The tale of one girl in one of a sailor's many ports. I learnt this song at Forest School Camps at the age of six, before I knew what it was really about! The most famous version is sung by The Dubliners in their album named after that track. The refrain can also be found in the song "The Oak and the Ash", which tells quite a different tale of a girl who has traveled to London missing the beauty of her Northern homeland.
lyrics
LYRICS:
Well, who wouldn't be a sailor lad a-sailing on the main?
To gain the good will of his captain is to blame.
For he went ashore one evening for to be
And that was the beginning of the whole calamity.
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
Well I asked her for a handkerchief to tie around me head
And likewise for a candle for to light me up to bed.
She tended to me needs just like a young maid ought to do,
So then I says to her "Why don't you jump in with me too?"
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
Well she jumped into bed now, taking no alarm,
Thinking a young sailor lad to her could do no harm.
I hugged her, I kissed her the whole night long,
Until she wished the short night had been seven years long.
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
Well early next morning the sailor lad arose
And into Mary's apron poured a pocket-full of gold
Saying "Take this me dear for the mischief I have done,
For tonight I fear I've left you with a daughter or a son."
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
Now if it be a girl child, we'll send her out to nurse,
With silver in her pocket and gold in her purse
And if it be a boy child, we'll give him the jacket blue
And send him up the rigging like his daddy used to do".
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
So listen all ye fair maids, take this advice from me,
Never let a sailor lad an inch above your knee,
For I trusted one and he beguiled me,
And left me with a pair of twins to dangle on me knee.
And it's home, boys, home!
Home I'd like to be,
Home for a while in me own country,
Where the oak and the ash and the bonny rowan tree
Are all a-blooming freely in the North Country.
Roary Skaista is a queer folk musician based in Oxford, performing traditional folk songs as well as their own material on
the themes of love, nature and diversity.
This is a great adaptation of Arthuriana and a brilliant narrative album. I love how the queerness of the characters is handled as an integral part of the narrative and plot development without it being the end all be all of the characters themselves. my boy Gawain deserved better though maritarvaniti
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
Sweet harmonies & strummed melodies; the duo delve into decades-old folk, jazz, and country to find a timeless kind of love and connection. Bandcamp New & Notable May 23, 2018