Songs for Saturday: The Flowers of Bermuda

[mdlbear]

For the last several days, my "earworm of..." (it wouldn't be "choice", would it? It chose me) has been Stan Rogers' shipwreck song "The Flowers of Bermuda". Since it's Saturday, and I didn't have anything else planned, here you go -- "The Flowers of Bermuda - YouTube" [Lyrics on mudcat.org].

For background, see this excellent article in 'How Legends Are Made: Stan Rogers, “The Flowers of Bermuda,” and Air Canada Flight 797' in Sing Out!. Note: the "Continue to page N" links are broken -- use the little numbered links on the next line. Or if you're lazy,

Page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5.

THE FLOWERS OF BERMUDA (Stan Rogers) Chorus cho: He was the captain of the Nightingale Twenty-one days from Clyde in coal He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale When he died on the North Rock shoal Just five short hours from Bermuda's isle In a fine October gale O there came a cry, " Oh, there be breakers dead ahead From the collier Nightingale No sooner had the captain rought her round, Then came a rending crash below Hard on her beam ends groaning, went the Nightingale And overside her mainmast goes "O captain are we all for drowning," Came a cry from all the crew "The boats be smashed! How are we all then to be saved? Tthey are stove in through and through O are ye brave and hardy colliermen Or are you blind now and cannot see O the captain's gig still lies before ye whole and sound And it shall carry all of we away But when the crew was all assembled And the gig prepared for sea 'Twas seen there were but eighteen places to be manned And nineteen mortal souls were we But cries the captain," now do not delay Nor do you spare a thought for me My duty is to save you all now Save ye all now if I can see ye return quick as can be Oh, there be flowers in Bermuda Beauty lies on every hand And there be laughter ease and drink there for every man But there is no joy for me For when we reached the wretched Nightingale What an awful sight was plain O the captain, drowned, was tangled in the mizzen chains Smiling bravely beneath the sea Copyright Fogarty's Cove Music

I may have to learn the chords for it now. And maybe hear something else in my head when I'm trying to sleep?