1. |
The Wellerman
04:00
|
|||
|
There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea
The winds blew up, and the boat sailed free
Blow, my bully boys, blow
[Chorus}
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
She had not been two weeks from shore
When down on her a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that whale in tow
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
When she dived down below
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
No line was cut, no whale was freed;
The Captain's mind was not on greed
He subscribed to the whaleman's creed;
She took the ship in tow
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
For forty days, or even more
The line went slack, then tight once more
All boats were lost (there were only four)
But still that whale did go
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
As far as I've heard, the fight's still on;
The line's not cut and the whale's not gone
The Wellerman makes his regular rounds
To encourage the Captain, crew, and all
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go
-Traditional New Zealand Whaling Song
|
||||
2. |
Star of the County Down
05:12
|
|||
|
Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
[Chorus]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I say's, say's I, to a passer-by,
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair"?
He smiled at me and he says, say's he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down".
[Chorus]
At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
And I dressed in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from my nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough turns a rust colored brown.
Till a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.
[Chorus]
-Traditional
|
||||
3. |
Do You Love an Apple
03:26
|
|||
|
Do you love an apple? Do you love a pear?
Do you love a laddie with bonnie brown hair?
Chorus:
And still I love him, I can't deny him
I'll be with him wherever he goes.
Before I got married, I wore a black shawl
But since I got married I wear bugger-all
Chorus
He stood in a corner, a fag in his mouth
Two hands in his pockets, he whistled me out.
Chorus
He works at the pier, for nine bob a week
On Saturday night he comes rolling home drunk
Chorus
Before I got married, I'd sport and I'd play
But now, the cradle it gets in me way
Chorus
Do you love an apple, do you love a pear?
Do you love a laddie with bonnie brown hair?
And still I love him, I can't deny him,
I'll be with him wherever he goes.
|
||||
4. |
Rolling Down to Old Maui
04:26
|
|||
|
(Verse)
It's a damn tough life, full of toil and strife, we whaler-men undergo
And we don't give a damn when the gale is done, how hard the
Winds did blow
For we're homeward bound from the Arctic ground with a good ship, taut and free
And we won't give a damn when we drink our rum with the girls
Of old Maui
(Chorus)
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
(Verse)
Once more we sail with the northerly gale through the ice and wind and rain
Them coconut fronds, them tropical lands, we soon shall see again
For six hellish months we've passed away on the cold Kamchatka sea
But now we're bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
(Chorus)
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
(Verse)
Once more we sail with the northerly gale, towards our island home
Our whaling done, our mainmast sprung, and we ain't got far to roam
Our stu'n's'l bones is carried away, what care we for that sound?
A living gale is after us, thank God we're homeward bound!
(Chorus)
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
(Verse)
How soft the breeze through the island trees, now the ice is far astern
Them native maids, them tropical glades, is awaiting our return
Even now their big brown eyes look out, hoping some fine day to see
Our baggy sails, running 'fore the gales, rolling down to old Maui
(Chorus)
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui
|
||||
5. |
Little Beggarman
03:40
|
|||
|
I am a little beggarman and beggin I have been
For three score years in this little Isle of green
I'm known along the Liffy from the Basin to the Zoo
And I'm known by the name of the bold Johnny Dhu
Was of a jolly beggarman came trippin over the plain
He came up to a farmer's door, a lodging for to gain
The father's daughter came and viewed him cheek and chin
She calls him a handsome man and takes him in.
Oh of all the trade that's goin, sure beggin is the best
For when a man is tired he can sit down and rest
He can beg for his dinner, has nothing else to do
But to cut around the corner with his old Rigadoo
I slept in a barn one night in Currabawn
A shocking wet night but I slept until the dawn
With the holes in the roof and the rain comin' through
And the rats and the cats they were playin' peeka-boo
When I was awakened by the woman of the house
With her white spotted apron and her calico blouse
She began to frighten, all I said was "BOO!"
Ah don't be afraid at all, it's only Johnny Dhu.
I met a little flaxen-haired girl one day,
Good morning little flaxen-haired girl I did say
Good morning little beggarman and how do you do
With your rags and your tags and your old Rigadoo?
I'll buy a pair of leggings and a collar and a tie
And a nice young lady I'll go courtin' by and by
Buy a pair of goggles and I'll color them blue
And an old fashioned lady I will make her too
Over the fields with the pack on my back
Over the field with my heavy bulging sack
With the holes in my shoes and my toes a'peekin' through
Singin' skin ma rink a doodle for old Johnny Dhu
Must be goin' to bed, for it's gettin' late at night
The fire's gone out and there isn't any light,
And now you've heard the story of my old Rigadoo
So goodnight and God be with you from ol' Johnny Dhu.
-Traditional
|
||||
6. |
Never Will Marry
04:32
|
|||
|
One morning as I rambled down the seashore
The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar
I heard a fair damsel make a pitiful cry
It sounded so lonesome in the waters nearby
I never will marry, I'll be no man's wife
I expect to live single all the days of my life
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
The fish in deep water swim over my head
She plunged her fair body in the ocean so deep
She closed her blue eyes in the waters to sleep
My love's gone and left me, the one I adore
She's gone where I never will see her anymore
I never will marry, I'll be no man's wife
I expect to live single all the days of my life
The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
The fish in deep water swim over my head
|
||||
7. |
Bridgett Flynn
04:36
|
|||
|
I've a nice little house and a cow yard too with grass.
I've a plant garden running by the door.
I've a shelter for the hens, it's down there by the path
What could a boy want more?
I don't know, maybe so,
But a bachelor is happy and he's free.
But I've lots to look after, though I'm living all alone.
And there's no one looking after me.
My father often tells me I should go and have a try
To find a girl that owns a bit of land.
And I know, the way he says it, that there's someone on his mind.
And my mother has the whole thing planned.
I don't know, maybe so,
But t'would mollify them greatly to agree.
Now, there's little Bridget Flynn, sure it's her I'd love to win,
But she never has an eye for me.
Now there's a little girl who's worth her weight in gold.
And that's a decent dowry, don't you see?
And I mean to go and ask her just as soon as I get bold,
If she'll come and have an eye for me.
I don't know. Maybe so.
But I'd love to have her sitting on my knee.
And I'll sing like a thrush in a hawthorn bush
If she'd only have an eye for me.
|
||||
8. |
||||
9. |
Bold Fenian Men
03:56
|
|||
|
Twas down by the glenside, I met an old woman
A-plucking young nettles, she ne’er saw me coming
I listened a while to the song she was humming
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men
'Tis fifty long years since I saw the moon beaming
On strong manly forms, on eyes with hope gleaming
I see them again, sure, in all my sad dreaming
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men.
When I was a young girl, their marching and drilling
Awoke in the glenside sounds awesome and thrilling
They loved dear old Ireland, to die they were willing
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men.
Some died by the glenside, some died near a stranger
And wise men have told us their cause was a failure
But they fought for old Ireland and never feared danger
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men
I passed on my way, God be praised that I met her
Be life long or short, sure I'll never forget her
We may have brave men, but we'll never have better
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men
|
||||
If you like Cricket on the Hearth, you may also like:
Wealth of Sorrow
by Cahalen Morrison
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless.
go to album
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music.
go to album
House and Land
by House and Land
House and Land offer a stirring take on classic Appalachian folk; this is delicate, heartfelt balladry.
go to album
Long Time To Be Gone
by Nora Brown
Nora Brown continues to bring nuance and resonance to her modern interpretation of Appalachian folk and bluegrass on her latest LP.
go to album
Sweet Old Religion
by Pharis & Jason Romero
Sweet harmonies & strummed melodies; the duo delve into decades-old folk, jazz, and country to find a timeless kind of love and connection.
go to album
Would the Light Hold Me
by Oceanique
Celtic-inspired instrumentation, delicate harmonies, and reflective lyrics abound on the sisterly indie-folk duo's debut album.
go to album
Scottish harpist and singer Rachel Newton brings an innovative, intensely emotional touch to traditional music on this dreamy LP.
go to album
