We were homeward bound one night on the deep,
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep;
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true,
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew.
With a hundred seamen he sailed away,
To the frozen ocean in the month of May;
To seek a passage around the pole,
Where we poor sailors do sometimes go.
Through cruel hardships they vainly strove,
Their ships on mountains of ice was drove;
Only the Eskimo with his skin canoe,
Was the only one that ever came through.
In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blow,
The fate of Franklin no man may know;
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell,
Lord Franklin among his seamen do dwell.
And now my burden it gives me pain,
For my Lord Franklin I'd sail the main;
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give,
To know Lord Franklin and where he is.
####.... Variant of a 19th century British broadside ballad, The Sailor's Dream [Laws K9] American Balladry From British Broadsides (G. Malcolm Laws, 1957) arranged by Barry Taylor from variants collected by Helen Creighton [1899-1989] and published in Maritime Folk Songs (Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1961, 1972, 1979) ....####
The variant in the YouTube video above features a performance by Dick Miles with an original concertina arrangement.
Arctic explorer, Sir John Franklin's final expedition (1845-1847) to find the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Bering Strait ended in the loss of all hands due to poisoning from lead-soldered food cans.
The YouTube video below features Eleanor Dawson with an acapella performance as part of the Crow's Nest Song Circle set at the 2010 Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival in Bannerman Park in St. John's, NL.
Print This Page
