Dolphin, The

DESCRIPTION: "All on one summer's morning, The fourteenth day of May, our Dolphin slipped her cable...." The song describes the ship's triumphant voyage
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Greig/Duncan1)
KEYWORDS: sailor battle
FOUND IN: US(SE) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Chappell-FolkSongsOfRoanokeAndTheAlbermarle 66, "The Dolphin" (1 text, probably a confused version of "The Dolphin" and "The Banks of the Nile" [Laws N9] or similar)
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #125, p. 2, "The Saucy Dolphin" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan1 41, "The Saucy Dolphin" (1 text)
Roud/Bishop-NewPenguinBookOfEnglishFolkSongs #4, "The Dolphin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #690
RECORDINGS:
Sam Larner, "The Dolphin" (on SLarner02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Warlike Seamen (The Irish Captain)" (plot, lyrics) and references there
NOTES [82 words]: Any number of Royal Navy ships were named Dolphin; one laid down in 1751 was reportedly the ninth of that name (that one was famous as an exploring vessel, and for its early use of a copper-coated bottom). Whether this song is actually based on the exploits of a particular Dolphin is unclear.
Roud lumps this with "The French Privateer" and "Warlike Seamen (The Irish Captain)," and there are common lyrics and thematic similarities, but I would consider them separate but related songs.- RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
File: ChFRS066

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