Wreck of the Mary Jane, The

DESCRIPTION: A song to "dryland sailors" about the Mary Jane, bound from Taghmon with a crew of 200 and a cargo of dung. When the cargo shifts in a storm the captain gives up hope. Short of tobacco they plan to put in at a pub. They run ashore at a doctor's door.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn-IrishStreetBallads)
KEYWORDS: ship storm wreck Africa Ireland humorous sailor
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-IrishStreetBallads 20, "The Wreck of the Mary Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3026
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The E-ri-e" (theme) and references there
cf. "The Calabar" (theme and first line)
NOTES [66 words]: Taghmon is in south central County Wexford (not on the coast). When the storm hits they steer for Timbuctoo, Mali, hardly a coastal port of call. The term "dryland sailor" -- to judge by broadside Bodleian, Firth c.12(409), "The Dryland Sailor!" ("I never was on board a ship ") -- refers to a panhandler who pretends to be an old sailor with faked injuries because "that's the thing that pays." - BS
File: Oloc020

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