Sable Island Song (II)

DESCRIPTION: Hard times for "banned steeves" at Main Station. They steal from other boys "and only call that fun" but the busy-bodies "in the castle... their tongues were never still." The "steeves" nail a postal to their door and refuse to take it down.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: accusation hardtimes food theft
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-SongsAndBalladsFromNovaScotia 143, "Sable Island Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS143 (Partial)
Roud #1839
NOTES [136 words]: Creighton-NovaScotia. "In 1926 the wireless men lost some potatoes and accused Main Station men ["banned steeves"] of taking them.... The [people in the castle] are the wireless operator and his wife." I guess "postal" should be read as "post" [I take it to mean 'letter" or "accusation" - RBW]. See other Sable Island songs for confirmation of the hard times there. - BS
The Communal Composition advocates would love this. According to Creighton's notes, the Main Station staff each wrote a verse as a competition to see who could do best. Little surprise, then, that the result is ragged and tells an imperfect story. But as for Creighton's comment that "the song-making instinct is not dormant" -- no, it's not, as anyone who listens to rock music can tell. The instinct to make GOOD songs is another matter.... - RBW
File: CrNS143

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