Father, Build me a Boat- Mrs. Collinson (Wes) 1909 Gilchrist.
[My partial title. From: Anne Geddes Gilchrist Collection (AGG/8/1/25). Dated from another collected song.
R. Matteson 2017]
O Father, Father, Build me a Boat- sung by Mrs Collinson of Casterton, Westmorland in June, 1909. Collector: Anne Gilchrist.
O father build me a boat,
That I may on the ocean float
And any queens ship that I pass by,
I will enquire for my sailor boy.
She had not sailed far on the sea,
A big Queen's ship she chanced to meet,
O sailor, sailor tell me true,
Does my dear Jimmy join in your crew?
On yon green isle as we passed by,
We lost sight of your sailor boy,
She wrung her hands, she tore her hair,
Like some young [maiden] in wild despair.
I'll sit down here and write a song,
I'll write it broad and I'll write it long,
And ev'ry line I'll shed a tear,
And ev're verse cry, Jimmy dear!"