Sailor Bold- Mrs. Kelley (NS) c.1932 Creighton
[From Creighton's 1933 book, Songs and Ballads of Nova Scotia.
R. Matteson 2017]
Sailor Bold- Sung by Mrs. Chas. Kelley of Yarmouth, who has often heard this sung as a chanty by the men of sailing vessels which used to frequent this port.
Pepe, Papa, build me a boat
That I may on the ocean float,
To hail all ships as they pass by,
And to enquire for my darling boy.
What colour was your Willie's hair?
What kind of clothes did Willie wear?
A little round jacket of Royal blue
And light curly hair had my Willie too.
As we were out on the Eastern Isle
We lost four men and your Darling Boy,
. . . .
. . . .
Come, all you Sailors, dress alike,
Come, all you Sailors, dress in white,
And hoist your colours at half-mast high
To help me mourn for my Darling Boy.
O lay me our when I am dead
With a marble stab at foot and head,
And on my breast place a turtle dove
To show the World I died for love.