T.L. Morrisey

Showing posts with label sailing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sailing. Show all posts

Thursday, June 29, 2023

"Sloop John B" performed by The Beach Boys

 

My father, Edgar Morrissey, mid-1930s


We come on the sloop John B.
My grandfather and me.
Around Nassau town we did roam,
Drinkin' all night
Got into a fight
Well, I feel so broke-up,
I wanna go home.

So hoist up the John B. sail,
See how the mainsail sets,
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home!
I wanna go home!(yeah, yeah)
Well, I feel so broke-up,
I wanna go home!

The first mate, he got drunk,
Broke in the Captain's trunk,
The Constable had to come and take him away!
Sheriff John Stone,
Why don't you leave me alone?
Well, I feel so broke-up,
I wanna go home.

So, hoist up the John B. sail,
See how the mainsails set,
Call for the captain ashore,
Let me go home, let me go home!
I wanna go home, (let me go home)
Why don't they let me go home?
(hoist up the John B. sail)
Well, I feel so broke-up,
I wanna go home.

The poor cook, he caught the fits,
Threw away all my grits,
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn!
Let me go home!
Why don't they let me go home?

This is the worst trip I've ever been on!
So hoist up the John B. sail,
See how the mainsails set,
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home...
I wanna go home....


Note: Although popularized by The Beach Boys, "Sloop John B" is a Bahamian folk song; the lyrics were included in a 1916 publication by Richard Le Gallienne and in a 1927 book by Carl Sandburg. 


Monday, June 26, 2023

"Sail On Sailor" performed by The Beach Boys

 

My father, Edgar Morrissey, mid-1930s



I sailed an ocean, unsettled oceanThrough restful waters and deep commotionOften frightened, unenlightenedSail on, sail on sailor
I wrest the waters, fight Neptune's watersSail through the sorrows of life's maraudersUnrepenting, often emptySail on, sail on sailor
Caught like a sewer rat alone but I sailBought like a crust of bread, but oh do I wail
Seldom stumble, never crumbleTry to tumble, life's a rumbleFeel the stinging I've been givenNever ending, unrelentingHeartbreak searing, always fearingNever caring, perseveringSail on, sail on, sailor
I work the seaways, the gale-swept seawaysPast shipwrecked daughters of wicked watersUninspired, drenched and tiredWail on, wail on, sailor
Always needing, even bleedingNever feeding all my feelingsDamn the thunder, must I blunderThere's no wonder all I'm underStop the crying and the lyingAnd the sighing and my dying
Sail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailorSail on, sail on sailor

Note: Although a popular Beach Boys' song this was written by Jack Rieley and Ray Kennedy. It was performed on a programme celebrating the Beach Boys at the Grammys. Great show!