by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
The Lowestoft Boat
Language: English
In Lowestoft a boat was laid, Mark well what I do say! And she was built for the herring trade, But she has gone a-rovin', a-rovin', a-rovin', The Lord knows where! They gave her Government coal to burn, And a Q.F. gun at bow and stern, And sent her out a-rovin', a-rovin', a-rovin', The Lord knows where! Her skipper was mate of a bucko ship Which always killed one man per trip, So he is used to rovin', rovin', rovin', The Lord knows where! Her mate was skipper of a chapel in Wales, And so he fights in topper and tails -- Religi-ous tho' rovin', rovin', rovin', The Lord knows where! Her engineer is fifty-eight, So he's prepared to meet his fate, Which ain't unlikely rovin', rovin', rovin', The Lord knows where! Her leading-stoker's seventeen, So he don't know what the judgments means Unless he cops 'em rovin', rovin', rovin', The Lord knows where!. Her cook was chef in the Lost Dogs' Home, Mark well what I do say! And I'm sorry for Fritz when they all come A-rovin', a-rovin', aroarin' and a-rovin', Round the North Sea rovin', The Lord knows where!
First published in Daily Telegraph, November 1915, revised 1919.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "The Lowestoft Boat", appears in Sea Warfare, in The Fringes of the Fleet, first published 1915 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "The Lowestoft Boat", 1917, published 1917 [vocal quartet of baritones and orchestra], from The Fringes of the Fleet, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-05
Line count: 31
Word count: 191