English versions are represented by C in America (mainly West Virginia) and the broadsides of C found in England in the early 1800s.
A further study has be done (see main headnotes) which lists the North American versions under their Oikotypes. See also: Kari Veblen's article "The Loss of A True Love That Never Can Return: Travels of A Ballad" and her list of variants attached to my Recordings & info page. Versions of 'Deep Blue Sea" are given under Appendix 7Aa.
R. Matteson 2017]
_______________________________________
Footnotes:
1. This curious version was published in The Young Woman's Journal, Volume 11, dated 1900 by Henry Purmort Eames wife, the former Clara Boone Hansborough. Henry Purmort Eames, (1872-1950), was director of Piano at University of Nebraska (1898) when the article was published. How and when Eames collected an African-American version from North Carolina is unknown.
2. In the Butcher Boy the maid hangs herself in her room and then is discovered by her father. This version has the hanging with the maid discovered by eight lawyers who came a-riding by-- quite a different scenario. There are only 3 or 4 extant versions with this suicide discovery.
3. A similar suicide appears in "Sweet William," communicated Mr. C. A. Rogers from Mr. John D. McInnis of Meridian, Mississippi as heard during the Civil War (c.1864). It was reported in "Ballads and Songs," by Kittredge in JAFL 30-31, dated 1917. The hanging appears:
Three Eastern men went ridin' by;
They spied her on a limb so high;
They tuk her down fuh to be at rest;
A turkle dove lit on her breast.
4. Chaplin's version seems traditional. The first lines of stanza 3 (missing, "on the deep") and 5 (I greatly fear) are corrupt.
5. Although published in Boston and probably a New England version, the residence of Mrs. Fischer and the provenance is unknown
6. Originally "of"
7. Oikotype E is aligned with Scottish B and has other identifiers. Some versions may be versions of Oikotype E even if the "Black is the colour" stanza is not first. Any version without an opening stanza (beginning, for example, with "Father Build Me Boat") that has the E identifiers will also be considered a version of E.
8. From the 1867 "Anecdotes, Poetry, and Incidents of the War: North and South. 1860-1865," edited by Frank Moore.
9. From Belden's 1940 headnotes in "Ballads and Songs," p. 186.
10. The "colour of Amber" stanza was first printed in the version, "Sailing Trade," from a Scottish chapbook, 1800. It represents Oikotype B.
11. From Belden's 1940 "Ballads and Songs," p. 186-187.
12. My G, "A Sailor's Trade Is A Roving Life." (A sailor's trade is a roving life) From the log aboard the whaling ship, Elizabeth, port was New Bedford, Massachusetts 1847, Kendall repository. This is a traditional version of "Sailing Trade" in Songs the Whalemen Sang by Gale Huntington dated 1847.
13. Godsey's unidentified singer could be May Kennedy McCord of Missouri.
14. Art Thieme's quote is taken from the Mudcat Discussion Forum.
15. An early collected version is "Deep Blue Sea," as sung by Olga Trail of Farmington, Arkansas on October 9, 1941. From Ozark Folksongs by Vance Randolph c.1950; Randolph B, 4 stanzas.
16. Careless Love by Earnest Stoneman & the Dixie Mountaineers, Edison label, 1928.
17. No broadsides have been found in America and no versions have been collected that appear to be based on the few traditional versions printed in a few books and articles.
18 In The ballad of America by John Anthony Scott - 1966, he states "This song[Sweet William] came to America from Britain in colonial days."
19. Although C disappeared I've found one traditional version of C in England: "Down by some River" sung by Mr. Flint of Surrey in 1907 as collected by R.V. Williams.
_____________________________
CONTENTS: (To access individual versions, click on title attached to this page (green highlight) on the left hand column or click on the highlighted blue title below)
1) Murmering Side- Samuel Bunker (MA) 1824 Frank A-- As written by Samuel Bunker, master, ship Alexander of Nantucket, 1824-25. From: Stuart M. Frank's "Jolly Sailors Bold" (2010) pp.153-155. The Alexander was a Whaling ship out of Nantucket, Massachusetts owned by Christopher Mitchell & Co. The Captain was Samuel Bunker and the first mate was John P. Morris. Text from the Log dated July 17, 1824 to May 8, 1825.
2) Sailor Boy- Edward Hovington (QC) 1847 Barbeau-- from 1917 JAFL article, "Folk Songs" by C.M. Barbeau. Recorded in September, 1917, at Tadousac, Quebec, from Edward Hovington, aged 90, formerly a lumber-jack and canoeman in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company. Hovington learned “The Sailor Boy" over seventy years ago, while spending the winter at Sept-Iles, Quebec, from an old-country Irishman named Patrick McGouch, a laborer, who knew a large number of songs.
3) Sailor's Trade- Thomas R. Bryant, Jr. (MA) 1847 Huntington/ Frank B
4) Sailor Boy- Susie Carr Young (ME-MA) c.1855 Barry [currently unavailable]
5) Sailler Boy- Mrs. Froyaughehand (OH) 1863 Larkin
6) Sweet William- C.A.Rogers (MS) 1864 Kittredge
7) Captain, Captain, Tell me True- Miller (NC) c.1864
8) Heart-Rending Boat Ballad- Landreth (MO) 1864
The Pinery Boy- Thomas Ward (WS) 1867 Rickaby
Sailor's Trade- George W. Piper (MA) c.1868 Frank C
The Sailor Boy- Eileen Bleakney (OT-IR) c.1878
Sailor Boy- Christine Chaplin Brush (ME-MA) 1889
Sweet Sailor Boy- Hammontree (AR) 1890 Rand E
Sweet Sailor Boy- L. Cook (KS-CO) c.1890 Lumpkin
My Sweet William- (NC) pre1900 Eames
Sailor Boy- Matilda Heishman (WV) 1901 Cox B
Sailor Boy- Maude Williams (MO) 1903 Belden A
Sailor Boy- Ada Belle Cowden (MO) 1909 Belden B
Sailor's Trade- M.V. Wormser (MO) 1909 Belden C
Song of the Sea- Mrs. Fisher (MA) 1909 Chapple
California Boy- C. McDonald (MO) 1914 Belden D
Song Ballet [Soldier Life]- Edwards (GA) 1914 Rawn
Sailor Boy- Daisy Watkins (WV) c.1915 Cox C
Father, Go Build me a Boat- Mary Smith (NC) 1915
Captain, Captain, Tell me True- J Davis (NC) 1915
Sweet Sailor Boy- (NC) c.1915 Greer LV3
Sailor Boy- A. K. Moore (NC) c.1915 Greer LV4
Sweet Willie- Anon (NC) c.1915 Greer LV6
A Soldier's Trade- W. Wells (NC) 1916 Sharp A
Soldier Boy- Rosie Hensley (NC) 1916 Sharp B
Soldier's Trade- Jesu Harris (NC) 1916 Sharp C
Soldier's Life- W. Riley Shelton (NC) 1916 Sharp D
Sailor Boy- Mabel Tuggle (MI-VA) 1916 Gardner
Soldier Life- Ethel Edward (GA) 1916 Rawn
Moment's River Side- L. Collins (WV) 1917 Cox A
Sweet William- W. M. Maples (TN) 1917 Sharp E
Sailor's Lot- Margaret Dunagan (KY) 1917 Sharp F
Sailor Boy- Fanny Coffey (VA) 1917 Sharp G
Sailor's Trade- Mrs. Bishop (KY) 1917 Sharp MS
Build Me a Boat- J. Chisolm (VA) 1918 Sharp H
Sailor Boy- Dol Small (VA) 1918 Sharp I
Soldier's Trade- Blankenship (VA) 1918 Sharp J
Soldier Boy- Julie Boone (NC) 1918 Sharp K
Soldier Boy- Ef Chisholm (NC) 1918 Sharp K
Sweet Willie- Nannie Weaver (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
Sweet William- Laura Beckett (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
Soldier Boy- Anna Bailey (NC) 1918 Sharp MS
Sailor Boy- Virginia Bennett (NC) 1918 Sharp MS
Sweet Soldier Boy- Rosie Ayres (NC) 1918 Sharp MS
Sweet Soldier Boy- Fitzgerald (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
Yonder Riverside- Nanny Weaver (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
Sweet Willie- Bertha Bryant (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
Sailor Boy- Earl Cruickshank (MO) 1920 Belden E
Captain, Tell Me True- W. Addison (VA-CO) c.1920
Susie's Search - (NC) c.1921 Sutton/Brown I
Sailor Boy- Henry Maurer (OH) 1922 Eddy JAFL
She wrang her hands- Baber (MO) 1922 Rand B
Sailor Boy- Mrs. J. B. O' Connell (OH) 1922 Star
Prentice Boy- Mrs. Tillett (NC) 1923 Brown I
A Soldier's Life- Jessie McCue (WV) 1925 Cox II
Captain, Captain, Tell me True- Dalhart (TX) 1925
Town Where I Did Dwell- Tingle (NC) 1927 Brown G
I Have No One To Love Me- Carter Family (VA) 1928
Sailor Boy- Mrs. Thomas (MO) 1928 Randolph A
Sweet Willie- Mrs. G.L.Bostic (NC) 1929 Brown 4N
Sailor Boy- Mrs. Curran (NL) 1929 Karpeles
Soldier Lover- Mary King (TN) 1929 Henry A
Sweet Soldier Boy- Mrs. Wilson (NC) 1930 Henry B
Sailor Lad- Muriel Henneberry (NS) 1930 Creighton
Little Willie- Polly Morris (VA) 1931 Scarborough
Sailor's Life- Edward Hartley (NS) c1932 Creighton
Sailor Bold- Mrs. Kelley (NS) c.1932 Creighton
Soldier Boy- Rena Hicks (NC) 1933 Abrams
Careless Love- Edward Tufts (NC) 1933 Matteson
True Sailor Boy- B. Wohlbeek (MO) 1934 Belden F
Captain, Captain, Tell me True- Wise (NC) 1934
Sailor Boy- Nancy P. Coleman (IN) 1935 Brewster
Soldier Boy- Emma Dusenbury (AR) 1936 Lomax
Black Is the Color- Rube Cassity (KY) 1937 Lomax
Sailor's Trade- Denoon (MO) 1938 Randolph C
Sweet Willie- Edith Walker (NC) 1939 Brown E
Sweet William- Mrs. Tyler (MO) 1939 Randolph D
Sailor's Trade- Elizabeth Koffel (OH) 1939 Eddy B
Sailor's Trade- Mrs. L.A. Lind (OH) 1939 Eddy C
Sweet William- Mrs. S.T.Topper (OH) 1939 Eddy D
Father Build Me a Boat- Sullivan(VT) 1939 Flanders
Sweet William- Mrs. Davis (TN-OH) 1939 Eddy E
Lost Willie- Florence McKee (OH) 1939 Eddy F
I'll Sit Down & Write a Song- Lena Fish (NH) 1940
Willie on the Sea- W. Thompson (VT) 1942 Flanders
Captain, Captain, Tell me True- Glasscock(NC) 1943
Sweet Willie- Austin L. Elliott (NC) 1943 Brown H
Sweet Willie- Alice Tucker (MD) pre1944 Carey
Sailor's Trade- Roseina Reber (UT) 1947 Hubbard
Sailor Shantey- Gertrude Crooks (AL) 1947 Arnold
Sailor's Wife- Charles Brink (PA) 1949 Bayard
Sailor Boy- Anon (TX) 1950 Owens
Sweet Soldier Boy- Aldrich (AL) 1953 Browne A
Go Bring Me Back- Dunham (AL) 1953 Browne B
O Father, O Father- Griffin (AR) 1953 Parler B
Oh, Father, Father, Build Me a Boat- (WV) 1953 WV Folklore
Sailor Boy- William H. Burnett (AR) 1954 Parler C
Deep Blue Sea- Marie Washam (AR) 1954 Parler E
Sweet William- Mrs. L. A. Stewart (KY) 1955
Soldier's Life- Barry Satterfield (AR) 1955 Parler
Black is the Color- woman (MO) c.1956 Godsey
Sailor Boy- May Kennedy McCord (MO) 1958 Beers
A Sailor's Life- Mary Jo Davis (AR) 1958 O'Bryant
Willie Boy- Lucy Quigley (AR) 1958 Hunter A
Black is the Color- Mrs. Barnes (MO) 1958 Hunter B
Sailor Boy- Mrs. Ed Newton (MO) 1958 Hunter C
Soldier Boy- Mrs. Dillingham (KY-AR) 1959 Parler D
Sailor Boy- Harrison Burnett (AR) 1959 Hunter E
Sailor Boy- William Riley (LB) 1960 Leach
Sweet Soldier Boy- Lee Presnell (NC) c.1961 Paton
My True Sailor Boy- Susie Daley (OK) 1962 Moores
Papa, Papa, Build Me a Boat- Boggs (VA) 1965 REC
Soldier Boy- Buna Hicks (NC) 1966 Burton/Manning
Willie Boy- B. Byrne (NL) 1968 Casey
A Sailor's Life- R.J. Shinn (WV) 1969 Bush II
Boatman, Boatman- Campbell (OK) 1971 Hunter F
O Father, Build me a Boat- Mary Wilson (WV) 1975
Sailor's Trade- Power/Brennan (NL) 1983 Best
--------------
Belden P. 186, headnotes in Ballads and Songs, 1940
The Sailor Boy
This song is a general favorite on both side of the water. The core of it is that the girl asks her father to build her a boat that she may go in search of her sailor lover; that, meeting ships, she inquires for him and is told that he was drowned (or simply 'lost') at an island (commonly 'Rocky Island'); and that she then runs her boat upon a rock or throws herself overboard. Very often the conclusion is borrowed. from The Butcher Boy: she calls for pen, ink, and paper and writes a letter directing that her grave be dug long and deep and a turtle dove be placed on her breast to show that she died for love. The Lincolnshire text shows a pretty complete contamination of the two: she hangs herself, and her father comes home, cuts her down, and finds the letter. Stall texts were printed by Catnach and Such, and one by Pitts is allied to it in story tho not in language. It is recorded from tradition in Scotland (Christie I 249), Ireland. (JFSS VIII 213), Lincolnshire (JFSS II 293-4), Sussex (JFSS 199), Worcestershire (ECS 71-5, Dorset (JFSS VIII 212), Somerset (NSS IV 2-3); in Newfoundland. (FSM9-62), Nova Scotia (SBNS 89-91), Quebec (JAFL xxxl 1?0-1), ottawa (JAFL XXXI 162); in Virginia (SharpK II 87-8, scsM 319-20), West Virginia (Fss 353-?), Kentucky (SharpK II 87), Tennessee (JAFL XXX 363-4, XIJV 79-80, FSSH 188-9, SharpK II 86-7), North Carolina (JAFL XIIV 80-1, SSSA 177-8, FSSH 189-90, SharpK II 84-6, 88-9), Georgia (JAFL XXIX 199), Ohio (JAFL XXXV 410-1), and Wisconsin
(BSSB 85-6, adapted to the life of raftsmen). 'Careless Love,'reported by Henry from North Carolina (BMFSB 24-5), and "A Soldier's Life,' reported by Cox from West Virginia (FSWV 29-30), use parts of it. I have not found it reported from the North Atlantic states.
----------------------
Maud Karpeles Manuscript Collection (MK/3/219) [probably North American]
two pages 4 stanzas no informant, place date
Sweet William arranged by Arnold Walter
First Line: A soldier's trade is a cruel life
Collector: Karpeles, Maud P.
----------------------
Abrams collection LV1 and 2
A Song Ballad of the Sweet Sailor Boy
by Eunice Fyall [Tyall]
http://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/5f68cd3e8c7326f743b5b981dd517ba6.pdf
Storms are on the Ocean
http://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/8991330518d6cf2f80dca08c8bce3ec1.pdf
--------------------------
American Register: A Magazine of Genealogy, History, Biography
https://books.google.com/books?id=5e5mAAAAMAAJ
John L. Shawver - 1926 - Snippet view - More editions
A Magazine of Genealogy, History, Biography John L. Shawver. two children, namely, Daniel ... Another song I would like to get, started like this:
"Father, Oh! Father, build me a boat,
That I may over the ocean float,
And hail the ships as they pass by
All to inquire of my sweet sailor boy."
These were great favorites in my childhood sixty years ago (1866
-------------------------------------
[On Folkways Rufus Crisp; FW02342_202 released 1972
Banjo player and raconteur Rufus Crisp (1880-1955) was born, lived, and died in mountainous eastern Kentucky. This album, whose liner notes provide extensive biographical and contextual information, was recorded in Rufus' home in Floyd County between 1946 and 1955 as part of a collection in the Archive of Folk Song in the Library of Congress.
Band 2.
Fall, Fall, Build Me a Boat: Rufus Crisp, vocal and banjo
For many years I thought Rufus was singing "Fall, fall" instead of "Father" of "Paw" and to me fall still sounds correct. The refrain of the song comes from "The Sailor Boy" which was popular in the United States and in the British Isles. Another version was entitled "The Sailor's Trade." In most variants there is a verse which begins "Brown was the color of my true love's hair, his cheeks resembled a lily fair."
Rufus' song sounds like a play-party game and although I have no source for it as a game I feel sure it is. Another pentatonic melody.
Refrain: Fall, fall, build me a boat, (3 times)
Sail across the ocean.
Come, my love, and stand by me, (3 times)
'M sail across the ocean.
Come, my love, and go along, (3 times)
Go along with me.
----------
[Online text- no source given]
True Sailor Boy (British Traditional)
Love is the traitor of a sailor's life,
He causes the girls to loose their hearts' delight;
He causes them to sigh, he causes them to mourn,
All for my true love, never to return.
Father, father, build me a boat,
Out on the ocean I will float;
There I'll hail each ship as I pass by,
There I'll enquire for my true sailor boy.
She went a-sailin' on down the main,
She met three ships just out from Spain;
There she hailed each ship as she passed by,
There she enquired for her true sailor boy.
Captain, captain, tell me true,
Do my sweet William sail with you?
Oh, no, fair maid, he don't sail here,
He's drownded in the Gulf, my dear.
She ran her boat up against a rock,
Thought to all her soul she'd broke her heart;
She wrang her hands and tore her hair,
Just like some lady in despair.
She called for a chair to sit her down,
Pen and ink she wrote it down;
Oh, the end of every line she dropped a tear,
End of every verse was "Oh, my dear."
Father, father, dig my grave,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet;
Upon my breast a turtle dove,
To show to the world that I died for love.
Author unknown. Variant of a 19th-century British ballad, The Sailor Boy [Laws K12] American Balladry From British Broadsides (G Malcolm Laws, 1957). Also a variant of a 19th-century British broadside ballad, The Maid's Lament For Her Sailor Boy, published by J Catnach (London) sometime between 1813 and 1838, and archived at the Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, shelfmark: Harding B 11(2298) A variant was collected by MacEdward Leach [1897-1967] and published as #9, The Sailor Boy, in Folk Ballads And Songs Of The Lower Labrador Coast by the National Museum of Canada (Ottawa,1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved. A variant was also collected by Maud Karpeles [1885-1976] and published as #43, Sweet William, in Folk Songs From Newfoundland (Faber & Faber, London, 1971; also Oxford, 1934).
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[Sometimes included a version although it is not is this entry from Huntington- not sailor boy. version of what? [Died for love's Rambling boy?]
THE SAILOR BOY'S SONG- Huntington, Songs the Whalemen sang.
Oh I am a Yankee sailor boy
My heart is wild and free
I love a roving sailor's life
As boundless as the sea
I love to watch the vessel as
She dances o'er the tide
I love to see the dolphins play
And frolic by her side
Huzza my heart it leaps with joy
To think I am a sailor boy
Ship, Lexington 1853
This is a fragment of a song usually called "Sweet William" or "The Sailor Boy." This song will be found in many collections of folk songs, but there is a particularly nice version of it in Lucy Broadwood's English County songs, pp.74-76 . There are rwo versions of it in Creighton where it is called variously "My Sailor Lad" and "Sailor Bold."
------------------
[This is titled "Sailor Boy" but it's a different ballad.
1938 sung by J.W. Green, St. James, Beaver Island, ‘The Sailor Boy,’ AFC citation, #3285B. Lomax recording
Come all young men attend I pray, to all those few lines I write
-----------------------
Hoosier Folklore - Volumes 5-6 - Page 42
1946 Ruth Ann Musick (single stanza in a footnote
My mother's version is: Oh, no, fair lady, he's not here; He's drowned in the ocean, I fear. Rocky Island, as we passed by, There's where we left your sweet sailor boy. (Repeat last two lines)
"The Sailor Boy," in The Maine Woods Songster. p. 59
-----------
West Virginia Folklore - Volumes 4-9 - Page 16
https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LYAAAAMAAJ
1953
Oh, Father, Father, Build Me a Boat, (Learned from grandmother)
1. As I walked down the river bank,
Behold the flowers so bright and gay
I chanced to hear a young maid say,
My true love's gone how can I stay?
2. "Oh, Father, Father, build me a boat,
And on the ocean I will float,
And every ship that I draw near,
I'll inquire for my Willie, dear."
She had not gone more than half her trip,
Till she came in contact with a ship,
Oh, Captain, Captain, tell me true,
Does my sweet Willie sail with you?
"Oh, no, sweet maid, he is not here;
He lies in yonder's deep, I fear;
For as we crossed o'er yon green isle,
We chanced to lose a sailor boy."
5. She wrang her hands, she tore her hair,
Just like a maid in deep despair,
Her boat against a rock she run,
Saying, "I'll have Willie or I'll have none!"
6. "Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet;
And on my heart a turtle dove
To show to the world that I died for love."
----------------
New York Folklore Quarterly - Volume 14 - Page 213
https://books.google.com/books?id=eoILAAAAIAAJ
1958 - Snippet view - More editions
I had not sailed scarce a mile or three
Before that vessel I chanced to see;
O Captain, Captain, tell me true,
Does my dear William sail with you?
My lass, your William is not here;
Your lover's drowned I deeply fear;
On yon green isle as I passed by
There I lost sight of a sailor boy.
Oh, who can fathom my despair!
My sorrow is more than I can bear;
All my fond hopes so bright and free
Lie buried in the deep blue sea.
------------------
Southern Folklore Quarterly - Volume 5 - Page 187
https://books.google.com/books?id=QTtLAAAAYAAJ
1941 - Snippet view - More editions
"On a rocky island as we passed by
There we left your sailor boy to die."
She wrung her hands and she tore her hair
Just like some maiden in despair ;
She rowed her boat and she stowed her boat
Till she came to the rock where William lay.
---------------
[version of the blues variant title deep Blue Sea. Traditional Ballad Index calls it Deep blue Sea II.
Max Hunter Cat. #0589 (MFH #151) -
Deep Blue Sea- As sung by Joan O'Bryant and Max Hunter, on July 5, 1961
CHORUS:
Deep blue sea, Willie deep blue sea
Deep blue sea, Willie deep blue sea
Deep blue sea, Willie deep blue sea
It was Willie what got drowned In th deep blue sea
VERSE 1
Dig his grave with a silver spade
Dig his grave with a silver spade
Dig his grave with a silver spade
It was Willie what got drowned in the deep blue sea
VERSE 2
Let him down with a long gold chain
Let him down with a long gold chain
Let him down with a long gold chain
It was Willie what got drowned in the deep blue sea
VERSE 3
Wrapped him up in a winding sheet
Wrapped him up in a winding sheet
Wrapped him up in a winding sheet
It was Willie what got drowned in the deep blue sea.
--------------
Max Hunter Cat. #1048 (MFH #743). Composite mixed with Soldier's Sweetheart, as recorded by Jimmie Rodgers in 1927.
Deep Blue Sea- As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on March 11, 1970
VERSE 1
I once't had a sweetheart
Sweetheart brave an' true
His hair was dark an' curly
His lovin' eyes was blue
VERSE 2
They took him away
To th awful German war
An' when he came to say, goodbye
My heart did overflow
VERSE 3
He took a golden finger ring
Placed it on my hand
Said, remember me little darlin'
When I'm in no-mans-land
VERSE 4
It was on a Sunday evenin'
About th hour of three
When my darlin', start to leave me
Sail on th deep blue sea
VERSE 5
He promised to write me a letter
Promised to be true
When I read his letters
I pray th war is thru
VERSE 6
My Mother's dead, in Heaven
My Father's forsaken me
I have no one to love me
But th sailor on th deep blue sea
VERSE 7
The second letter I got from him
The war was just ahead
The next letter I got from him
My darlin' Bill, was dead
VERSE 8
I'll keep all of his letters
I'll keep his gold ring too
An' always live a single life
For th boy who was so true
VERSE 9
So, fare you well, dear friends
That's th last you'll see of me
For I'm going to end my troubles
By drownin' in th deep blue sea
--------------
Max Hunter- Cat. #1162 (MFH #811) Gilbert's cover of Carter's version
I Have No One to Love Me - As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on July 27, 1971
VERSE 1
It was one Sunday evenin'
Just about th hour of three
When my darlin' started to leave me
To sail on th deep blue sea
VERSE 2
He promised to write me a letter
He promised to write to me
An' I haven't heard from my darlin'
Who sailed on th deep blue sea
VERSE 3
My Mother, is dead an' buried
My Poppa, forsaken me
An' I have no one to love me
But th sailor on th deep blue sea
VERSE 4
O Captain, can you tell me
Can you tell me where he may be
O yes, my little maid'n
He's drowned in th deep blue sea
VERSE 5
Farewell to friends an' relations
This th last you'll see of me
I'm going to end my troubles
By drowin' in th deep blue sea
---------------
[a different song that usually has an opening stanzas similar to "Sailor Boy." See Woody Guthrie's version, Doc Watson's.
Max Hunter Cat. #0630 (MFH #707)
What Does The Deep Sea Say- As sung by Paralee Weddington, Busch, Arkansas on March 7, 1968.
VERSE 1
O, where is my sailor boy,
O where is my sailor boy,
He sleeps in the bottom of the deep blue sea
An' can't come back to me
VERSE 2
I stand on the beach alone
And gaze at the misty blue
Deep sea as you hold him to your breast
Does he mention my name to you
VERSE 3
O, what does the deep sea say,
O, what does the deep sea say,
It moans, it groans, O, it flashes an' foams
An' rolls on its weary way
VERSE 4
If only my grieving soul
Some token or sign could find
If only th waves would show me where he sleeps
I'd leave this world behind
VERSE 5
I gave him a rose one day
I placed on th crest of th wave
I said, take it please, an' let it settle foam
Above his watery grave
VERSE 6
Th driftwood I watched in vain
My rose n'er came back again
So waves take another message to my love
Say'in that I'll meet him above
VERSE 7
O, what does th deep sea say,
O, what does th deep sea say,
It moans, it groans, O, it flashes an' foams
An' rolls on its weary way
-----
[variants of Butcher Boy]
Letters - Volume 5 - Page 20
https://books.google.com/books?id=gDDmAAAAMAAJ
1931 - Snippet view - More editions
"If I hadn't hear-ed with my own ears what I
THE SOLDIER BOY In London city where I did dwell Lived a Soldier Boy and I loved him well ; He courted me my life away But now with me he will not stay. There is a strange girl in this town, My love
The Journal of American Folk-lore - Page 77
1931 - Snippet view - More editions
B. No local title. Obtained from Miss Mary E. King, Gatlinburg, Sevier County, Tennessee, who had it from Dock Stinnett, Sevierville, Tennessee. 1. In London City where I did dwell, A merchant's son I loved so well. He courted me, my life away,
-----
[Online, no source given similar to Buna Presnell Hicks/ Lee Monroe Presnell versions]
MY SWEET SOLDIER BOY (1951)
Dark was the color of my true lover’s hair
His cheeks was like some milky fair
If he will return it will give me great joy
For I never loved any like my sweet soldier boy
Father, father, go build me a boat
And over the ocean I will float
And every ship that I pass by
I will inquire for my sweet soldier boy
She rowed her boat into the plain [main?]
Ahs saw three ships a-coming from Spain
Oh she halted each time as it drew near
Oh there she inquired for her sweet soldier boy
Captain, captain, oh tell me true
Does my sweet William sail with you?
Answer me, oh answer me, you will give me great joy
For I never loved any like my sweet soldier boy
Oh no lady, he is not here
But drownded in the gulf, my dear
At the head of Rocky Island as we passed by
Oh there we let your true lover lie
She ran her boat unto a rock
I thought to my soul her heart would break
She wrung her hands all in her hair
Just like some lady in despair
Go get me a chair to set upon
A pen and ink, I will write it down
At the end of each line she dropped a tear
At the end of each verse cried, Oh my dear
Oh dig my grave both wide and deep
Put a marble stone at my head and feet
And on my breast a turtle dove
To show the world that I died of love.
--------------
[EARLY IN THE SPRING (Different ballad still has Died for Love ending- also Willow] Folk-Songs of the South
Contributed by Mr. Decker Toney, Queens Ridge, Wayne County, January 20, 1916; learned from his mother, who had it from Hester Burton, who learned it from her mother, Delilah Horn.
11 "There is a river flows through this town,
And in it my body will be found;
Bury me beneath yon weeping willow tree,
To show the world I died for thee."
---
B. version
10 "There is a river in this town;
Therein my body shall be drown,
And it shall be buried beneath yond tree;
Remember love, that I died for thee.
11 "Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet,
And upon my heart a turtle dove,
To testify that I died for love." ]
-----------------
West Virginia Folklore - Volumes 4-9 - Page 16
https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LYAAAAMAAJ
1953
Dark, dark was the color of my true-love's hair;
His eyes resembled the brightest stars;
As he pressed my hand, he said,
"Goodbye; I'm bound for my country to live or die."
3. Oh where, of where is he tonight,
A-battling for his country's right Oh,
---------------------
see version in JAFL XLV p. 80-81
Southern Folklore Quarterly - Volume 5 - Page 145 [missing stanza]
https://books.google.com/books?id=QTtLAAAAYAAJ
1941
3. At the end of every line, she dropped a tear ; At the end of every verse she cried 'Oh, my dear', At the end of every line she dropped a tear ; At the end of every verse she cried 'Oh, my dear'."
----------------
p. 187
"On a rocky island as we passed by
There we left your sailor boy to die."
She wrung her hands and she tore her hair
Just like some maiden in despair ;
She rowed her boat and she stowed her boat
Till she came to the rock where William lay
----------------
My Boy Willie
Two verses and chorus
(8-bit, mono) wav(384 K)
Two verses and chorus (high quality) mp3 (289 KB)
Full Song: mp3 (922 KB)
"My Boy Willie" is performed by Mary Smith
From Horntip website
Notes: This song has the exact same tunes as the song "The Butcher Boy" and is of a similar theme.
It was early, early in the spring
My boy Willie went to serve the king
And all that vexed him and grieved his mind
Was the leaving of his dear girl behind.
Oh father dear build me a boat
that on the ocean I might float
And hail the ships as they pass by
for to inquire of my sailor boy.
She had not sailed long in the deep
when a fine ship's crew she chanced to meet
And of the captain she inquired to
"Does my boy Willie sail on board with you?"
"What sort of a lad is your Willie fair?
What sort of clothes does your Willie wear?"
"He wears a coat of royal blue,
and you'll surely know him for his heart is true".
"If that's your Willie he is not here.
Your Willie's drowned as you did fear.
'Twas at yonder green island as we passed by,
it was there we lost a fine sailor boy".
Go dig my grave long wide and deep,
put a marble stone at my head and feet.
And in the middle, a turtle dove.
So the whole world knows that I died of love
_______________________
[earliest US print version with suicide]
The Young Woman's Journal, Volume 11, 1900
THE FOLK SONGS OF AMERICA.
Mrs. Henry Purmort Eames.
[EDITORIAL NOTE. The following was read at the Nebraska State Federation of Clubs, recently held at Lincoln,
by Mrs. Henry Purmort
They have received free—, Eames, wife of the famous musician now in the Chair of Music at the Nebraska State University. The lecture was illustrated by both piano and the sweet, vibrant voice of Mrs. Eames herself, and created a most profound and delightful impression. The songs were collected and arranged by Prof. Eames, who has spent much time in developing this altogether new and fascinating branch of musical study.
It is a North Carolina song:
“MY SWEET WILLIAM."
Oh! captain, captain, tell me true,
Does my sweet Willyum sail with you?
Oh! captain, captain, tell me true,
Is my sweet Willyum with the gallant crew?
Oh no! fair maid, he is not heah,
He's drownded in some deep, I feah,
The night was dark, and the windsblewed high,
And I lost the sight of my sailor-boy.
She wrung’d her hands, she tored her ha‘ah,
Jest like-a-fair maid, all in despa-ah!
She wrung’d her hands, she tored her ha-ah,
Crying, Oh! my haht is in despa’ah.
She went home to write a song:
She wrote it true, she wrote it long;
On every word she dropped a teah.
On every line cried. "Oh, my deah."
Eight lawyers they came a-riding by,
And saw her-a-hangin' on a limb so high,
They took a axe and cut her down.
An' on her bress' these words was foun':
Go dig my grave both wide and deep;
Place a marble toom at my head an' feet:
An' on my breash a turtle duv,
To inform this worl' I died fur lov.
---
THE UNTRUE LOVER (Drowsy Sleeper)
Oh who is this at my bedroom window?
Oh who is this a-botherin' me?
'Tis I, 'tis i your own true lover,
Awake, arise an' let me in.
Awake, arise and ask your father,
Go ask him if you my bride can be.
Oh no, I can not ask my father
For he is on his bed of rest.
Oh love, arise an' ask your mother,
Go ask her if you my bride can be.
Oh no, I will not ask my mother,
For your true love I can never be.
Farewell, farewell, my untrue lover,
For the very last time I will bother thee,
For if you loved me, you would foller
Far, far acrost the deep blue sea.
For days then how her heart did flutter,
With grief when she thought of the deep blue sea,
She cried my lover's gone a-sailin',
So far, so far away from me.
She goes down to the deep blue water,
And sends her thoughts o'er the briny sea,
She plunged into its fathomless bosom,
Sayin' here I take my final sleep.
Miss Leone Duvall, MO, 1923. Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, vol. 1, pp. 245-246 (The Drowsy Sleeper, # 52B).
Dearborn Independent - Volume 27, Issue 38 - Page 13
https://books.google.com/books?id=sV5NAAAAYAAJ
1927 - Snippet view - More editions
She wrung her hands and tore her hair, Just like a lady in despair. 'Bring me a chair to sit upon, A pen and ink to write it down.' At the end of every line she dropped a tear, At the end of every verse cried, 'Oh my dear. 'Dig my grave both wide .
-----SAILING ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA
(learned during the 1960s)
from miriam berg's folksong collection
(music to go here)
'Twas on a summer's evening, about the hour of three
That my darling began to leave me, to sail upon the deep blue sea.
Well, he promised to write me a letter, he said he would write to me,
But I have not heard from my darling, who is sailing on the deep blue sea.
Well, my mother's dead and buried, my father has forsaken me,
And I have no one to love me but a sailor on the deep blue sea.
Oh, captain, can you tell me where my true love might be,
Oh, yes, my pretty maiden, he's drowned in the deep blue sea.
Good-bye to my friends and relations, it's the last you'll see of me,
For I've gone to end my sorrow by drowning in the deep blue sea.
--------
A sailor’s trade’s a weary life
It robs fair maidens of their delight
It causes them for to weep and to mourn,
Awaiting for the sailor boy to return
Woody Guthrie adapted the Carter Family version for
his popular “What Did the Deep Sea Say?”27
---------
Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea - Obray Ramsey
1. It was on one Sunday evening
Just about the hour of three,
That's when My darling left me,
To sail on the deep blue sea.
2. "Oh, captain, can you tell me,
Can you tell me where he may be?"
"Oh yes, my little maiden,
He’s drownded in the deep blue sea."
3. Oh He promised to write me a letter,
He promised to write to me,
But I haven't heard from my darling,
He's sailing on the deep blue sea.
4. My mother's dead and buried,
My daddy's forsaken me,
I have no one to love me,
But the sailor on the deep blue sea.
5. Then go tell all my friends and lewlations,
This is teh last you'll ever see of me,
I'm going to end my troubles
By drowning in the deep blue sea.
Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea- Bascom Lamar Lunsford
1. It was on one Sunday evening
Just about the hour of three,
My darling went and left me,
To sail on the deep blue sea.
2. He promised to write me a letter,
He promised to write to me,
But I haven't heard from my darling,
Since he sailed on the deep blue sea.
3. "Oh, captain, can you tell me,
Can you tell me where he may be?"
"Oh yes, my little maiden,
He’s drownded in the deep blue sea."
4. My mother is dead and buried,
My papa has forsaken me,
And I have no one to love me,
but the sailor on the deep blue sea.
5. Then go tell all my friends and loved ones,
Where ever they may be,
I'm going to end my troubles
By drowning in the deep blue sea.
What Does the Deep Sea Say?
Deep Blue Sea taken from: Doc Watson
Where is my sailor boy
Oh where is my sailor boy
He lies on the bottom of the deep deep sea
And he can't come back to me
Please tell me deep blue sea
Is he sleeping peacefully?
The wind from the north is blowin icy cold
Please keep him warm for me
What does the deep sea say
Oh what does the deep sea say
It moans, it groans, it flashes and it foams
And rolls on its weary way
I stand on the beach alone
And gaze at the misty blue
Deep sea as you hold him to your breast
Does he mention my name to you
If only my dreaming soul
Some token of love could find
If only a wave would show me where he sleeps
Then I'd leave this world behind
A beautiful rose one day
I placed on the crest of a wave
Deep sea take it please
And lay it so it falls above his watery grave
The driftwood I watched in vain
My rose never came back again
Deep sea take another message to my love
Saying I'll meet him above
----------------------
FATHER, GO DIG ME A BOAT. Sung by Mrs. Dizia Puckett. Near Tishomingo . Halpert 1939
West Virginia Folklore - Volumes 4-9 - Page 16
https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LYAAAAMAAJ
1953 - Snippet view - More editions
"Oh, Father, Father, build me a boat, And on the ocean I will float, And every ship that I draw near, I'll inquire for my Willie, dear." She had not gone more than half her trip, Till she came in contact with a ship, Oh, Captain, Captain, tell me true,
-----------
What Does The Deep Sea Say
(J. Mainer)Doc Watson Version Key C
C G C
She stood on the beach alone
F C
And gazed at the misty blue
F C
Saying "Sea, as you hold him to your breast
G C
Does he mention my name to you?"
Oh, where is my sailor-boy
Where is my sailor-boy
He sleeps at the bottom of the deep blue sea
And he can't come back to me
(chorus)
C G C
Oh, what does the deep sea say
C G C
What does the deep sea say
C G F
It moans, it groans it splashes and it foams
C G C
And it rolls on it's weary way
(break)
Oh, please, tell me, deep blue sea
Is he sleepin' peacefully
For the winds from the north are blowing icycold
Can you keep him warm for me
If only my grieving soul
Some token of love could find
If only the waves could show me where he sleeps
Then I'd leave this world behind
(chorus)
(break)
A beautiful rose ane day
I placed on the crest of a wave
And I said "Take it, please, and let it settle form
Above his watery grave"
The drift would I've watched in vain
And my rose never came back again
So, waves, take another message to my love
Tell him I'll meet him above
Oh, what does the deep sea say
What does the deep sea say
It guards and keeps my lover where he sleeps
And it roll on it's weary way
-------
Deep Blue Sea
(Trad)
Chorus:
Deep blue sea, honey, deep blue sea
Deep blue sea, honey, deep blue sea
Deep blue sea, honey, deep blue sea
It was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea
Dug his grave with an iron spade
Dug his grave with an iron spade
Dug his grave with an iron spade
It was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea
Lowered him down on a silver chain
Lowered him down on a silver chain
Lowered him down on a silver chain
It was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea
Marked his grave with a cross of gold
Marked his grave with a cross of gold
Marked his grave with a cross of gold
It was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea
As sung by The Spinners
[1961:] Like many an American song, this seems to have been built out of a fragment of an old British ballad or sea song. (Seeger, Ballads 76)
[1962:] Pete Seeger believes that this lovely American folk song has probably been influenced by or passed through West Indian musical idioms. (Reprint Sing Out 4, 197)
[1974:] [This] always seemed to us to have a strong Caribbean flavour about it, but Pete Seeger from whom we first learnt it gives it a probable British origin. Either way, it's a great song for mass singing. (Notes 'The Spinners at the London Palladium')
---------------
Deep Blue Sea
The origin of many American Songs is still unknown. This song so one of them. It appears that it might be a fragment of an old British sea song.
1. Deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea,
deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea,
deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea,
it was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea.
2. Dig his grave with a silver spade,
dig his grave with a silver spade,
dig his grave with a silver spade,
it was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea.
3. Lower him down with a golden chain, lower him down with a golden chain, lower him down with a golden chain, it was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea.
4. Golden sun bring him back to me, golden sun bring him back to me, golden sun bring him back to me, it was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea.
-----------------------
Southern Folklore Quarterly - Volume 5 - Page 145
https://books.google.com/books?id=QTtLAAAAYAAJ
1941 - Snippet view - More editions
At the end of every line, she dropped a tear ; At the end of every verse she cried 'Oh, my dear', At the end of every line she dropped a tear ; At the end of every verse she cried 'Oh, my dear'."
Southern Folklore Quarterly - Volume 5 - Page 145
https://books.google.com/books?id=QTtLAAAAYAAJ
1941 - Snippet view - More editions
It is reprinted here to include Stanza 3, which the singer forgot in the former recording of the song. In the present song, however, the following stanza was evidently forgotten by the singer : "Go, bring me a chair to sit upon, A pen and ink to write
----------------
Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S220481)
First Line: O mother, mother build me a boat
Source: Pound, Folk-Song of Nebraska ... Syllabus p.69
Performer:
Date:
Place: USA : Nebraska
Sailor's Trade
Roud Folksong Index (S220557)
First Line: Sailor's trade is a cruel life, The
Source: Pound, Folk-Song of Nebraska ... Syllabus p.42
Performer:
Date:
Place: USA : Nebraska
Collector:
Roud No: 273
------------------------
JAFL 1922 Eddy
THE SAILOR BOY.
The following may all be called variants of "The Sailor Boy:" "Journal of the Folk-Song Society," i, 99; "One Hundred English Folksongs," No. 72; JAFL xxx, 363-364 (see for references). Christopher Stone, Sea Songs and Ballads, pp. 174-176; Cuala Press Broadside for August, 1909 (Second Year, No. 3)
The last two stanzas of the text here given are found in "The Butcher's Boy," Part I, 169-170.
Sung to Miss Eddy by Mr. Henry Maurer, Perrysville, O.
1. Weary are the hours of a sailor boy;
Its cause, its cause, is to weep and to mourn,
Its cause, its cause, is to weep and to mourn,
For the sake of the lover that nev- er will re-turn.
Its cause, its cause, is to weep and mourn
For the sake of the lov-er that nev-er will re-turn.
2. Black is the color of my true-lover's hair,
His resemblance is the lily's fair,
To tell, to tell, will give me joy,
For none will I have but my sweet sailor boy.
3. Father, father, build me a boat,
That I may on the ocean float;
And every ship that I sail by,
There I'll inquire for my sweet sailor boy
4. As I sailed down from Spain,
I saw three ships sail over the main,
I hailed a happy captain as he passed by,
And there I inquired for sweet Willy boy.
5. "Captain, captain, tell me true,
Doth sweet Willy sail with you?
To tell, to tell, 'twill give me joy,
For none will I have but sweet Willy boy."
6. "O fair lady! I'll tell you true,
He was drowned in the gulf below;
On Eroc Isle[1] as we passed by,
There we left your sweet sailor boy."
7. She dashed her boat against a rock,
I thought the lady's heart was broke,
She wrung her hands and tore her hair,
Just like a lady in despair.
8. "Bring me a chair to sit upon,
And pen and ink to write it down."
At the end of every line she dropped a tear,
At the end of every verse cried, "Oh, my dear!"
9. "Dig my grave both wide and deep;
Put a marble stone at my head and feet,
And on my breast a turtle dove,
To show the world that I did love."
Dearborn Independent - Volume 27, Part 2 - Page 13
https://books.google.com/books?id=wuIfAQAAMAAJ
1927 - Snippet view - More editions
The Sailor Boy Weary are the hours of a sailor boy, Its cause, its cause is to weep and to mourn, Its cause, its cause is to weep and to mourn For the sake of the lover that never will return. Black is the color of my true lover's hair, His
----------
The Alabama Folk Lyric: A Study in Origins and Media of Dissemination
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0879721294
Ray Broadus Browne - 1979 - Preview - More editions
*lUl t-'ie m».r tl'ls In :tf
"Oh, Captain, Captain, tell me true
Does my true-lover sail with you?"
"Oh, no he does not sail with me.
He's with the mermaids in the sea." Bring back to me the one I love. Oh, bring, oh, bring him back to me. They say he .
I. "Heart-Rending Boat Ballad" from an MS (diary) of William H. Landreth, soldier, recovered in Missouri, c. 1964.
K. "The Pinery Boy" learned in 1867 by Mrs. M.A. Olin of Eau Claire, Wisconsin from Thomas Ward as collected by Franz Rickaby.
variant recorded by the Carter Family in 1928 bears the persistent “Oh, Captain” stanza. However, the narrative is in process of dissolving into a song mourning the loss of her “darling” who is “drownded in the deep blue sea.” The action softens and condenses into two verses where the captain tells her that the sailor is drowned, and she announces that she will “end my troubles / By drowning in the deep blue sea.” Three other verses set the scene but are not found in other variants. Woody Guthrie adapted the Carter Family version for his popular “What Did the Deep Sea Say?”27 Both Carter Family and Guthrie versions are played today in North American bluegrass and folk circles
Farm Life - Volume 46, Issue 9 - Page 40
https://books.google.com/books?id=t1RTAAAAYAAJ
1927 - Snippet view - More editions
Oh! CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN TELL ME TRUE Oh! Captain, Captain, tell me true, Does my sweet Willie sail with you? "Oh! no, he does not sail with me. For he is on the deep blue sea.” Oh! father, father, build me a boat, So on the ocean I can float.
Bulletin - Volumes 46-47 - Page 55
https://books.google.com/books?id=Nk0sAQAAIAAJ
Tennessee Folklore Society - 1980 - Snippet view - More editions
In Gay's song Susan comes aboard a ship and says, Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true ^ If my sweet William sails among the crew. I believe the most common phrasing in Laws K 12 is Captain, Captain, tell me true, Does my sweet Willie sail ...
The new American songster: traditional ballads and songs of North ...
https://books.google.com/books?id=50tBAAAAMAAJ
Charles W. Darling - 1992 - Snippet view - More editions
4 "Captain, captain, tell me true, Does my sweet William sail with you? Answer me, oh, answer me; you'll give me great joy, For I never loved any like my sweet soldier boy. SWEET SOLDIER BOY 5 "Oh, no lady, he's not here; Got drownded in.
-----------------------
West Virginia songbag - Page 125
https://books.google.com/books?id=2NL2AAAAMAAJ
Jim F. Comstock - 1974 - Snippet view
1 A soldier's life is a dreary life, It robs poor girls of their hearts' delight, It causes them to weep and mourn For the love of a soldier never to return. 2 Dark was the color of my soldier's hair, His eyes resembled the brightest star; Oh, God, stand .
West Virginia songbag - Page 125
https://books.google.com/books?id=2NL2AAAAMAAJ
Jim F. Comstock - 1974 - Snippet view
*text fragmentary 11 - A SOLDIER'S LIFE (Sweet William) Communicated by Miss Jessie McCue, Hookersville, ... 1 A soldier's life is a dreary life, It robs poor girls of their hearts' delight, It causes them to weep and mourn For the love of a .
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Missing versions:
Sailor Boy: Songs and ballads from Overton County
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"A sailor's trade is a weary life" sung by Mrs. Mary Hafen Leavitt, age 71 of St. George, Utah.
AFS 08648 B01 (AFS Number); Fife, Austin E. (recordist)
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1948 Aubrey Murphy, Mosherville, Hants Co., Nova Scotia, "The Sailor," AFC citation, #9244A1. recording Creighton
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Gladys McCarthy, Farmington, ‘Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea,’ text of field recording by Randolph, LC AFC, Emrich, 6 stanzas, CF version, cc. also AFC #5352A3. 1941
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Sweet William (Little sailor boy) Sung by Mrs. Naomi Lydford. Bee Log, NC 1950 - AFS 10005 A13 (AFS Number) Karpeles and Cowell
1944 Georgia Ruby & Gertie Lou Chesser, Okefinokee Swamp Region, ‘Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea,’ AFC citation, #7730A2.
Matt Hanifin of Butte, Montana ‘The Sailor,’ 1948 LOC recording
Martha Ann Midgette; The Sweetest Boy That Ever Sailed, Warner collection not published
1850’s Susie C. Young (verses 1-2. 4-9 and tune), and Fannie H. Eckstorm (verses 3-4), Brewer, MA, ‘The Sailor Boy,’ published text, Barry, 9 stanzas, composite, cc, t.
British Ballads from Maine II : The Development of Popular Songs with Texts and Airs
SBN-13: 9780943197005
ISBN: 0943197007
Publication Date: 2012
Publisher: Maine Folklife Center
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Cox, Folk Songs of the South 1925 (texts collected but not given):
D. "Down by the River Side." Communicated by Mrs. Walter Parker, Keyser, Mineral County; obtained from Mr. F. A. Hoff, who learned it from his mother. Seven stanzas.
E. Communicated by Mrs. Elizabeth Tapp Peck, Morgantown, Monongalia County; obtained from her mother, who learned it from her mother. Fragmentary; seven stanzas.
F. "The Sailor's Sweetheart." Communicated by Mr. George Paugh, Thomas, Tucker County; obtained from Mrs. George Yankee. Six stanzas.
G. "Sailor Boy." Contributed by Mr. J. Harrison Miller, Wardensville, Hardy County, June, 1917; learned five years before from Bessie Budy. Four stanzas and a chorus.
H. "Sweet Willie." Communicated by Miss Mary Meek Atkeson, Morgantown, Monongalia County; obtained from Mr. Fred Smith, Glenville, Gilmer County, who got it from Mr. Harry G. Eubank. Five stanzas.
I. "The Lost Lover." Communicated by Miss Mildred Joy Barker, Morgantown, Monongalia County; obtained from her mother, who learned it from her father, Martin Brookover. Fragmentary; six stanzas.
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1913 Mrs. Holmes Bridges, West Rockingham, Rockingham Co., “The Sailor Boy’ or “The Sea Song,’ c by Davis, 12 stanzas.
1914 Callie Hogan, Lynch Station, Campbell Co., ‘Sweet William,’ c by Davis, 3 stanzas.
1914 Mrs. J. P. Maxie, near Altavista, Campbell Co., “A Sailor’s Life,’ c by Davis, 8 stanzas.
1915 Thomas P. Smith, Palmyra, 1 from May Smith, Villar, N.C., ‘Sailor Boy,’ c by Davis, 3 stanzas.
1916 Mrs. B. P. Shelor, Salem, Roanoke Co., ‘Captain, Captain, Tell me True,’ c by Davis, 3 stanzas.
1918 Fanny Coffey, White Rock, ‘Sweet William,’ published text, S & C, 1 stanza, pt, t.
1918 James H. Chisholm, Nellysford, ‘Sweet William,’ Published text, S & C, 1 stanza, pt, t.
1920 Mrs. Huffman, craig Co., no local title, c by Davis, 4 stanzas, recited.
1920 Major William Ellis, Shawsville, Montgomery Co., no local title, c by Davis, 1 stanza.
1921 Ada McGivvil, Roanoke, Roanoke, Co., ‘Sailor’s Life,’ c by Davis, 5 stanzas.
1931 Minnie Baylor, Harrisonburg, Rockingham Co., ‘Lonely Riverside,’ c by Davis, 8 stanzas.
1931 Abner Keesee, Altavista, Campbell Co., ‘Johnny Dear,’ c by Davis, 5 stanzas.
1931 Mrs. John Webb, Lynch Station, Va., ‘Sweet William,’ field recording, c in Davis.
1932 Ruby Bowman, Laurel Fork, Carroll Co., ‘Green Isle,’ c by Davis, 6 stanzas.
1934 Mrs. H.H. Huffman, Brightwood, Madison Co., ‘The Sailor’s trad,’ c by Davis, 8 stanzas.
1934 Mrs. Kit Williamson, Yellow Branch, Cambell Co., ‘Down on Moorman’s River Side,’ c by Davis, 7 stanzas.
1935 Mrs. B. Dickenson, Rocky Mount , Franklin Co., ‘Way Down on Mommen’s River Side,’ c by Davis, 4 stanzas.
1936 Ruby Metts, Gladstone, Amherst Co., ‘Sailor Song,’ c by Davis, 3 stanzas & chorus.
1936 Nita Metts, Tye River, Amherst Co., ‘Sailor Song,’ c by Davis, 4 stanzas & chorus.
1939 Mrs. Goldie Hamilton, Hamiltontown, near Wise, ‘Sweet Willie (Father, Build Me a Boat),’ frag, AFC citation, #2788B3.
1939 Sarah Ison, near North, ‘Sweet Willie (Early in the Spring,’’ AFC citation, #2813A3.
The Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S220489)
First Line: Father, O father, go build me a boat
Source: Brewster: Southern Folklore Quarterly (1941) pp.186-187
Performer: Ward, Mrs. Dora
Date:
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The Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S220503)
First Line: Sailor's life is a weary life, A
Source: Barry, Maine Woods Songster pp.58-59
Performer: Young, Mrs. Susie C.
Date:
Place: USA : Maine : Brewer
Collector: Barry, Phillips
Roud No: 273
Roud Folksong Index (S200937)
First Line: Captain, captain tell me true
Source: Folktrax 926-90 ('Songs from the Outer Banks')
Performer: Jones, Rebecca King
Date: 1940
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Crab Tree Creek
Collector: Warner, Anne & Frank
A Sailor's Trade
Roud Folksong Index (S220558)
First Line: Sailor's trade is a cruel life, A
Source: Folktrax 907-60 ('Songs of the Southern Appalachians 1')
Performer: Shelton, Ella
Date: 1950
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Alleghany
Collector: Karpeles, Maud
O Willie Dear
Roud Folksong Index (S185661)
First Line: It was early, early all in the spring
Source: Ritchie, From Fair to Fair (1966) pp.31-35
Performer:
Date: 1952?
Place: Ireland : Aran Islands : Inishmore
Collector: Ritchie, Jean / Pickow, George
The Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S220496)
First Line: Oh captain, oh captain, oh tell me true
Source: Wilgus: Kentucky Folklore Record 3:3 (1957) pp.95-96
Performer: Stewart, Mrs. L.A.
Date: 1955 (May)
Place: USA : Kentucky : Hartford
Collector: Stewart, Jane
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253115)
First Line: O captain, O captain, tell me true
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4444
Performer: Beckett, Mrs. Laura
Date: 1918 (16 Aug)
Place: USA : Virginia : Callaway
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253119)
First Line: Father, father build me a boat
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4597
Performer: Bennett, Mrs. Virginia
Date: 1918 (13 Sep)
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Burnsville
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253122)
First Line: Father, father, build me a boat
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4637
Performer: Bennett, Mrs. Virginia
Date: 1918 (18 Sep)
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Burnsville
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Murmering Side
Roud Folksong Index (S337341)
First Line: Down by one murnmerinbg river side
Source: Frank, Jolly Sailors Bold (2010) pp.153-155 (version a)
Performer: Bunker, Samuel
Date: 1824-1827
Place: USA
Collector:
Roud No: 273
A Sailor's Life
Roud Folksong Index (S220544)
First Line: Sailor's life makes a dreary wife, A
Source: Bush, Folk Songs of Central West Virginia 2 pp.86-87
Performer: Shinn, H.J.
Date: 1969 (Aug)
Place: USA : W. Virginia : Cottageville
Collector: Bush, Michael E.
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253097)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version j)
Performer: Hill, Miss Corrie
Date: 1940 (4 Oct)
Place: USA : Virginia : Culpeper
Collector: Jeffries, Margaret
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253114)
First Line: Father, father build me a boat
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4399
Performer: Bryant, Mrs. Bertha
Date: 1918 (27 Jul)
Place: USA : Virginia : Peaks of Otter
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253120)
First Line: Father, father, go build me a boat
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4607
Performer: Ayres, Mrs. Rosie
Date: 1918 (14 Sep)
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Burnsville
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Father Go Dig Me a Boat
Roud Folksong Index (S259484)
First Line:
Source: Library of Congress recording 2985 A1 & B1
Performer: Puckett, Mrs. Dizia
Date: 1939
Place: USA : Mississippi : Tishomingo
Collector: Halpert, Herbert
Roud No: 273
The Soldier Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S252130)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version c)
Performer: Willis, H.G.
Date: 1940 (9 Apr)
Place: USA : Virginia : Big Laurel
Collector: Adams, John Taylor
Roud No: 273
Captain Captain
Roud Folksong Index (S230728)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version a)
Performer: Yowell, Mrs. Judy
Date: 1941 (5 Dec)
Place: USA : Virginia : Culpeper
Collector: Jeffries, Margaret
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253116)
First Line: Way down on yonder riverside
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Words p.3174 / Folk Tunes pp.4513
Performer: Weaver, Mrs. Nanny
Date: 1918 (25 Aug)
Place: USA : Virginia : Woolwine
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Sweet Willie
Roud Folksong Index (S253149)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version h)
Performer: Hamilton, Mrs. Goldie
Date: 1938 (6 Sep)
Place: USA : Virginia : Esserville
Collector: Hamilton, Emory L.
Roud No: 273
The Pinery Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S187247)
First Line: Pinery-man's life is a wearisome one, A
Source: Shoemaker, Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania (3rd edn., 1931) pp.261-263
Performer: French, John W.. & Henry J. Shaff
Date:
Place: USA : Pennsylvania
Collector: French, John E.
The Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S250769)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version d)
Performer: Hensley, Jane
Date: 1941 (16 Jun)
Place: USA : Virginia : Rockingham County
Collector: Morton, Susan R.
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253109)
First Line: Soldier's trade is a cruel life, A
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4755
Performer: Blankenship, Mrs. Mary Jane
Date: 1918 (5 Oct)
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Price's Creek
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Willie My Dear
Roud Folksong Index (S256719)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version e)
Performer: Mays, Robert J.
Date: 1939 (20 Feb)
Place: USA : Virginia : Dante
Collector: Adams, John Taylor
Roud No: 273
Father Oh Father Go Build Me a Boat
Roud Folksong Index (S259490)
First Line:
Source: Library of Congress recording 1754 A2
Performer: Bryant, Mrs. T.M.
Date: 1938
Place: USA : Indiana : Evansville
Collector: Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
Roud No: 273
A Sailor's Trade
Roud Folksong Index (S337343)
First Line: Sailor's trade is a weary life, A
Source: Frank, Jolly Sailors Bold (2010) pp.153-155 (version c)
Performer: Piper, George W.
Date: 1868-1870
Place: USA
Henry Dear
Roud Folksong Index (S177868)
First Line: It was early all in the spring
Source: Munch, Song Tradition of Tristan da Cunha (1970) pp.49-51
Performer: Repetto, Frances (Text) / Alice Swain (Tune)
Date: 1937-1938
Place: Tristan da Cunha
Collector: Munch, Peter
Place: USA : Indiana : Princeton
Collector: Brewster, Paul G.
Captain Captain Tell Me True
Roud Folksong Index (S230729)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version g)
Performer: Kilgore, Miss Etta
Date: 1938 (7 Oct)
Place: USA : Virginia : Wise
Collector: Hamilton, Emory L.
Father Father Build Me a Boat
Roud Folksong Index (S310370)
First Line: Father, father build me a boat
Source: Duncan, Ballads & Folk Songs Collected in Northern Hamilton County (1939) pp.148-149
Performer: Hughes, Mrs. Exona
Date: 1939 (18 Mar)
Place: USA : Tennessee : Flat Top
Collector: Duncan, Ruby
Roud No: 273
O Father Father Build Me a Boat
Roud Folksong Index (S216813)
First Line: It was early early in the month of May
Source: Gainer, Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills pp.135-136
Performer: Wilson, Mary
Date:
Place: USA : West Virginia : Gilmer County
Collector: Gainer, Patrick W.
I Have No One to Love Me
Roud Folksong Index (S238633)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version b)
Performer: Dawson, Pearl
Date: 1941 (3 Apr)
Place: USA : Virginia : North Fork
Collector: Morton, Susan R.
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Way Down on Moment's River Side
Roud Folksong Index (S255276)
First Line:
Source: WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.1362 (version f)
Performer: Roberts, Mrs. Nell Strayer
Date: 1938 (31 Dec)
Place: USA : Virginia : Rockymount
Collector: Sloan, Raymond H.
Roud No: 273
Captain Captain [probably Deep Blue Sea]
Roud Folksong Index (S374893)
First Line:
Source: Beard, The Personal Folksong Collection of Bascom Lamar Lunsford (MA thesis: Miami Univ, 1959) p.273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S374895)
First Line:
Source: Steely, Folk-Songs of Ebenezer Community (1936) p.114
Performer:
Date: 1936c
Place: USA : N. Carolina : Ebenezer County
Collector: Steely, Mercedes S.
Roud No: 273
Careless Love
Roud Folksong Index (S230828)
First Line: Papa, papa build me a boat
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Words p.2723 / Folk Tunes p.3664
Performer: Sloan, Miss
Date: 1917 (9 May)
Place: USA : Kentucky : Barbourville
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Sweet William
Roud Folksong Index (S253113)
First Line: There was a fair lady from London she came
Source: Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Tunes p.4236
Performer: Fitzgerald, Philander
Date: 1918 (9 May)
Place: USA : Virginia : Nash
Collector: Sharp, Cecil J.
Roud No: 273
Subjects: Left parents : On board sloop of war : Made enquiries for sailor boy
My Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S385065)
First Line: It was early early all in the spring
Source: Helen Creighton collection (Nova Scotia Archives) AR 6004 / 4042
Performer: Doucette, Edmund
Date: 1962 (Jul)
Place: Canada : Prince Edward Island : Miminigash
Collector: Creighton, Helen
Roud No: 273
Her Sweet Sailor Boy
Roud Folksong Index (S237709)
First Line: Far away on a bleak New England shore
Source: Library of Congress: Archive of American Folk Culture 3810 A1
Performer: Graham, George Vinton
Date: 1938 (12 Oct)
Place: USA : California : San Jose
Collector: Cowell, Sidney Robertson
Sailor's Life
Roud Folksong Index (S270043)
First Line: Sailor's life is a merry life, A
Source: Helen Creighton collection (Nova Scotia Archives) AR 5355 / AC 2299 / 1883
Performer: Duncan, Mrs. R.W.
Date: 1951 (Aug)
Place: Canada : Nova Scotia : Dartmouth
Collector: Creighton, Helen