Drunken Captain (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "A fierce stporm raged and black winds blew, The captain said, 'I'll change the crew.'" The new "sailors" "had some booklore, But never had left their home shore." Veterans warn him to seek harbor. People jump overboard; the Captain says all are safe
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Cambiaire)
KEYWORDS: drink ship storm
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads, p. 106, "The Drunken Captain" (1 text)
Roud #12639
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Canso Straight" (subject)
NOTES [82 words]: I thought very seriously about filing this with "Canso Straight," which is also about a drunken captain who tries to fight through a gale against the crew's advice. Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads's text (which seems to be unique) can be sung to the "Canso Straight" tune. I would not be surprised if they were in fact the same. But this has details not typically found in "Canso Straight," and it lacks the crew's rebellion. So I, like Roud, very tentatively split them. - RBW
File: Camb106

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