folksongs and shanties), that he’s bound for the East Indies, and if he returns, he will
make her his bride. Although the sailor mentions the roaring cannons – perhaps he
has been drafted for war? – the lilting melody and joyous sentiment suggest that the
sailor is eager for adventure on the open sea.
It was happy and delightful one midsummer’s morn,
And the blackbirds and thrushes sang on every green tree,
And the larks, they sang melodious at the dawn of the day.
Said the sailor to his true love, “I am bound far away,
I am bound for the East Indies, I no longer can stay,
I am bound for the East Indies, where the loud cannons roar,
I am going to leave my Nancy, she’s the girl I adore.”
Saying, “Take this, dearest Nancy, and my heart shall go too.”
And while he embraced her, tears from her eyes fell,
Saying, “May I go along with you?” “Oh, no, my love, fare you well.”
Said the sailor to his true love, “I no longer can stay,
For our top-sails are hoisted and our anchor is weighed,
And if ever I return again, I will make you my bride.”
– Welsh sea shanty, arr. Gustav Holst
– Cornish folk song, arr. Holst
Gustavus Theodore von Holst (1874-1934) was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,
the son of a highly regarded pianist and organist. It seemed likely that the young
and a nerve condition which would worsen throughout his life. Holst attended the
Royal College of Music on a scholarship, studying with Charles Villiers Stanford,
and in 1895 met fellow student and lifelong friend Ralph Vaughan Williams, who
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