Sealer Lad, The (The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone)

DESCRIPTION: "The sealer lad from his home is gone, On board his ship you'll find him." The singer recalls the good old days of sealing, noting that now a load of seals "scarce pays Alfred's duty." He hopes the rich man at home will not longer profit
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Burke & Oliver)
KEYWORDS: hunting hardtimes
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, p. 69, "The Sealer Lad" (1 text); compare p. 134, "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: James Murphy, editor, _Songs Sung by Old-TIme Sealers of Many Years Ago_, James Murphy Publishing, 1925 (PDF available from Memorial University of Newfoundland web site), p. 7, "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice Is Gone" (1 text)
Roud #V44859
NOTES [201 words]: Ryan and Small did not indicate a tune for this, but the form implies "The Minstrel Boy," and Murphy's book confirms this.
Since the first publication is in Burke and Oliver's The People's Songster, Buyers' Guide and Gems of Poetry and Prose, there is a good chance it's by John Burke.
The second text cited from Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone," slightly changes the occupation of the hero, and is much shorter -- but the two are clearly adaptions of each other. Either they're traditional, and one song, or, more likely, they aren't traditional, and might as well be lumped.
"The Sealer Lad" has no genuine date pegs, but there is a reference to paying "Alfred's Duty." I suspect the "Alfred" involved is the insidious newspaperman/lawyer/politician A(lfred) B. Morine, commonly referred to as "Alfred," who was at various times Newfoundland's colonial secretary, minister of finance, and head of the Conservative party. (This apart from being one of the most corrupt politicians in modern history.) The most likely time for the song is around 1897, when he was finance minister. For more on him, see "The Sealer's Strike of 1902 (The Sealers Gained the Strike)." - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: RySm069

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