Willie on the Sea- Will Thompson (VT) 1942 Flanders
[From: Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College Special Collections & Archives D22A- cassette dub. Track 04 : Willie on the Sea (Sailor Boy I) - voice performance by Will Thompson at Canaan (Vt.). Classification #: LAK12. Dated 1942. https://archive.org/details/HHFBC_tapes_D22A
R. Matteson 2017]
Willie on the Sea- Sung by Mr. Will Thompson of Canaan, Vermont on April 23, 1942.
Give me a boat give me a boat,
That on the ocean I may go float
And ev'ry King's ship I will see
And I will inquire for my Willie sweet.
She had not sailed 'bout a week or two,
Until a king's ship she chanced to view,
Oh my captain will you tell me true,
Is my love Willie among your crew?
Oh no, fair lady he is not here,
He's out at [an isle ], my dear
The other night when the winds blew high,
I'm afraid you lost your young sailor boy.
She wrung her hands and she tore her hair,
Just like a maid that was in despair,
Her little boat against the rock did run,
Oh what will I do since my Willie's gone.