The Eddystone Light
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sea chanty
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
Oh, me father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light
And he slept with a mermaid one fine night.
From this union there came three,
A porpoise and a porgy and the other was me.
Chorus:
Yo ho ho
The wind blows free
Oh for the life on the rolling sea
One night while I was a-trimmin' the glim
A-singin' a verse from the evening hymn.
A voice from the starboard shouted, "Ahoy"
And there was me mother a-sittin' on the buoy.
Chorus
"Oh what has become of me children three?"
Me mother then she asked of me.
"One was exhibited as a talking fish.
The other was served in a chafing dish."
Chorus
Then the phosphorus flashed in her seaweed hair,
I looked again, but me mother wasn't there.
A voice come a-echoing out through the night:
"The devil take the keeper of the Eddystone Light!"
Chorus
Chorus
"The Eddystone Light" is apparently a traditional sea song.<br> Because of the comic nature of the song, it has become a<br> favorite for children.<br> <br> The Eddystone Lighthouse is on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks,<br> 9 statute miles south of Rame Head, England, United Kingdom.<br> While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon.<br> The current structure is the fourth to be built on the site.<br> The first and second were destroyed by storm and fire.<br> The third, also known as Smeaton's Tower, is the best known<br> because of its influence on lighthouse design and its importance<br> in the development of concrete for building. Its upper portions<br> have been re-erected in Plymouth as a monument. The first<br> lighthouse was completed in 1699.<br> <br> It has been recorded by The Weavers, Peter, Paul & Mary,<br> The Brothers Four, Burl Ives and others.<br> I first learned the Brothers Four's sanitized version<br> from their self titled 1960 album.<br>
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