Greenland Disaster (II -- Sad Comes the News), The

DESCRIPTION: "Sad comes the news from over the sea...." The Greenland sails for the ice in March, and soon finds seals. At the end of March, a blinding snowstorm begins. The men on the ice freeze, and many are never found.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (Peacock; MUNFLA/Leach)
KEYWORDS: storm disaster death hunting
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Mar 21, 1898 - Greenland disaster
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Peacock, pp. 926-927, "The Greenland Disaster" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, pp. 50-51, "The Greenland Disaster (3)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Farley Mowat, _Wake of the Great Sealers_, with prints and drawings by David Blackwood, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1973, p. 92, "(Sealer's Song") (1 text)
ST RySm050 (Partial)
Roud #6465
RECORDINGS:
Jim Rice, "The Greenland Disaster" (on PeacockCDROM) (on MUNFLA/Leach)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Greenland Disaster (I)" (subject)
cf. "The Greenland Disaster (III -- Miscellaneous)" (subject)
NOTES [120 words]: The Greenland incident produced several poems; Ryan and Small have no fewer than seven items on the tragedy, though their first two are both versions of "The Greenland Disaster (I)" and the last four appear to be non-traditional.
Based on Peacock's text, this can be distinguished from the more-common "Greenland Disaster (I)" partly by being in triple time, partly by the first line quoted, and also by an inaccurate date (March 31 rather than March 21).
Peacock's note on this song is incorrect; the Greenland was not lost in the 1898 disaster; rather, she had dozens of sealers killed by ice conditions, but the ship herself came home safe. For background on this, see the notes to "The Greenland Disaster (I)." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: RySm050

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