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The Faithful Sailor Boy / Outward Bound

[ Roud 376 ; Master title: The Faithful Sailor Boy ; Laws K13 ; G/D 1:66 ; Henry H543, H678 ; Ballad Index LK13 ; VWML COL/1/40 ; DT FTHFULSL ; Mudcat 38737 ; Thomas Payne Westendorf, G.W. Persley]

Gavin Greig: Folk-Song of the North-East Alan Helsdon: Vaughan Williams in Norfolk Volume 2 Mary and Nigel Hudleston: Songs of the Ridings Gale Huntington, Lani Herrmann, John Moulden: Sam Henry’s Songs of the People Steve Roud, Julia Bishop: The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs

Sarah and Maybelle Carter of The Carter Family sang Sailor Boy in a Camden, New York recording from 1934 that was included in 2020 on the Musical Traditions anthology Wait Till the Clouds Roll By (Part 3 of the Old World/New World Trilogy), together with Daisy Chapman’s 1968 recording of Your Faithful Sailor Boy, see below. Rod Stradling noted:

The Faithful Sailor Boy is believed to have been written by the American songster Thomas Payne Westendorf (1848-1923) and the American com poser G W Persley (1837-1894), although no original sheet music has, so far, been discovered. There are a couple of late-19^th century broadside texts, however. The Carter Family text is very similar to those texts found in Britain and Ireland, though their tune is different to the one commonly found here. Few songs have achieved such widespread popularity among country singers and their audiences in Britain. Gavin Greig described it as being “Very popular in Aberdeenshire in the early years of the 20^th century” and there are sets from all over England, Ireland, North America, Australia and even Tristan da Cuna! At least two other American Old-Timey singers, Vernon Dalhart, on Okeh 40487, and Flora Noles, on Okeh 45037, recorded the song, as The Sailor Boy’s Farewell, in the 1920s.

Stan Steggles from Rattlesden, Suffolk, sang The Faithful Sailor to Desmond and Sheilagh Herring in 1958, and Charlie Carver from Tostock sang The Faithful Sailor to them in 1960. Both recordings were released in 1993 on two cassettes, reissued in 2009 on CD, Many a Good Horseman. John Howson noted:

A Victorian ‘tear-jerker’ written by G. W. Persley, which certainly slotted well into the repertoires of traditional singers. It was popular in Scotland and also crossed the Atlantic where it became widespread, with at least five 78 rpm records produced, under a number of names including the Carter Family’s The Sailor Boy’s Farewell. In England Fred Jordan sang it regularly (A Shropshire Lad) and locally it was another favourite of Fred Whiting’s (Songs Sung in Suffolk Vol. 2) and of Blaxhall’s Cyril Poacher (Plenty of Thyme).

Fred Jordan from Shropshire “appears to heave learnt The Faithful Sailor Boy at school” and sang it in 1959 to Fred Hamer. This recording was included in 2003 on Jordan’s anthology on the Veteran label, A Shropshire Lad.

Arthur Wood (82) of Middlesbrough sang The Sailor’s Farewell in 1962 to Colin S. Wharton who collected songs in the North Riding of Yorkshire for his Leeds University Thesis. It was published in 2019 on the Musical Traditions anthology of songs from the Colin Wharton Collection, Songs of the North Riding.

George Antrill sang The Faithful Sailor Boy at his home in Fittleworth, Sussex, in 1964 to Mike Yates. This recording was included in 2015 on the Musical Traditions anthology of songs and recitations from the Mike Yates collection, I Wish There Was No Prisons.

Daisy Chapman from Aberdeenshire sang The Faithful Sailor Boy at the Aberdeen Folk Festival in October 1968. This recording by Peter Shepheard (PS:1968.8.28) was included in 2000 on her Musical Traditions anthology Ythanside. Rod Stradling noted:

The Faithful Sailor Boy was written by George W Persley towards the end of the 19^th century. Few songs have achieved such widespread popularity among country singers and their audiences. It turns up again and again in pub sing-songs throughout Britain, even through into the 1990s. There are 54 other examples in Roud, all with much the same title—Gavin Greig’s has it as The Sailor Boy’s Farewell in Folk-Song of the North-East where he refers to the song as being “Very popular in Aberdeenshire in the early years of this century” and, sure enough, Daisy had it in her repertoire, as did eight other Scottish singers, though we’re not certain what proportion of these were from the Buchan area.

We have heard it sung in both Donegal and Cork in the last few years—indeed, it has been published without comment in Irish Ballads and Songs of the Sea by James N Healy, Mercier 1967. Two versions have been found in the North Carolina mountains (there’s a ’20s hillbilly recording by Flora Noles, Sailor Boy’s Farewell—Okeh 45037), while other sets have been reported from as far away as Australia and Tristan da Cunha. Cyril Poacher sings it on Plenty of Thyme Plenty of Thyme, (MTCD303), as does Walter Pardon on Put a Bit of Powder on It, Father (MTCD305-6). It was also one of Percy Webb’s favourite songs, and could be heard on the Topic LP Flash Company (12TS243).

Percy Webb sang The Faithful Sailor Boy at The King’s Head, Upper St. Islington, on 18 February 1968. This recording by Tony Engle was released a year later on the Topic album Flash Company and in 2012 on the Musical Traditions anthology King’s Head Folk Club.

Danny Stradling sang The Faithful Sailor Boy in 1971 on Oak’s Topic album of English country music and song, Welcome to Our Fair. A live recording from Cheltenham Folk Club, Victory Club, on 24 October 1971 was included in 2003 on their Musical Traditions double CD Country Songs and Music.

George Spicer sang The Faithful Sailor Boy on his 1974 Topic album Blackberry Fold. Mike Yates noted:

The Faithful Sailor Boy has seldom appeared in folksong collections,a somewhat surprising fact when one realises its present popularity among older singers. Sam Henry included it in his Irish collection Songs of the People and an almost identical American version appears in volume 2 of Frank Brown’s North Carolina Folklore. The Scots collector Gavin Greig, who printed the text in Folk-Song of the North-East, had this to say about the song: “Both the sentiment and the language show it to be quite modern. The tune too appears to be modern, although it may be older than it looks.”

Cyril Poacher sang The Faithful Sailor Boy at his home in Grove Farm, Blaxhall, Suffolk, in 1974 to Tony Engle and Keith Summers. This recording was released a year later on Poacher’s Topic album of traditional songs from Suffolk, The Broomfield Wager. Another recording made by Ginette Dunn on 3 October 1974 was included in 2004 on Cyril Poacher’s Musical Traditions anthology Plenty of Thyme. Rod Stradling noted in the album’s booklet:

Cyril learned this from one Bob Frank— “it was about the only song he did sing.” Either Bob or Cyril have changed the tune slightly, so that the first line ends on the dominant rather than the usual subdominant, and this motif is repeated in other parts of the tune. Like a good craftsman, Cyril doesn’t use it at every opportunity, but drops one in now and again just to keep you guessing. This is just one of a number of occasions where he varies a well-known tune.

The Faithful Sailor Boy was written by George W. Persley towards the end of the 19^th century. Few songs have achieved such widespread popularity among country singers and their audiences. It turns up again and again in tap-room sing-songs throughout Britain, even through into the 1980s. Gavin Greig described it as being “Very popular in Aberdeenshire in the early years of this century” (and, sure enough, Daisy Chapman had it in her repertoire), and we have heard it in both Donegal and Cork in the last few years. Two versions have been found in the North Carolina mountains (there’s a ’20s hillbilly recording by Flora Noles, Sailor Boy’s Farewell—Okeh 45037), while other other sets have been reported from as far away as Australia and Tristan da Cunha. Healy also prints this one, again without melody, and calls it Your Faithful Sailor Boy. The text is very much as Cyril (and Percy Webb) had it.

Freda Palmer sang Your Faithful Sailor Boy in a 1978 recording made by Steve Roud on her 2018 Musical Traditions anthology Leafield Lass.

Charlie Bridger sang Your Own True Sailor Boy in his home in Stone-in-Oxney, Kent, on 15 April 1983 to Andy Turner. This recording was released in 2019 on his Musical Traditions anthology Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers?. Andy Turner noted:

Again, this is very similar to the versions from George Spicer and William Crampton. Charlie had sung me just the first verse and chorus when I first visited him, so in the meantime I had written out the other verses for him from George Spicer’s version, and was then able to record him singing the whole song.

… and then quoted Charlie Bridger:

You see they vary a little bit, ’cos people, they get some of the words, they don’t get ’em all, you see, and that’s why they vary from place to place …

“One bitter night in winter when the snow lay on the ground, A sailor boy stood on the quay…” then all the other words are the same as I know, it’s just the first line’s different …

This is a nice song really. Sing it to you, if you like … Old Bill Knight at Woodchurch, he used to sing it, and I know two other blokes that used to sing it. Old Bill Knight and old Jack Pearce, he used to sing it.

Richard Grainger sang The Faithful Sailor Boy in 1984 on his Fellside album Herbs of the Heart. This track was also included in 1999 on the Fellside anthology of shanties and songs of the sea, Rolling Down to Old Maui.

Alice Parkinson from Blackpool, Lancashire, sang The Faithful Sailor in a March 1985 recording made by Nick and Mally Dow that was included in 1986 on the Old House Music cassette of traditional folk songs and speech from Lancashire’s Fylde Coast, Fleetwood Mashers.

Fred Whiting from Kenton sang The Faithful Sailor Boy to John Howson in between 1985 and 1987. This recording was included in 1987 on the Veteran Tapes cassette of popular folk songs, Songs Sung in Suffolk Vol. 2, and in 2000 with the title The Faithful Sailor on the Veteran CD anthology of popular folk songs, old songs and ballads, Songs Sung in Suffolk. John Howson noted

A Victorian ‘tear-jerker’ written by G.W. Persley, which has certainly slotted well into the repertoires of English traditional singers, and numerous recordings exist. Gavin Greig also describes it as being “very popular in Aberdeenshire during the early years of this century”, and Jimmy McBride has collected it in Donegal (See The Flower of Dunaff Hill).

Walter Pardon sang Your Faithful Sailor Boy in a recording made by Mike Yates. It was included in 2000 on his Musical Traditions anthology Put a Bit of Powder on It, Father.

Mary Humphreys and Anahata played the Waltz for the Valeta and sang The Faithful Sailor Boy in 2003 on their WildGoose album Sharp Practice. They noted:

This we call our ‘East Anglian set’. Percy Brown (whose waltz we play) was a 2-row melodeon player from Norfolk; Percy Webb was a singer from Woodbridge, Suffolk. We first heard the song on an old vinyl recording (autographed by the great man) which we bought in a flea-market in Newmarket when Mary first moved to East Anglia. The song became a ‘maggot’—burrowing into Mary’s brain, just asking to be sung. Once she had it in her repertoire we discovered that it was regarded as the local anthem and so well-known that some clubs used it as their ‘parting-glass’ song.

In Mary’s mind’s eye she sees the sailor and his sweetheart enjoying their last night together at a dance before their sad farewells are sung. So we put the song together with a very appropriate (and possibly contemporary) dance tune best known from Topic’s LP English Country Music From East Anglia. Our thanks to Martin Nail for putting us right on the fine details of the tune.

Kate Rusby sang this song using the title Farewell in 2007 on her CD Awkward Annie.

Steve Roud included The Faithful Sailor Boy in 2012 in The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. Bella Hardy and Brian Peters sang it a year later on the Fellside CD The Liberty to Choose: A Selection of Songs From The New Penguin Book of English Folk Song. Brian Peters noted:

Cecil Sharp, that great arbiter of what was and was not a true folk song, didn’t approve of this kind of thing, with its Music Hall sensibility and tear-jerker words allied to a surprisingly jaunty tune. We think it’s fun, though, and so did Sussex’s George Spicer who sang it for Mike Yates in 1974.

The Willows sang this song as Outward Bound in 2014 on their CD Amidst Fiery Skies. They commented:

From the very first delve into the wonderful Full English Digital Archive, we found this manuscript, collected by Francis Collinson in [1944 from William Crampton in Smarden,] Kent. Better known as The Faithful Sailor Boy, this is our interpretation of the words we found that day, set to a new melody that endeavours to capture the heartache within the song.

Andy Turner learned The Faithful Sailor Boy from George Spicer and sang it as the 12 March 2016 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week.

Greg Russell sang Farewell in 2017 on his Fellside album Inclined to Be Red. He noted:

You’ll find this song in The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, under the title Faithful Sailor Boy. The tune is original but the story is true to the Penguin collection. We still send people away to fight who don’t return.

Lyrics

Sarah and Maybelle Carter sing Sailor Boy

’Twas on one dark and stormy night
The snow was on the ground
The sailor boy was at his post
His ship was outward bound
His sweetheart standing by his side
She mourned a bitter tear
Though as he pressed her to his side
He whispered in her ear

Farewell, my own true love
This parting gives me pain
And you will be my guiding star
Till I return again
And then I think of you, my love
While storms are raging high
Then oh, sweetheart, remember me
Your faithful sailor boy

’Twas sad to say the ship returned
Without the sailor boy
For he had died while on the sea
His flag was held most high
Farewell, my own true love
This parting gives me pain
And you will be my guiding star
Till I return again

As his shipmate steps on shore
To tell that he was dead
The letter that he gave to her
These words it sadly read
Farewell, my own true love
On earth we’ll meet no more
So may we meet in heaven above
Where parting is no more

Stan Steggles sings The Faithful Sailor

’Twas on one cold and stormy night, the snow laid on the ground.
A sailor boy stood on the quay, his ship laid outward bound.
His sweetheart standing by his side shed many a silent tear.
And as he drew her to his breast he whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, this parting gives me pain.
I’ll be your own true guiding star if I return again.
My thoughts they’ll be of you, of you, when the storm is raging high.
Farewell, farewell, remember me, your faithful sailor boy.

The ship set sail and with a gale she watched it’s sails unfurl.
And as it sped upon it’s way her heart (been in a whirl?).
She prayed a prayer to him above, to guide him on his way.
And as the vessel fades from view, these word re-echoed o’re the bay.

The ship returned and sad to say, without that sailor boy.
For he had died when on the voyage, the flags flew half-mast high.
His comrades when they came a shore told her that he was dead.
A letter that he wrote to her, the last lines sadly said:

Final chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, on earth we’ll meet no more.
For I soon shall be from storm and sea, on that eternal shore.
I hope to meet you in that land, that land (for soft rolls free?).
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, your faithful sailor boy.

Fred Jordan sings The Faithful Sailor Boy

One cold and frosty winter’s day,
The snow lay on the ground,
A sailor boy stood on the quay,
His ship was outward bound.
His sweetheart standing by his side
Shed many a bitter tear,
And as he pressed her to his breast
He whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
“Farewell, farewell, my own true love,
This parting gives me pain.
You’ll be my hope and guiding star
Till I return again.
My thoughts shall be of you, my love,
When the storms are raging high.
So farewell, lass, remember me,
Your faithful sailor boy.”

But sad to say when the ship returned
It brought no sailor boy,
For he had died in drownding seas
And the flag was half-mast high.
And as his comrades came on shore
And told her that he was dead,
Tears from her eyes smudged every page
Of his letter that she read.

Final chorus:
“Farewell, farewell, my own true love,
On earth we’ll meet no more.
But we shall meet in heaven above
On that eternal shore.
My thoughts shall be of you, my lass
When the storms are raging high.
So farewell, lass, remember me,
Your faithful sailor boy.”

Charlie Carver sings The Faithful Sailor

O it was on a cold and stormy night, the snow laid on the ground.
A sailor boy stood on the quay, his ship was outward bound,
His sweetheart standing by his side shed many a silent tear,
And as he pressed her to his breast he whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, this parting gives me pain.
I’ll be your own true guiding star when I return again.
My thoughts shall be of you, of you, when the storm is raging high.
Farewell my love, remember I’m your faithful sailor boy.

O it was in a gale that ship set sail, he kissed his love goodbye.
She watched the craft ’til out of sight, ’til a tear bedimmed her eye.
And she prayed to him in heaven above, to guide him on his way.
Those loving, parting words that night re-echoed o’er the bay.

But sad to say that ship returned, without that sailor boy.
Oh he died whilst out upon the voyage, and the flag was half-mast high.
And his comrades when they came on shore told her that he was dead,
And a letter he had sent to her, the last lines sadly said:

Final chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, on earth we meet no more.
I soon shall be from storm and sea, on that eternal shore.
And I hope to meet you in that land, that land beyond the sky,
Where you will not be parted from your faithful sailor boy.

Daisy Chapman sings The Faithful Sailor Boy

’Twas on a dark and stormy night,
The snow lay on the ground,
A sailor boy stood on the quay,
His ship was outward bound;
His true love standing by his side
Shed many a bitter tear,
And as he clasped her to his breast
He whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
Farewell, farewell my ain true love,
This parting gives me pain,
You’ll be my hope, my guiding star
’Til I return again;
Your thoughts shall be of me, my love,
When storms are raging high,
So farewell love, remember me,
Your faithful sailor boy.

Amidst the gale, that ship set sail,
The lass was standing by,
She watched the vessel out of sight
While tears bedimmed her eye;
She prayed to Him in heaven above
To guide him on his way,
The lover’s parting words that night
Re-echoed o’er the bay.

How sad to say, that ship returned
Without that sailor boy,
For he had died while out at sea,
The flag was half mast high;
But when his comrades came on shore,
They told her that he was dead,
A letter which they handed her,
The last sad words it said:

Final horus:

Farewell, farewell my ain true love,
On earth we’ll meet no more,
But we will meet in heaven above,
On that eternal shore;
I know I’ll meet you in that land,
That land beyond the sky,
Where you will be no more parted from
Your faithful sailor boy.

Cyril Poacher sings The Faithful Sailor Boy

It was on one dark and stormy night,
The snow laid on the ground.
A sailor boy stood on the quay,
His ship was outward bound.
His sweetheart standing by his side
Shed many a silent tear,
And as he pressed her to his breast
He whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
“Farewell, farewell my own true love
This parting gives me pain.
I’ll be your own true guiding star,
When I return again.
My thoughts shall be of you, of you,
When the storm is raging high.
Farewell, my love, remember me,
Your faithful sailor boy.”

And with the gale the ship set sail,
She kissed her love goodbye.
She watched the craft hie out of sight,
A tear bedimmed her eye.
She prayed for Him in Heaven above
To guide him on his way.
The loving parting words that night
Re-echoed o’er the bay.

It was sad to say the ship returned
Without her sailor lad;
He died whilst on the voyage and
The flag was half-mast high.
And when his comrades came on shore
Told her that he was dead,
A letter she received that night,
The last lines sadly read:

Final Chorus:
“Farewell farewell my own true love,
On earth we meet no more.
We soon shall be from storm and sea
On this eternal shore.
I hope to meet you in that land,
That land beyond the sky,
Where you will never be parted from
Your faithful sailor boy.”

Freda Palmer sings Your Faithful Sailor Boy

… that ship returned without her sailor boy
He died whilst on the voyage and
The flag was half mast high.
His comrades when they came on shore
Told her that he was dead;
A letter he had sent to her,
The last line sadly said –

Farewell farewell my own true love
On earth we’ll meet no more.
I soon shall be from storm or sea
On that eternal shore
I hope to meet you in that land,
That land beyond the sky,
Where you will not be parted from
Your faithful sailor boy.

Charlie Bridger sings Your Own True Sailor Boy

One bitter night in winter
When the snow lay on the ground
A sailor boy stood on the quay
His ship was outward bound
His sweetheart standing by his side
Shed many a bitter tear
And as he pressed her to his breast
He whispered in her ear –

Chorus:
Oh, fare thee well my own true love
This parting gives me pain
You are my hope, my guiding star
‘Til I return again.
My thoughts shall be of you, my love
When storms are raging high
So fare thee well, remember me
Your own true sailor boy.

Without a gale, the ship set sail,
He bid his love goodbye.
She watched the ship ‘til out of sight;
A tear bedimned her eye.
She prayed to Him in heaven above
To guide him on his way.
His last and loving words that night;
Re-echoed o’er the bay.

But, sad to say, the ship returned
Without her sailor boy
e died whilst on some voyage home;
The flag was half-mast high.
And when his comrades came on shore,
They told her he was dead;
A letter he had sent to her,
The last line sadly said –

Chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love
Alas, we’ll meet no more.
I soon shall be from storm and sea
On that eternal shore.
I hope to meet you in that land,
That land beyond the sky,
Where you shall ne’er be parted from
Your own true sailor boy.

Fred Whiting sings The Faithful Sailor Boy

It was a dark and stormy night, the snow lay on the ground.
A sailor boy stood on the quay and his ship was outward bound,
His sweetheart standing by his side shed many a silent tear,
And as he pressed her to his breast he whispered in her ear:

Chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, this parting gives me pain.
I’ll be your own true guiding star when I return again.
My thoughts shall be of you, of you, when storms are raging high.
Farewell my love, remember me, your faithful sailor boy.

Then with the gale the ship set sail, he kissed his love goodbye.
She watched the craft ’til out of sight, ’til tears bedimmed her eye.
She prayed to him in heaven above, to guide him on his way.
Those loving, parting words that night re-echoed o’er the bay.

It’s sad to say the ship returned, without her sailor boy.
He died while on the voyage back home, the flags flew half-mast high.
His comrades when they came on shore told her that he was dead,
And a letter he had sent to her, those last lines sadly read:

Final chorus:
Farewell, farewell, my own true love, on earth we’ll meet no more.
I soon shall be from storm and sea, on that eternal shore.
I hope to meet you in that land, that land beyond the sky,
Where you will never be parted from your faithful sailor boy.