poem 10
The Golden Vanity
1
There was a lofty ship and they put her out to sea
And the name of the ship was the Golden Vanity,
And they sailed her on the Lowlands, Lowlands low,
And they sailed her on the Lowland sea.
2
And she had nothing sailed but two weeks or three
When she was overtaken by a Turkish rivalry,
As she sailed upon the Lowlands,.....,.........
3
Then boldly up spoke our little cabin boy,
Saying, "What would you give me if the galley I destroy?
If I sink them in the Lowlands, .........."
4
"To the man that them destroys ", our captain then replied,
"Five thousand pounds and my daughter for his bride,
If he'll sink them in the Lowlands,..."
5
Well, the boy he made ready and overboard went he,
And he swam to the side of the Turkish enemy,
As she lay along the Lowlands, ....
6
And he had a brace and auger made for the use
And he bored nine holes in her hull all at once
As she lay along the Lowlands, ...
7
And some were playing poker and some were playing dice,
Some were in their hammocks; and the sea as cold as ice,
As the water rushed in and gave dazzle to their eyes.
They were sinking in the Lowlands sea.
8
He swam back to his ship and he beat upon its side,
Crying, "Shipmates take me up for I'm weary in the tide,
I am weary of the Lowlands,...."
9
"Well, I'll not pick you up.", our captain then replied
I'll shoot you, I'll drown you, I'll sink you in the tide
I'll sink you in the Lowlands..."
10
"If it was not for the love that I bear for your men
I'd do unto you as I did unto them;
I would sink you in the Lowlands, ...."
12
And the boy bowed his head and down sank he
And he said farewell to the Golden Vanity,
As she lay along the Lowlands, Lowlands low,
As she lay along the Lowlands sea.
(This sea song is said to be based on a 17th century ballad about Sir Walter Raleigh sailing to the Lowlands. Many versions naturally exist; the above is taken from an American recording, with some help from Stan Hugill's great 'Shanties from the Seven Seas', (1961). The omission of any unnecessary details is to my mind the characteristic of good 'folk poetry'; the emphasis is on the story to be told. The stark description of the pirates' deaths in verse 7 exemplifies this.
The same immediacy is found already in the second verse of a famous ballad where we are quickly well into the plot! . "A bed, a bed, Clerk Saunders said,/A bed for you and me./ Fie nay, fie nay, said fair Margaret, /Till once we married be".
I find an interesting link between this arresting style and that found in the work of the Metaphysical poets of 17the century, who were very far removed in social status, one imagines, from the anonymous balladeers. For instance, George Herbert's "I struck the board and cried, No more..." or Marvell's "The wanton Troopers passing by / Have shot my faun and it will die". No pussy-footing around; you are slap bang into the subject in the first lines.
Expect more from these writers in the future!)