Ferry me across the water | Ferry me across the water

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

Ferry me across the water

Language: English

Our translations: GER

"Ferry me across the water,
Do, boatman, do."
"If you've a penny in your purse
I'll ferry you."

"I have a penny in my purse,
And my eyes are blue;
So ferry me across the water,
Do, boatman, do!"

"Step into my ferry-boat,
Be they black or blue,
And for the penny in your purse
I'll ferry you."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), no title, appears in Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, first published 1872 [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 Allan Blank (b. 1925), "The ferryman", published 1969 [ voice, piano duet ], from Escapades: Songs for Rote and Piano Duet [sung text not yet checked]
by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "Ferry me across the water ", 2013, published 2013 [ 2-part chorus and piano ], Houston, Alliance Music [sung text checked 1 time]
by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "Ferry me across the water", published 1924 [ 2-part chorus of equal voices, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Shena Eleanor Fraser (1910 - 1993), "The ferryman", published 1952 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961), "Ferry me across the water ", 1984, first performed 1984 [ voice and piano trio ], from Three Silent Things, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961), "Ferry me across the water", 1983-2002, first performed 2002 [ voice and piano ], from Letting Go, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Marjorie Helyer , "The ferryman", published 1957 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Sidney Homer (1864 - 1953), "Ferry me across the water", op. 23 (Two songs) no. 2, published 1912 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "The ferry", 1921, published 1921 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Basil Hugh Longmire (1902 - 1986), "Ferry me across the water", published 1964 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by David Lord (b. 1944), "The ferryman", published 1965 [ chorus (singing in unison or antiphonally), piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Dorothy Parke , "The ferryman", published 1962 [ unison chorus with optional second part, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Ferry me across the water", published 1924 [ voice, piano ], J. B. Cramer & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Ferry me across the water", from The Nantucket Songs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Beatrice Macgowan Scott , "Ferry me across the water", published 1934 [ chorus a cappella ], from the collection Introduction to Part Singing [sung text not yet checked]
by Sebastian Scott , "Ferry me across the water", published 1920 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Cecil Sharman (1894 - ?), "Ferry me across the water", published 1936 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Four Rossetti Poems [sung text not yet checked]
by Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875 - 1958), "The ferryman", published 1917 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Ferry me across the water", published 1916 [ voice and piano ], from Kookoorookoo and other songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix Gerald Swinstead (1880 - 1959), "The maid and the ferry", published 1907 [ voice and piano ], from Sing-Song Cycle [sung text not yet checked]
by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "The ferry", published 1928 [ SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Joseph Wardale , "The ferryman", published 1956 [ SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip George Wilkinson (b. 1929), "The ferryman", published 1959 [ unison children's chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 58