Battle of the River Plate, The

DESCRIPTION: "South of the border, Down Montvideo way, That's where the pocket battleship Graf Spee came out one day." He thought he would find easy prey, but the Ajax, Achilles, and Exeter drive him away. The ship is scuttled. "The Nelson spirit will never die."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy)
KEYWORDS: battle navy sea ship England Germany derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
December 13, 1939 - Three British cruisers battle the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Platte.
December 17, 1939 - The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled outside Montevideo harbor to avoid another battle
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy, pp. 83-84, "The Battle of the RIver Plate" (1 text, tune referenced)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "South of the Border" (tune)
cf. "East of the Border" (tune)
cf. "South of Columbo" (tune)
cf. "Dear Old New Zealand" (tune)
cf. "South of the Sangro" (tune)
NOTES [54 words]: For extensive background on the career and sinking of the Graf Spee, see the notes to "The Sinking of the Graf Spee." According to Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy, this song is traditional in the Royal Navy and "The Sinking of the Graf Spee" cannot be shown to have been known there, but it has been printed more often. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.1
File: Tawn064

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography