> A.L. Lloyd > Songs > Farewell to Tarwathie

Farewell to Tarwathie

[ Roud 2562 ; G/D 1:15 ; Ballad Index DTtarwat ; Mudcat 40025 ; George Scroggie]

This song about the ca. 1850 West Greenland right whale fishing was recorded around 1956 by Ewan MacColl for his and A.L. Lloyd's Riverside album Thar She Blows! (reissued in the 1960s on the Washington label as Whaling Ballads). A.L. Lloyd sang Farewell to Tarwathie in 1967 on his Topic album Leviathan! Ballads & Songs of the Whaling Trade. Here he was accompanied by Alf Edwards on English concertina. This track was reissued on the Fellside compilation CD Classic A.L. Lloyd.

A.L. Lloyd on his album:

The stereotype of the oldtime whalemen is a hairychested ring-tailed roarer, hard worker, hard drinker, hard fighter. No doubt the description fitted many of them; nevertheless they often showed a strong liking for gentle meditative songs. Perhaps alone among all the songs on this record, Farewell to Tarwathie was made not by a whaleman, but by a miller, George Scroggie of Federate, near Aberdeen, around the middle of the 19^th century. The tune is an old favourite, best known in connection with the song called Green Bushes.

Gordon McIntyre sang Farewell to Tarwathie in 1966 on Martyn Wyndham-Read, Danny Spooner and his Australian album A Wench, a Whale and a Pint of Good Ale. The album's sleeve notes commented:

Written about the middle of the last century by a Scot, George Scroggie, this song, gentle and reflective but tinged with bitterness, is one of the most beautiful of all sea songs.

Union Folk sang Farewell to Tarwathie in 1969 on their Traditional Sound album A Basketful of Oysters.

Judy Collins sang Farewell to Tarwathie, accompanied by humpback whales, on her 1970 album Whales and Nightingales. This track was also included in 1972 on her anthology Colors of the Day.

Ewan MacColl sang Farewell to Tarwathie in 1971 on The Critic Group's album As We Were A-Sailing.

Timoneers sang Farewell to Tarwathie on the Brum Folk 76 Souvenir Album.

White Hart sang Farewell to Tarwathie in 1969 on their Traditional Sound album In Search of Reward.

Danny Spooner sang Farewell tae Tarwathie on his 2002 CD Launch Out on the Deep. He noted:

Whaling at any time was a hard caper but in the days of sail it was a particularly rough and tough trade which required a tough breed of men. Yet a song like Farewell to Tarwathie reminds us that even the toughest of men might be touched by gentleness especially when separated from loved ones.

Brian MacNeill sang Farewell to Tarwathie at a Feast of Fiddles concert at Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, on 31 March 2006. This was included in the following year on their CD Still Live.

Burgess, Ådin & Wingård sang Farewell to Tarwathie on their 2007 CD Doggerland. They noted:

George Scroggie, a miller from Aberdeenshire, write the words in 1857. The song sprang to fame in 1970 when Judy Collins recorded it on her album Whales and Nightingales, complete with whale noises. We use a clarinet.

Sinsheen (Barbara Dymock and Christine Kydd) sang Farewell to Tarwathie on their 2009 CD Lift. They noted:

George Scroggie, born 28 March 1826 in Old Deer, Aberdeenshire and one-time miller at Federate in the Parish of New Deer, wrote this song in the early 1850s. Tarwathie is about two miles from Strichen, Aberdeenshire. The melody is known in connection with the older song called Green Bushes or The Waggoner's Lad, and Bob Dylan used it as the basis for his song Farewell Angelina..

Lyrics

A.L. Lloyd sings Farewell to Tarwathie

Farewell to Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hills,
And the dear land of Crimond, I bid ye farewell.
We're bound out for Greenland and ready to sail,
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.

Adieu to my comrades, for a while we must part,
And likewise the dear lass who first won my heart,
And the cold ice of Greenland my love will not chill,
And the longer the absence, more loving she'll feel.

Our ship is well-rigged and she's ready to sail.
Our crew they are anxious to follow the whale,
Where the icebergs do float and the stormy winds blow,
Where the land and the ocean is covered with snow.

Oh, the cold coast of Greenland is barren and bare,
No seedtime nor harvest is ever known there.
And the birds here sing sweetly on mountains and dale,
But there isn't a birdie to sing to the whale.

There is no habitation for a man to live there
And the king of that country is the fierce Greenland bear,
And there'll be no temptation to tarry long there.
With our ship bumper full we will homeward repair.

Judy Collins sings Farewell to Tarwathie

Farewell to Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hill
And the dear land of Crimond, I bid you farewell.
I'm bound out for Greenland and ready to sail
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.

Farewell to my comrades, for a while we must part,
And likewise the dear lass who first won my heart.
The cold coast of Greenland my love will not chill
And the longer my absence, more loving she'll feel.

Our ship is well rigged and she's ready to sail,
The crew they are anxious to follow the whale
Where the icebergs do fall and the stormy winds blow,
Where the land and the ocean is covered with snow.

The cold coast of Greenland is barren and bare,
No seed-time nor harvest is ever known there.
And the birds here sing sweetly in mountain and dale
But there's no bird in Greenland to sing to the whale.

There is no habitation for a man to live there
And the king of that country is the fierce Greenland bear.
And there'll be no temptation to tarry long there
With our ship bumper full we will homeward repair.

Farewell to Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hill,
And the dear land of Crimond, I bid thee farewell.
We're bound out for Greenland and ready to sail
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.

Acknowledgements

The lyrics were taken from the Leviathan! sleeve notes.