| Author | Topic: Add: Goodbye fare-ye-well | |
| dmcg | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 01:18 pm | |
Goodbye Fare-ye-well Oh, don't yiz hear the Old Man say? (Chorus: Goodbye fare-ye-well! goodbye fare-ye well!) Oh, don't yiz hear the Old Man say? (Chorus: Hooraw me boys, we're homeward bound!) We're homeward bound to Liverpool town, Where all them judies they will come don. An' when we gits to the Wallasey Gates, Sally an' Polly for their flash men do wait. An' one to the other ye'll hear them say, Here comes Johnny wid his fourteen months pay. Them gals there on Lime Steet we soon hope to meet, Soon we'll be a-rollin' both sides of the street. We'll meet these fly judies an' we'll ring the ol' bell, With them judies we'll meet there, we'll raise merry hell. I'll tell me ol' mammy when I gits back home, The girls there on Lime Street won't leave me alone. We homeward bound to the gals of the town, Then heace away, bullies, we're all homeward bound. We're a fine flashy packet an' bound for to go, Wid them gals on the towrope she cannot say no. We're homeward bound, we'll have yiz to know, An' over the water to Liverpool must go. Source: Hugill, Stan, (1969), Shanties and Sailors Songs, London, Herbert Jenkins Database entry is here This version of the shanty is a good example of how the verses float from one shanty to another with minor changes to accomodate changes in melody. There are at least five other shanties which share one or more of these verses. Edited By dmcg - 12/12/2002 1:21:50 PM | ||
| Mary in Kentucky | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 01:43 pm | |
Was "Old Man" considered a term of respect among the sailors? (My father considered it one in the Air Force of the 1940's.) | ||
| Watson | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 02:09 pm | |
Typo alert! V2: Where all them judies they will come down. V8: Then heave away, bullies, we're all homeward bound. | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 02:13 pm | |
Thanks Watson. I have corrected them in the database entry. As usual, I haven't bothered in the main thread. Edited By dmcg - 12/12/2002 2:14:45 PM | ||
| Watson | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 02:21 pm | |
It is but a paltry contribution, but I like to help. | ||
| Mary in Kentucky | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 03:12 pm | |
Your a good man, Watson, despite what they say about you. ;-) I've been trying to keep up with proofreading, but I'm sure I miss quite a few, especially since I don't have the original words to compare to and just take a guess at what I think the words should be. I noticed "heave" but thought maybe it should be "hence." By all means, help us out here. And BTW, where are you from? It would be helpful to have someone who knows Britspeak. ;-) | ||
| Watson | Posted - 12 Dec 02 - 04:06 pm | |
Yes Mary, that's me, a native Britspeaker. | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 13 Dec 02 - 01:46 pm | |
I thought I would re-read what Stan Hugill had to say about "Old Man" before I replied, but it turns out he doesn't say anything very significant in any of the books I have. The "Old Man" character appears in quite a few shanties, such as "Poor Old Horse". I gather it was a semi-formal position, rather like foreman, but sometimes it could be the ship's captain and sometimes a older member of the crew. It seems to have been respectful in some sense, either as official seniority or as recognised experience, but it does not seem to have been used as a general synonym for "pal" as appears to have been in the air force. As I say, this is largely from the general blur of my reading, rather than on any specific authority. I'd be interesting in hearing anything more definite as well. | ||
| Mary in Kentucky | Posted - 13 Dec 02 - 01:52 pm | |
A clarification: the commanding officer usually was older and had gray hair, thus "Old Man." It was that type of respect. | ||