Good Ship Kangaroo, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes to sea on the Kangaroo. His sweetheart gives him a token to remember her by. On his return home, he learns the she has run off with another man. He vows to go to a foreign shore and "throw [him]self away" on a foreign girl
AUTHOR: Harry Clifton (source: Greig/Duncan6)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1884 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.22(95))
KEYWORDS: love separation sailor return infidelity
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Greig/Duncan6 1211, "On Board of the Kangaroo" (5 texts, 3 tunes)
OCroinin/Cronin-TheSongsOfElizabethCronin 109, "On Board the Kangaroo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, pp. 473-476, "Aboard the Kangaroo," "On Board the Kangaroo" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 351-353]
Meredith/Anderson-FolkSongsOfAustralia, p. 60, "Aboard of the Kangaroo" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SHPKNGR*
Roud #925
RECORDINGS:
Elizabeth Cronin, "On Board the Kangaroo" (on IRECronin01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.22(95)[some words illegible], "On Board of the Kangaroo" ("Once I was a waterman, and lived at home in ease"), H. Disley (London), 1860-1883; also Harding B 11(2845), "On Board of the Kangaroo"; Firth c.12(365), 2806 c.14(48), "On Board of the 'Kangaroo'"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(087), "On Board the 'Kangaroo,'" unknown, c.1875
NOTES [232 words]: According to Peter Davison, Songs of The British Music Hall, Oak, 1971, pp. 28-29, Harry Clifton (1824-1872) was a British music hall performer who wrote more than 500 songs. His most famous is said to have been "Pretty Polly Perkins" (the tune of which was also used for "Cushie Butterfield"); Davison also mentions "Paddle Your Own Canoe" (included in the Ballad Index) "Pulling Hard Against the Stream" (also in the Index) "Work, Boys, Work, and Be Contented," "Barclay's Beer," and "The Weepin' Willer" (also in the Index) and prints "A Motto for Every Man" (with music by Charles Coote; also in the Index).
In addition, the 1868 sheet music of "The Dark Girl Dressed in Blue" is attributed to Clifton -- but Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep does not mention his authorship, and there is a broadside which very likely precedes the 1868 publication; it is likely that Clifton modified an existing song. This may be the case with "Paddle Your Own Canoe" also (see the notes to that song). Other song in the Index attributed to Clifton but not listed by Davidson include "The Calico Printer's Clerk," "The Waterford Boys," "My Rattlin' Oul' Grey Mare," and "Where the Grass Grows Green."
Davison, p. 28, describes his "handsome but rather parsonical countenance"; although he worked in music halls, he managed to also perform in more upscale settings. Many of his songs used tunes by Charles Coote. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: MA060

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