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> Waterson:Carthy > Songs > The Bay of Biscay
> Brass Monkey > Songs > Willie the Waterboy

The Bay of Biscay / Willie the Waterboy / Willie-O

[ Roud 22567 ; Ballad Index CrMa113 ; Bodleian Roud 22567 ; trad.]

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior sang the night visiting song Bay of Biscay with glorious harmonies in 1969 on their second duo album, Folk Songs of Old England Vol 2. The album's sleeve notes commented:

An Irish song of the night visiting variety collected by Geoff Woods from James McKinley of Tra-Narossen, Donegal. Like [in] so many of these songs the drowned sailor, after a seven year absence, appears to his girlfriend in the middle of the night; presumably an extension of the belief that unless a body received Christian burial the soul could not rest in peace.

Nora Cleary sang a variant of this under the title Willie-O—which shares three verses with the above—in her home at The Hand, Miltown Maybay, Co. Clare in July 1976. Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie recorded her; and this track was included on the anthology O'er His Grace The Grass Grew Green (The Voice of the People Series Volume 3; Topic 1998). By the way, this is the one song listed here that does not refer to the Bay of Biscay, but instead it has the cock-crow motif at the end. Probably that's why the CD liner notes list it as Child 248, i.e. a variant of The Grey Cock.

Len Graham sang My Willy-O in 1977 on his Topic album Wind and Water. He noted:

This is a County Antrim version of The Lover's Ghost or The Grey Cock, which I learnt from the late Johnnie McLaughlin, Skerry. Joe Holmes also recalls his mother singing this ballad.

Boys of the Lough sang Willie O in 1980 on their Topic album Regrouped.

Nick Dow sang this song as Seven Long Years in 1980 on his album A Branch of May. He noted:

This is my arrangement of a night visiting song from Northern England. It was originally called My Willie-O, a title I have changed to avoid embarrassing misunderstandings.

John Kirkpatrick sang this ballad as Willie the Waterboy in 1986 on Brass Monkey's LP See How it Runs, which was reissued on the CD The Complete Brass Monkey. The original album's sleeve notes commented:

Sung by Mrs Whiting, of Newport, Monmouthshire, to George Butterworth in April 1908. Selected by Michael Dawney for inclusion in The Ploughboy's Glory, published by the EFDSS in 1977. ‘Waterboy’ and ‘Waterman’ are names for fairy spirits in Germany.

I'll have to add that, while ‘Wassermann’ is a well-known German fairy spirit and the German translation of the zodiac sign of Aquarius, I've never heard of any kind of ‘Waterboy’ here.

This rather long video from Barnsley Acoustic Roots Festival 2012 shows Brass Monkey performing The Friar in the Well, The King's Hunt, Soldier, Soldier / The Flowers of Edinburgh, Willie the Waterboy, and Happy Hours:

Claire Lloyd with Folly Bridge sang The Bay of Biscay—with words very similar to Tim Hart and Maddy Prior's— in 1991 on their WildGoose cassette All in the Same Tune. She noted:

A traditional night-visiting song of Irish origin, sung here by Claire Lloyd with Folly Bridge. Like so many of these songs the drowned sailor, after a seven year absence, appears at his girlfriend's window in the middle of the night, with his “two pale cheeks as white as snow”, before disappearing again at daybreak. This comes from the belief that unless a body received Christian burial, the soul could not rest in peace.

Claire Mann sang The Bay of Biscay on Tabache's 1999 album Waves of Rush. They noted:

Mary is left broken-hearted after waiting seven years for her lover, William, to return from sea. Unfortunately he died whilst away and comes back to Mary's bedside one night to bid his final farewell. She says that she will give anything in the world to be able to see him one last time. The song is of English origin.

Norma Waterson sang The Bay of Biscay in 1999 on Waterson:Carthy's third album Broken Ground. Martin Carthy noted:

There are two people we have to thank for The Bay of Biscay. One is Mary O'Connor, an Irish woman who lives in Watford and who sang regularly at the Pump House club (organised by the redoubtable Bob Wakeling until apathy—certainly not his own—forced him to close it) and one of whose songs it is, and the other is Deirdre MacLennan from Inverness who got me out of a hole when I couldn't remember the last verse and taught it to me. It's in her repertoire too and there is no song quite like it. It's a song about the never ending ache of loss and it haunts. I don't think I've ever seen it in print.

Bill Cassidy sang Biscayo on the Musical Traditions anthology of songs and stories from Jim Carroll's and Pat Mackenzie's recordings of Irish Travellers in England, From Puck to Appleby (2003).

Jon Boden learned Bay of Biscay from the singing of Tim Hart & Maddy Prior and sang it as the 7 October 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He noted:

My absolute favourite Tim Hart and Maddy Prior track. The harmony line is so good that it took me a very long time to work out who had the melody. I think I picked the right line!

Finest Kind sang Bay of Biscay on their 2010 album For Honour & for Gain. They noted:

Ian [Robb] first heard this beautiful Irish supernatural night visiting song at the St Albans Folk Club in 1969, sung by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. Tim and Maddy apparently had it from Geoff Woods, who collected it from James McKinley of Tranarossen, Donegal.

Chris Sarjeant sang The Bay of Biscay in 2012 on his WildGoose album Heirlooms.

Jim Moray learned Seven long Years from the singing of Nick Dow and sang it in 2012 on his CD Skulk.

Helen Diamond sang Willie-O on her 2018 eponymous first album Helen Diamond. She noted:

Another song my father used to sing at home when I was very small. This was one of the first songs I learned as a child, along with Long Lankin. He heard it from Len Graham who recorded it on the album Wind and Water.

Rachel Newton sang The Cruel Crave on the Furrow Collective's 2018 album Fathoms. They noted:

Rachel came across this song in the book Traveller's Joy: Songs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies 1965-2005, compiled by Mike Yates. It was sung by Duncan Williamson in Ladybank, Fife, in 2001.

Emily Portman sang The Bay of Biscay, accompanied by Rob Harbron on concertina, in 2019 on Topic's 80^th year anthology, Vision & Revision. She noted:

The Bay of Biscay is an Irish supernatural night-visiting or ‘revenant’ ballad that Waterson:Carthy learnt from Mary O'Connor. Waterson:Carthy were my introduction to traditional song at the age of 17, and I've been hooked ever since. When it comes to ballad singing, for me there is no-one to top Norma; she always gets straight to the heart of a song and her repertoire is a treasure trove. Her rendition of The Bay of Biscay always gives me goosebumps, so it's an honour to be asked to have a go.

Lyrics

Acknowledgements

Willie the Waterboy lyrics copied from the LP sleeve notes by Garry Gillard, thanks to Wolfgang Hell.