A Sailor's Life

"A Sailor’s Life" (Roud 273; Laws K12)[1] is an English language folk song which describes the attempt of a young woman to find her lover, a sailor. Eventually she hears that he has drowned and mourns him.

"A Sailor's Life"
Song
Published1700s
Songwriter(s)Traditional

History

The song was printed in eighteenth-century broadsides and collected by W. Percy Merrick in 1899 from Henry Hills of Lodsworth, Sussex.[1][2] It was published in the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs and recorded in 1960 by A. L. Lloyd for the album A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs.[2] It was subsequently recorded by Judy Collins on her album A Maid of Constant Sorrow in 1961 and Martin Carthy for his Second Album in 1966 with his then playing partner violinist Dave Swarbrick.[2]

It is probably from one of these sources that the song was learnt by Sandy Denny who sang it in her solo career and then brought it to the band Fairport Convention, where with Swarbrick guesting on violin and Richard Thompson on guitar, it was released on the band's 1969 Unhalfbricking album. The eleven-minute version, regarded as a pivotal step in the development of British folk rock, was recorded in one take.[3] It was a recording which marked the beginning of British folk rock, leading to the seminal album Liege & Lief later that year.[4] British music website Uncut describe the track as: "11 minutes of seething cymbal washes on a Celtic drone chord sequence, erupting into a middle section where squalling crosswinds are traded between Richard Thompson and guest fiddler Dave Swarbrick."[5]

Variants

The following can be seen as variants of the song:[6]

  • "Sailor Boy" (America)
  • "Black Is the Color (of My True Love's Hair)" (America)
  • "The Lost Sailor" (Australia)
  • "The Pinery Boy"
  • "Willie the Bold Sailor Boy"
  • "Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea" (America)
  • "Sweet William"
  • "Willie Boy" (America)

Discography

References
  1. "Roud Index entries". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. "A Sailor's Life". Mainly Norfolk. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  3. "Does my sweet William sail among your crew?". The White Noise Revisited. 2007-02-10. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  4. Humphries, Patrick (1982). Meet on the Ledge: A History of Fairport Convention. London: Eel Pie Publishing. pp. 33–35. ISBN 0-906008-46-8.
  5. "Inside Fairport Convention's Liege And Lief: "We were on a crusade..." - Page 2 of 6". Uncut. June 3, 2016.
  6. "The Traditional Ballad Index entry for Sailor Boy (I), The [Laws K12]". California State University, Fresno. Retrieved 26 July 2013.

Sources:

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