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On the Terra Nova Captain Kean with two hundred and
ten,
Went through the gap this morning for to try her luck again;
The screaming of the Eagle was heard both high and low,
Commander, son of Abraham, young sturdy Captain Joe.
Next came the stout Aurora commanded by Dan Green,
Then Captain Sam Bob Winsor in Bowring's Algerine;
Chased by the bold ice Ranger bound on her sealing quest,
No notice to the danger and with a Bishop she is blest.
George Blandford sails the Vanguard, the pride of Baine
Johnston,
Now long live Captain Blandford and bring him bumper trips;
There's another that can find them where'er they're to be found,
'Tis bully young Bill Winsor who sails the old Bloodhound.
George Barret sails the Neptune, he's as good as ever been,
Jobey Kean commands the Eric he's the son of Captain Kean;
And that lucky ship Diana she bears a man of fame,
From Newton, Bonavista, Alpheus Barbour is his name.
Jim Barret sails the Iceland, a bold seal killer, too,
Dan Bragg commands the Greenland to show what Bragg can do;
Another that can find them where'er they're to be found,
'Tis bully young Bill Winsor who sails the old Bloodhound.
Jacob Winsor sails the Walrus that slides by Browning's store,
My good friend Baxter Barbour that sails in the Labrador;
And Jacob Kind in the Virginia Lake makes up the twenty
ships,
And my best wish may they all return filled up with bumper trips.
Sung by Morris Houlihan (b.1885) of Flatrock, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA). Another variant was sung by Jim Rice (1879-1958) of Cape Broyle, NL, and published as Ships And Captains in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA). A third variant was also collected by Ken Peacock and published as Captains And Ships in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 3, p.865, by the National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
