Galley Slave, The

DESCRIPTION: "I was ta'en by the foe—'twas the fiat of fate. To tear me from her I adore!" The singer tells how fortune has made him a slave and taken him from his beloved Anna. "But despair wastes my spirits, my form feels de∣cayd! He sigh'd and expir'd at the oar."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1800 (Patriotic Medley)
KEYWORDS: work love slave ship death separation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Jackson-EarlySongsOfUncleSam, p. 128, "The Galley Slave" (1 excerpt)
ADDITIONAL: (no author listed), _Patriotic medley, being a choice collection of patriotic, sentimental, hunting and sea songs, interspersed with Anacreontic songs & Cytherian poems, selected from the most approved authors_, Jacob Johnkin (New York), 1800 (available at University of Michigan digital collections), pp. 137-138, "The Captive Slave" (1 text)
Roud #13765
NOTES [24 words]: I strongly doubt this is traditional; it seems to have been copied down in an old manuscript or two, but actually sung? It's just too ornate. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: JESU128

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