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The Sailor Boy

Contributors
Date October 1953
Track ID 41680
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1953.243

Original Tape ID

SA1953.243

Summary

In this tragic ballad, a young woman asks her father to build her a boat in order to search for her lover. She asks a passing ship's crew if they have seen him, and the captain replies that he drowned. The girl despairs and bids all sailors mourn with her for the loss of her sailor boy.

Annie Taylor learned the song as a little girl from her mother.

Item Notes

6 verses of 4 lines. Hesitation and prompting after verse 2 and during verse 6.

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 6, pp. 477-485
'Singing Island' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1960) p. 28
'Folksongs Sung in Ulster' (R. Morton, 1970) pp. 11-12
'Irish Street Ballads' (C. O Lochlainn, 1978) pp. 112-113
'Traditional Ballad Airs' vol. 1 (W. Christie, 1876) pp. 248-249
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein, A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. LXIV
'Travellers' Songs from England and Scotland' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1977) pp. 122-126

Language

English

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R273 GD1245 LK12

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair