Saturday Night at Sea

DESCRIPTION: "A sailor loves a gallant ship And messmates bold and free And ever welcomes with delight Saturday night at sea." The sailor recalls the time when, if the weather is good, the crew is able to relax and enjoy themselves
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1843 (Journal from the Florida)
KEYWORDS: sailor ship nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Huntington-SongsTheWhalemenSang, pp. 65-66, "Saturday Night at Sea" (1 text plus a supplementary stanza, 1 tune)
DT, SATSEA
Roud #2020
NOTES [108 words]: According to John Malcolm Brinnin, The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic, pp. 73-75, a poem called "Saturday Night at Sea" was written in 1838 by Judge Joseph Howe aboard the brig Tyrian as she made a transatlantic voyage.
Brinnin quotes four verses. Apart from the words "Saturday Night at Sea," they have nothing in common with the poem in Huntington. Yet the theme is so similar that I have to think they are related. Given that the Florida version dates from 1843. my guess is that Howe heard the piece aboard ship, thought it unacceptable for some reason (perhaps it had bawdy lyrics?), and rewrote it. - RBW
File: SWMS065

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