Band of Banshee Airmen, A

DESCRIPTION: "A band of banshee airmen, way out in the sunny Sudan, Where all the erks are banshee, and so's the fucking old man." The singer recalls the extreme tidyness of the captain of the Somersetshire. "So roll on the Nelson, the Rodney...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear)
KEYWORDS: soldier ship nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear, pp. 60-61, "A Band of Banshee Airmen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #29408
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf ."Roll on the Rodney" ("Roll on the [ship name]" lyric) and references there
cf. "She's a Tiddley Ship" (tune, lyrics)
cf. "Prince Henry Song" (lyrics, tune)
NOTES [71 words]: Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear says this is to the tune "The Tiddley Ship," with which it shares lyrics, but at least part of it appears to be based on the hymn "Blessed Assurance" ("This is my story, this is my song, Praising my savior all the day long").
The version collected by Hopkins refers to the HMS Hood as having been sunk, meaning it must date from after May 24, 1941, the day the Bismarck sank the Hood. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: Hopk060

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