minstrel: Love going to sea

[Lisa and Ken Theriot]

Jonathan wrote:

[I just heard a song called "In London So Fair", about a sailor who takes 
leave of his love to go to sea, and she follows him (disguised as a lad), 
eventually reveals herself to him, and they wed and live together at sea. 
 Anyone have lyrics to this?  Or know of other songs where lady 
successfully follows lad to sea (or to war)?  There are certainly plenty of 
songs where the lady is left behind, with various results.  It was 
enjoyable to hear this one.]

Well, Jonathan, not so much luck with this one.  It is traditional, but 
well out of period, as are most of the seafaring numbers.  (Anything where 
"our gallant ship" spins around three times before it sinks you can pretty 
much write off.)  There are several versions of the "dress up as a sailor" 
story, all of which are 18th century or later, I believe.  Including...

"Jackaroe", "Jack Monroe": girl dresses as man to follow her love into the 
navy, rescues him, they live HEA.
Lyrics and midi at http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+65  
58608
And http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+6556540

"Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold": girl falls in love with sailor, 
dresses as man to follow him into the navy, they return home and her father 
gives them all his money, they live HEA.
Lyrics and midi at 
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+2347142

"The Rose of Britain's Isle": same song as "Caroline", only Dad dies and 
they get the money.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+10650271

"Disguised Sailor": similar to "Caroline", but Dad never reconciles.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+3457539

"Female Sailor Bold": girl dresses as a man to follow her love into the 
navy, discovers he's dead, stays in the navy anyway.  Worthy of note: the 
ship on which she serves is the "Adelaide".
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+4307221

"The Lady Leroy": girl's father won't let her marry, she buys a ship from 
Dad, Dad finds out and sets sail himself, the lovers fight a successful 
naval battle.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+7255600

"Billy Taylor" or "Willy Taylor" where the lady dresses as a man, goes to 
sea, finds out her love is going to marry someone else, and shoots him.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+1290322

"When I Was a Fair Maid", "The Fair Maid", "The Handsome Young Sailor": 
girl has no love, she just wants to serve in the navy.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+5449759

"The Silk Merchant's Daughter", BY FAR the most bizarre: girl follows love 
to sea, they are shipwrecked, the captain decides that they will draw lots 
and decide who they will EAT to stay alive, girl is selected, but they are 
rescued before she is killed, the live HEA.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+11189397

And after all that, you MUST read the lyrics to the modern parody "For the 
Love of Willy-O", where a girl goes to sea disguised as a man to find her 
love.  Her sex is betrayed, and they take her to the captain, who turns out 
ALSO to be a woman, ALSO looking for Willy.  Then the entire crew reveal 
themselves to be women, all looking for the same guy.
http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+4567078

Most of these are from Mudcat, and if you don't know about Mudcat, you 
should- www.mudcat.org The Digital Tradition Folksong Database.)


"In London so Fair" is available on recordings by Susan McKeown and also by 
Mary Ann Carolan.  You'll find the first half of the lyrics from Susan 
McKeown's version below, which was all I could get off the sound clips on 
the web; I'm afraid you have to buy the CD.

In London so fair
A lady she lived there
A lady of great beauty and great might
And unto this lady fair
I became a servant there
And in me she took great delight

Now, this lady had a son
Of mirth and beauty born
And he became a sailor on the sea
And he courted a fair maid
'Til he had her heart betrayed
And then he was bound for the sea

It happened one day
In the cabin where he lay
And the tears from her eyes they did flow
Saying, "Young man, you're going away
So far from me to stray
And to leave me on the shore for to mourn."

"Ah, no, no," says he
"Such things could never be!
For as long as I'm a sailor on the sea
The ship that I command
May she never reach the land
The day that I'd be false, love, unto thee."



Adelaide