by Cicely Fox Smith (1882 - 1954)
A sea burthen
Language: English
A ship swinging as the tide swings up and down, And men's voices singing East away, O! West away And a very long way from London Town, A very long way from London Town. A lantern glowing and the stars looking down, And the [sea smells blowing]1 East away, O! West away And a very long way from London Town, A very long way, a long way from London Town. Lights in wild weather from a tavern window old and brown, And men singing together, men singing together, East away, O! West away And a very long way from London Town, A very long way, a long way from London Town. A ship swinging as the tide swings up and down, And men's voices singing East away, O! West away And a very long way from London Town, A very long way from London Town.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Head, and later editions of Smith's poem: "sea-swells flowing"
Researcher for this text: Thomas Dymit
1 Head, and later editions of Smith's poem: "sea-swells flowing"
Authorship:
- by Cicely Fox Smith (1882 - 1954), "A sea burthen", appears in Songs in Sail, first published 1914 [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 Michael (Dewar) Head (1900 - 1976), "A sea burthen", 1948, published 1949, from Six Sea Songs, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
- by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "A sea burthen" [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Thomas Dymit
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-19
Line count: 20
Word count: 145