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White Wings

[ Roud 1753 ; Ballad Index R779 ; Bodleian Roud 1753 ; trad.]

Bob Hart sang White Wings to Rod and Danny Stradling in his home in Snape, Suffolk, on 8 July 1969. This recording was included in 1998 on Hart’s Musical Traditions anthology A Broadside. A recording of Bob Hart from The Ship Inn, Blaxhall, on 16 November 1973 was included in 1974 on the Transatlantic album of a “sing-song in a Suffolk pub”, The Larks They Sang Melodious. Rod Stradling noted on Hart’s anthology:

Apparently this is (or was) the official song of the Young Women’s Christian Association. It was performed by several Minstrel troupes and some half a dozen individuals on the Halls. Roud shows a score of entries, mostly from England but, between them, they give very conflicting details of its provenance: By Ciro Pinsuti (1829-1888); Written by Banks Winter (1882); Written in 1884. Kilgarriff gives Banks Winter, but 1870 as the year, and adds: “Some say that Banks Winter did not in fact write this song but purchased it from singer Joseph Gulick for $20.”

Lyrics

Bob Hart sings White Wings

Sail home as straight as an arrow,
Me yacht shoots along on the crest of the sea.
Sail home to meet Maggie Darrow,
In a dear little home she is waiting for me.
High up where the cliffs they are craggy,
That’s where the girl of my heart waits for me.
Yo-ho, I long for you Maggie,
I’ll spread out my white wings
And sail home to thee.

Chorus (after each verse):
Ya ho, ya he, how we go,
How the winds do blow
White wings they never grow weary
They carry me cheerily over the sea
Night comes I long for you deary
I’ll spread out my white wings
And sail home to thee.

Sail home to love and caresses
When Maggie, my darling, is there at my side.
Sail home, blue eyes and gold tresses,
But the fairest of all is my own little bride.
Sail home to part from thee never,
Always together life’s knowledge will be.
Sail home to love thee forever,
I’ll spread out my white wings
And sail home to thee.