Now playing: The emigrant from Newfoundland / Gerald Campbell
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The emigrant from Newfoundland / Gerald Campbell
The emigrant from Newfoundland / Gerald Campbell
The emigrant from Newfoundland, song (Dear Newfoundland, have I got to leave you …)
This song may have been composed by JT Kinsella when he emigrated from Newfoundland to settle in Boston, Massachusetts. It laments the necessity of leaving Newfoundland to seek work on the mainland, in this case Boston. The song offers commentary on Confederation with Canada and includes reminiscences of favourite events and places in the St John’s area.
The song was published as early as 1904 in St John’s under the title “The Newfoundland exile” in James Murphy’s Old Colony Song Book. Details about the history of this song are available from the GEST song index. Variants have been published by Kenneth Peacock in the Songs of the Newfoundland Outports 2 (1965:360–61) and by MacEdward Leach.
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Georges Banks / Henry Campbell & Gerald Campbell
Georges Banks / Henry Campbell & Gerald Campbell
Georges Banks, song (Ye roving sons of Newfoundland, I hope you will draw near …)
Georges Bank is a large plateau-shaped shoal off the coast of Massachusetts. It is part of a series of banks and shoals that extend along the edge of the North American continental shelf—the most northern of which are Newfoundland’s Grand Banks.
This ballad tells the story of a ship, the Morning Star, whose crew was fishing on Georges Banks. The ship was caught in a November gale that resulted in many fisherman freezing or being swept overboard before they could return to Newfoundland.
Other versions of this song are included in Greenleaf and Mansfield’s Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland (1933:260–263); Kenneth Peacock’s Songs of the Newfoundland Outports 3 (1965:916–21); and among the recordings of MacEdward Leach.
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The girls from Newfoundland / Henry Nash
The girls from Newfoundland / Henry Nash
The girls from Newfoundland, song (There's a girl in St. John's Harbour that I'm longing now to see …)
This wartime song is sung to the tune of “The yellow rose of Texas.” The protagonist is a soldier remembering his sweetheart in St John’s, Newfoundland.
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Golden Bay / Anthony Power
Golden Bay / Anthony Power
Golden Bay, song (In nineteen hundred and twelve, my boys for Golden Bay set sail …)
Composed by brothers Henry Nash (Sr) and Bernard Nash who fished together in Golden Bay, this song describes a whaling expedition that left Branch in 1912. The crew caught a whale, but it rotted before they could sell it for the thirty pounds in gold that they expected to receive.
Henry Nash (Sr) was the father-in-law of Anthony Power, who performs the song here.
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Thomas Trim / Gerald Campbell
Thomas Trim / Gerald Campbell
I'm Thomas Trim, song (I’m Thomas Trim a swell young man …)
Gerald Campbell learned this song from his father, Henry Campbell. Henry Campbell sang “Thomas Trim” in a school concert around 1910. The song describes a young dandy going on promenade to show off his finery
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Jack was a sailor on board a whaler / Caroline Brennan
Jack was a sailor on board a whaler / Caroline Brennan
Jack was a sailor on board a whaler, song (Jack was a sailor on board of a whaler ...)
This children’s son features a sailor named Jack. A friend asks him to pay a debt, and Jack responds, “You’ll have to wait till my ship comes in.” When Jack later survives a shipwreck and his friend makes the same demand, Jack gives the same excuse.
Though the song follows a standard verse-and-refrain form, the metric structure of the song is somewhat unusual: verses are sung in triple metre and choruses are in duple metre, matching shifts in the narration from third to first person.
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Me and me chum Johnny Riley / Frankie Nash
Me and me chum Johnny Riley / Frankie Nash
Me and me chum Johnny Riley, song (One day as we went out for a walk …)
Written by Newfoundland songwriter Johnny Burke (“The Bard of Prescott Street”), this song tells the story of two friends who share everything. While songs about a character named Reilly/Riley are popular in Ireland, England, and throughout North America, this song originates in Newfoundland (Partyka in Narváez 2006:11).
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The northeast gale / Denis McGrath
The northeast gale / Denis McGrath
The northeast gale, song (Ye hardy sons of Newfoundland pay attention to my song ...)
Composed by Walt Young, this song tells the story of a gale that arose off the coast of Newfoundland on 18 June 1906. Several fishing craft from Placentia Bay that were fishing off Cape St Mary’s were caught in the storm and men were lost at sea.
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Quigley and Picco / Bernard Nash ; Tom Murphy
Quigley and Picco / Bernard Nash ; Tom Murphy
Quigley and Picco, song (Ye sons of Erin please pay attention …)
Originally published in the St John’s Evening Telegram on 24 December 1891 (vol. 13/291:19) and reproduced as “Quigley on Picco” in James Murphy’s Old Songs of Newfoundland (1912), this song was composed by Johnny Quigley—the “Bard of Erin” (for details about Quigley and the history of this song, visit the GEST Song Index).
During the 19th century, sectarian tensions marked Newfoundland society and politics. Though tensions between Catholic and Protestant populations were dissipated through political negotiations, power sharing, and alliances between partisans, there were moments of violence during the 1870s and ‘80s.
When Aidan O’Hara recorded “Quigley and Picco” a century later, those present remarked that one had to be careful about singing such songs; there was a time when performing it would have been considered treasonous.
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The schooner Annie / Caroline Brennan
The schooner Annie / Caroline Brennan
The schooner Annie, song (Young and old I pray make bold, and listen to my tale ...)
Composed by Peter Leonard (1890–1964) under the title “Jim McCarthy,” this song recounts the story of a ship (the Annie) that left St John’s in 1915 with a cargo bound for Placentia Bay. The schooner was caught in a gale and, despite the best efforts of the crew, was eventually lost. The crew, however, was rescued by a passing ship, the Monarch.
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The shores of Grand Lake / Frankie Nash
The shores of Grand Lake / Frankie Nash
The shores of Grand Lake, song (One night as I sat in my own cozy corner …)
This labour song describes the practice of subcontracting (“subbing”) in the lumberwoods of Newfoundland. The lyrics protest against the poor pay and conditions endured by woodsmen, specifically mentioning the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company (“AND Company”) (Partyka in Narváez 2006:10).
This particular version seems to be a fusion of two related songs: its melody is that of “The track to Knob Lake” by Albert Roche (Roud Number 9811) and its lyrics closely resemble those of “Twin Lakes” (Roud Number 17693).
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This is east / Frankie Nash
This is east / Frankie Nash
This is east, song (This east and this west; soon I’ll learn to say the rest …)
This short children’s song is told from the perspective of a ten-year-old, bragging about all of the things he’s learned.
Frankie Nash learned this song for a school concert when he was only ten years old. He claimed that Aidan O’Hara was the first person outside of Branch to hear it.
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