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The Isle of Wight

[ Roud 32575 ; Wiltshire 141 ; trad.]

Alfred Williams collected Isle of Wight in 1916 from the singing of Mrs Sarah Timbrel of Quenington, Gloucestershire.

The Dollymops from the Isle of Wight sang The Isle of Wight in 2013 on their WildGoose CD Wight Cockade. They noted:

How could we resist this song from the unpublished manuscripts of Wiltshire collector, Alfred Williams? He had it from Mrs Sarah Timbrel of Quenington, Gloucestershire in 1916. As with all Williams’ work there was no tune, so we spliced it to a version of Swansea Town, collected by George Gardiner in Hampshire in 1905. Several months later we discovered that Annie Dearman & Steve Harrison had used the same tune for their fine song, The Bonny Lass of Barking Town, so we ‘developed’ the melody a little bit to disguise any similarities!

Lyrics

The Dollymops sing The Isle of Wight

Here’s adieu, my lovely Nancy, ten thousand times adieu!
For the rout is come this afternoon, good lass, what shall we do?

Chorus:
Good lass, what shall we do? Good lass, what shall we do?
For the rout is come this afternoon, good lass, what shall we do?

Well, let’s go unto the officer and unto him we’ll say,
“I have brought a pretty fancy girl that I want to take away.”

Chorus:
That I want to take away, that I want to take away,
I have brought a pretty fancy girl that I want to take away.

“Oh, no,” replied the officer, “Such things can never be;
There’s not a lad in regiment shall take his lass with he.

Chorus:
That shall take his lass with he, that shall take his lass with he,
No there’s not a lad in regiment shall take his lass with he.

“And if my orders you won’t obey I’ll have you close confined.”
Says he, “My dearest Nancy girl, I must leave you far behind.”

Chorus:
I must leave you far behind, I must leave you far behind,
Says he, My dearest Nancy girl, I must leave you far behind.

So they walked together down the strand till they were out of sight,
“I will send you letters plenty, love, when I gain the Isle of Wight.”

Chorus:
When I gain the Isle of Wight, when I gain the Isle of Wight,
I will send you letters plenty, love, when I gain the Isle of Wight.

For the drum and the trumpet they did sound and those pipe did merrily play,
As through the town called Isle of Wight we boldly marched away.

Chorus:
Yes we boldly marched away, we boldly marched away,
As through the town called Isle of Wight we boldly marched away.