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> The Watersons > Songs > Sweet William / Willie the Bold Sailor Boy

A Sailor's Life / Sweet William / Willie the Bold Sailor Boy

[ Roud 273 ; Laws K12 ; G/D 6:1245 ; Ballad Index LK12 ; Bodleian Roud 273 ; Wiltshire 1194 ; trad.]

W.P. Merrick collected A Sailor's Life in 1899 from Henry Hills of Lodsworth, Sussex. It was published by Ralph Vaughan Williams and A.L. Lloyd in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. In 1960, A.L. Lloyd recorded it for the album A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. Like all tracks from this LP it was reissued in 2003 on the CD England & Her Traditional Songs. Lloyd wrote in the album's sleeve notes:

A song as touching and innocent as the wood engravings that broadside printers used to put at the head of ballad sheets. It is known to sundry tunes all over the British Isles and in America (a Wisconsin set, called The Pinery Boy, transforms the sailor into a lumberjack). Most versions end with the girl ordering her own funeral, and directing that a marble dove be set over her grave, but in fact this motif belongs more properly to the song Died for Love, and Mr Henry Hills, of Lodsworth, Sussex, who sang our version to W.P. Merrick in 1899, would have none of it.

Martin Carthy recorded A Sailor's Life in 1966 for his Second Album. He said in the album's sleeve notes:

Often adapted to fit other occupations this is one of a group of songs which includes Early Early All in the Spring and the American song on the same theme, Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea. It was published in various broadsides in the 18^th century, but often became confused with Died for Love. It is printed in the The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs.

A Sailor's Life is one of Sandy Denny's folk club songs which she added to Fairport Convention's repertoire, and it proved to be the turning point of Fairport's history from earlier contemporary Americana to English songs. An early live studio recording turned up on Richard Thompson's 3CD set, Watching the Dark. This was apparently transcribed from an acetate recording which everyone had forgotten about. Another early version, a life recording from the beginning of 1969, was finally made available in 2002 on the anthology Fairport unConventionAl. The first officially released version on Unhalfbricking added Dave Swarbrick on violin, showing what would become of Fairport in the following years. This track was also reissued on The History of Fairport Convention, on Fairport's double CD compilation Meet on the Ledge: The Classic Years 1967-1975, in 2004 on the 5CD Fledg'ling Sandy Denny anthology A Boxful of Treasures, and in 2005 on the Island anthology Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal.

A version recorded at Cropredy 1987 was released on the video It All Comes 'Round Again. The line up on this track is Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, Ric Sanders, Maartin Allcock and June Tabor (vocals).

This song was also covered by Vikki Clayton in 1994 on her Sandy Denny tribute album, It Suits Me Well.

Shirley Collins sang this song as Sweet William in 1958 on her first album, Sweet England. The album's sleeve notes commented:

One of the best known English lyric songs with a variant tune. The words are from English County Songs by Lucy Broadwood and J. Maitland and the tune is arranged by Shirley Collins.

Mike Waterson sang Sweet William live at the Down River Folk Club, Loughton, in October 20, 1974, together with the Watersons' Pace-Egging Song and Boston Harbour. All three tracks were included in 2004 on the Watersons' 4CD anthology Mighty River of Song. Mike Waterson commented in the album sleeve notes:

We learnt this version of Sweet William from Margaret Birkett of Elterwater—the wife of Frank Birkett from whom we had Dido Bendigo.

He also sang it live five years earlier, at Folk Union One in 1969 (the former Watersons' own folk club held at the Blue Bell), which was recorded for the privately pressed LP Blue Bell Folk with the title Died for Love. The liner notes commented:

Mike is the last remaining member of the Waterson Family at the Bluebell. He is a great influence on many of the other singers and is one of the founder members of “Folk Union One”. The ballad, Died for Love, has many variants, some of which have survived and remain in our own memories due to the need for self entertainment. During the last two wars it was learnt by most servicemen, be they Air Force, Army or Navy.

Mike's brother-in-law Martin and niece Eliza Carthy sang Died for Love in 2014 on their duo album, The Moral of the Elephant, commenting in their sleeve notes on Mike's version.

Norman Perks sang Early, Early in the Spring to Mike Yates at Hawkesbury Upton, Avon, in 1975. This recording was released in 1987-95 on the Veteran cassette The Horkey Load Vol 2 (VT109) and in 2001 on the Veteran CD anthology of traditional folk music from coastal England, When the Wind Blows. Mike Yates commented:

A highly popular song that probably dates from the 18^th century. Cecil Sharp noted no less than eleven English versions, usually under the title Sweet William, as well as finding a dozen further sets in the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Norman's final verses—where the girl is discovered by her father—are sometimes found as a separate song, entitled 'Died for Love. Maggie Murphy of Co. Fermanagh also sings a fine version.

Liz Jefferies sang Willie, the Bold Sailor Boy in September 1976 in her own home in Bristol, recorded by Barry and Chris Morgan. This was included on the 1998 Topic anthology O'er His Grave the Grass Grew Green (The Voice of the People Series Volume 3).

Pat Ryan sang The Lost Sailor in 1983 on her Traditional Sound Recordings album Moving On.

Bob Lewis sang this song as My Boy Jimmy at a concert he did with Bob Copper at Nellie’s Folk Club, The Rose and Crown Hotel, Tonbridge, Kent, on October 17, 1999. This concert was released in 2017 on their Musical Traditions CD The Two Bobs' Worth.

Kathryn Roberts sang Sailor Boy in 2001 on Equation's EP The Dark Ages.

Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton sang The Lost Sailor on their 2002 album Swapping Seasons. They also included an archival recording of Simon McDonald singing The Lost Sailor that was collected and recorded by Norm O'Connor in 1965.

Norma Waterson sang Willie the Bold Sailor Boy in 2003 on the “English” CD of the Fellside anthology Song Links: A Celebration of English Traditional Songs and their Australian Variants. Edgar Waters commented in the sleeve notes:

This song exists in many versions and has been published under many names. Some versions are fragmentary, or contain verses that do not appear to belong to it, making the texts seem almost incomprehensible. In one form or another, it has been widely recorded from oral tradition all over the British Isles and in North America. Norma Waterson's version was learnt from a singer called Liz Jefferies. Liz Jefferies' version may be heard on the third of the twenty CD collection called The Voice of the People, published by Topic Records.

Compare to this Cathie O'Sullivan singing The Lost Sailor on the “Australian” CD of the Song Links anthology.

Mikeen McCarthy sang this song as Early in the Month of Spring in a recording made by Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie on the title track of the 1986 VWML cassette Early in the Month of Spring: Songs and a story of Irish Travellers. This cassette was included in 2003 on the Musical Tradition anthology From Puck to Appleby: Songs of Irish Travellers in England. Andy Turner sang Early in the Month of Spring, referring to Mikeen McCarthy, as the June 9, 2012 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week.

Claire Hastings sang Sailin's a Weary Life on her 2019 CD Those Who Roam.

Lyrics

Acknowledgements

Transcription started by Reinhard Zierke with corrections by Wolfgang Hell and Garry Gillard. Thank you! However, Mike Waterson's singing on this track is very difficult to decipher and I'm sure there are still errors and mishearings, especially in the last verses.