Au Revoir to Our Hardy Sealers

DESCRIPTION: "Our gallant ships are going, where rude Boreas is blowing." "Oh, farewell, and may God bless you... May kind Heaven hover o'er you... Terra Nova's sons and daughters truly bid you au revoir." The singer hopes the sailors find success in the ice
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Murphy, Songs of Newfoundland from Various Authors)
KEYWORDS: ship sailor hunting
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, p. 102, "Au Revoir to Our Hardy Sealers" (1 text)
Roud #26072
NOTES [100 words]: Reading this, I can't help but think it's based on some other poem -- but I can't tell what. It reminds me a little of "The Old Granite State," but that seems an unlikely inspiration for a Newfoundland piece.
The text as printed in Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff places the name "Terra Nova" in italics, as if it were the name of a ship -- and hence a reference to the well-known sealer S. S. Terra Nova (for which see "The Terra Nova"). But there are no other references to ships or actual events in the piece; I'm pretty sure the reference is actually to Newfoundland's old name of Terra Nova. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: RySm102

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