by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875)
Translation possibly by Alvilde Prydz (1846 - 1922)
Three fishers went sailing away to the...
Language: English
Three fishers went sailing away to the west, Away to the west as the sun went down; Each thought on the woman who loved him the best, And the children stood watching them out of the town; For men must work, and women must weep, And there's little to earn, and many to keep, Though the harbour bar be moaning. Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower, And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down; They looked at the squall, and they looked at the shower, And the night-rack came rolling up ragged and brown. But men must work, and women must weep, Though storms be sudden, and waters deep, And the harbour bar be moaning. Three corpses lay out on the shining sands In the morning gleam as the tide went down, And the women are weeping and wringing their hands For those who will never come home to the town; For men must work, and women must weep, And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep; And good-bye to the bar and its moaning.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Christian Socialist, October 1851Text Authorship:
- by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875), "The three fishers", appears in Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet An Autobiography [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 Charles Ainslie Barry (1830 - 1915), "The three fishers", published 1861 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis Boott (1813 - 1904), "Three fishers went sailing out into the west", published 1858 [ voice and piano ], from Florence, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Mais Capel (1862 - 1931), "The three fishers", published <<1910 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Myles Birket Foster (1851 - 1922), "Three fishers" [ SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Gray (1855 - 1935), "The three fishers", published 1883 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Pike Hullah (1812 - 1884), "The three fishers", <<1884 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oliver Arthur King (1855 - 1923), "The three fishers", op. 112, published 1907 [ chorus and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Alexander MacFarren (1813 - 1887), "The three fishers", published c1866 [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hubert C. Oke , "The three fishers", published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert R. Parsons , "The three fishers", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Rogers (1847 - 1927), "Three fishers went sailing", published 1895 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Walker (1870 - 1949), "The three fishers", published 1903 [ voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Natalia Konchalovskaya (1903 - 1988) ; composed by Mark Vladimirovich Mil'man.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation possibly by Alvilde Prydz (1846 - 1922); composed by Emil Sjögren.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Alvilde Prydz) , no title, appears in Gunvor Thorsdatter til Hærø [a novel]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-11
Line count: 21
Word count: 180
Tre mand satte ud langt imod vest
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål) after the English
Tre mand satte ud langt imod vest, langt imod vest, hvor solen gaar ned. Hver tænkte paa den, der elsked ham bedst, paa smaaene derhjemme og stuen med. Chorus For kvinder maa stride, og mænd maa gaa paa, der er mange, som ska' ha' og lidet at faa! Men ude ligger havet og truer! Tre kvinder vaaged ved fyret den kveld, selv tændte de blusset, der solen gik ned. Mens sjøerne de rejste sig i nattens dybe væld, saa kom de og gik de og ejed ingen fred! Chorus For kvinder maa lide, og mænd maa gaa paa, og stormene de stiger, og baarerne slaa! -- og havet det løfter sig og truer! Tre lig driver ind og en hvælvet baad paa den skinnende strand, mens solen ler. Tre kvinder vrir sine hænder i graad, for dem de aldrig vil møde mer! Chprus For mænd maa lide og kvinder med, jo før det staar over, jo før faar de fred for alt det, som rejser sig og truer!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Alvilde Prydz, Gunvor Thorsdatter til Hærø, 4de oplag, Kristiania: Alb. Cammermeyers Forlag, 1897, chapter III, page 115. Note: since this poem appears in a novel, it may or may not be written by the author of the novel (i.e., it could be a quotation of someone else's work).
Text Authorship:
- possibly by Alvilde Prydz (1846 - 1922), no title, appears in Gunvor Thorsdatter til Hærø [a novel] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875), "The three fishers", appears in Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet An Autobiography
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2019-06-25
Line count: 24
Word count: 167