Cargoes | Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir

by John Masefield (1878 - 1967)

Cargoes

Language: English

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amythysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.

First published in Broad Sheet, May 1903

Text Authorship:

by John Masefield (1878 - 1967), "Cargoes", appears in Ballads and Poems, 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 Sydney Burkinshaw (b. 1911), "Cargoes" [ boys' chorus in unison and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Robert Coningsby Clarke (1879 - 1934), "Cargoes", published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Three Sailor Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Tom Dobson (1890 - 1918), "Cargoes", published 1920 [ duet for low voice (or medium voice) and soprano with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by William Parks Grant (b. 1910), "Cargoes", op. 12 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Samuel R. Lewis , "Cargoes", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederick John Easthope Martin (1882 - 1925), "Cargoes", published 1919 [ medium voice and piano ], from Five Poems by John Masefield [sung text not yet checked]
by Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875 - 1958), "Cargoes", published 1924 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875 - 1958), "Cargoes", published 1935 [ satb chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip Benjamin Tomblings (b. 1902), "Cargoes", published 1936 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-21
Line count: 15
Word count: 87