Boatie Rows, The

DESCRIPTION: "O weel may the boatie row, ⁠And muckle may she speed! And weel may the boatie row,⁠That wins the bairns's bread." Short images of the boat as it goes out fishing. The singer wishes it good fortune in future
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1797 (Scots Musical Museum); believed to be a shortened form of an older song
KEYWORDS: ship fishing food
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Palmer-OxfordBookOfSeaSongs 77, "The Boatie Rows" (1 text, 1 tune)
DR, BOATROW*
Roud #3095
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.26(263)=Harding B 20(18), "The Boatie Rows," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 11(350), "The Boatie Rows," H. Such (London), 1863-1885; Firth c.13(257), "The Boatie Rows," Sanderson (Edinburgh), 1830-1910; Firth c.13(292), "The Boatie Rows" (but actually a mix of two texts), W. Forth (Bridlington), n.d.
NOTES [60 words]: This appeared in the Scots Musical Museum with three tunes, only one of which is reported to be traditional. Burns, who was responsible for this entry, attributed it to John Ewen of Aberdeeon (1741?-1821), but Palmer says that Ewen merely shortened an earlier text, "The Fisher's Rant of Fittie." If that has gone into tradition, I have found no sign of it. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.4
File: DTboatro

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