Slob Song, The

DESCRIPTION: The ship is loaded and heads to Forteau. It is caught in slob ice at Launce Amour cove. A rescue boat fastens a line from shore to the ship. While four men and three women hold the line the crew pull the ship to shore. Crew and cargo are safely landed.
AUTHOR: Leo O'Brien
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast)
KEYWORDS: rescue sea ship
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 73, "The Slob Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab073 (Partial)
Roud #9981
NOTES [124 words]: Forteau Bay and L'Anse Amour are on the lower Labrador coast on the Strait of Belle Isle. - BS
The version printed by Leach includes absolutely no specific details which could be used to identify the ship, but I can't help but notice how much the event described resembled the wreck of the Raleigh, which took place in the same place as the ship in this song, and in similar conditions, less than a decade before Leo O'Brien wrote his piece (for details, see the notes to "The Nordfeld and the Raleigh"). The only significant difference is that this ship was carrying "furniture." This song does not appear derived from "The Nordfeld and the Raleigh," but I wonder if it might not be a rewrite of some other piece about the Raleigh wreck. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.4
File: LLab073

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