Once and there was a young sailor, yeo ho!
  And he sailed out over the say
For the isles where pink coral and palm branches blow,
  And the fire-flies turn night into day,
        Yeo ho!
And the fire-flies turn night into day.

But the Dolphin went down in a tempest, yeo ho!
  And with three forsook sailors ashore,
The portingales took him wh'ere sugar-canes grow,
  Their slave for to be evermore,
        Yeo ho!
Their slave for to be evermore.

With his musket for mother and brother, yeo ho!
  He warred with the Cannibals drear,
In forests where panthers pad soft to and fro,
  And the Pongo shakes noonday with fear,
        Yeo ho!
And the Pongo shakes noonday with fear.

Now lean with long travail, all wasted with woe,
  With a monkey for messmate and friend,
He sits 'neath the Cross in the cankering snow,
  And waites for his sorrowful end,
        Yeo ho!
And waits for his sorrowful end.

About the headline (FAQ)

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

First published 1910 in The Three Mulla-Mulgars; published 1913 in Peacock Pie.

Authorship:

• by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Andy Battle", appears in The Three Mulla-Mulgars, appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 4. Places and People, no. 9, first published 1910 [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 Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "Andy Battle", published 1933 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983), "Andy Battle", from A Garland for de la Mare, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by George Norman Peterkin (1886 - 1982), "Once and there was a young sailor", published 1927 [ baritone solo unaccompanied ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 158