Voyage to Australia, The

DESCRIPTION: "Left Plymouth one day in July and soon was on the ocean," getting sick in the Bay of Biscay. The passengers on their way to Australia fish for and catch a shark. The passengers pretend to see a ship and other sights
AUTHOR: Charles R. Thatcher (1831-1878) (source: AndersonStory)
EARLIEST DATE: 1970 (AndersonStory)
KEYWORDS: immigration ship travel trick
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Thatcher-ColonialMinstrel-Songsters, p. 173, "The Voyage to Australia" (1 text, from the "Victoria Songster")
Anderson/Thatcher-GoldDiggersSongbook, pp. 1-2, "The Voyage to Australia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Anderson-StoryOfAustralianFolksong, pp. 29-30, "The Voyage to Australia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hoskins-GoldfieldBalladeer-LifeAndTimes-Charles-R-Thatcher, pp. 7-8, "(no title)" (2 excerpts)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bow Wow Wow" (tune)
NOTES [80 words]: This song is at least semi-autobiographical; Charles R. Thatcher went from England to Australia as a young man, and didn't enjoy the voyage much. For brief background on Charles Thatcher's career, see the notes to "Where's Your License?" For an extensive collection of his songs, see Anderson-StoryOfAustralianFolksong.
Anderson does not say so, but the tune of this is clearly "Bow Wow Wow" -- more evidence that it is by Charles R. Thatcher, since he was fond of that tune. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.3
File: AnSt029

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