Grasping for the Wind

The Bonnie Ship the Diamond

Yesterday in my post on Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe, I mention the song "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond" one of my all-time favorite songs. Following are the lyrics, the chords, a history of the song, and a link to a clip of Wolfstone's awesome version. It's an Amazon page, so you'll need to scroll down to listen, but it's worth the effort.

The Bonnie Ship the Diamond

Lyrics

The Diamond is a ship me lads,
For the Davis Straits she's bound
And the Quay it is all garnished
With bonnie lassies round
Captain Thompson gives the order
To sail the ocean wide
Where the sun it never sets me lads
Nor darkness dims the sky.

And it's cheer up, me lads
Let your hearts never fail,
For the bonnie ship The Diamond
Goes a-fishing for the whale!

Along the quay at Peterhead
The lassies stand around
Wi' their shawls all pulled about them
And the salt tears runnin' down
Oh don't you weep, my bonnie lass,
Though you be left behind
For the rose will grow on Greenland's ice
Before we change our mind.

And it's cheer up, me lads
Let your hearts never fail,
For the bonnie ship The Diamond
Goes a-fishing for the whale!

Here's a health to The Resolution,
Likewise the Eliza Swan
Here's a health to the Battler of Montrose
And The Diamond ship of fame
We wear the trousers of the white
And the jackets of the blue
When we return to Peterhead,
We'll hae sweethearts enoo.

And it's cheer up, me lads
Let your hearts never fail,
For the bonnie ship The Diamond
Goes a-fishing for the whale!

It'll be bright both day and night
When the Greenland lads come hame
Wi' a ship that's fu' o' oil me lads
And money to our name
We'll make the cradles for to rock
And the blankets for to tear
And every lass in Peterhead
Sing hushabye my dear!

And it's cheer up, me lads
Let your hearts never fail,
For the bonnie ship The Diamond
Goes a-fishing for the whale!

Chords: KEY Dm

verse:
Dm Am
Dm Am
Dm Am
C Dm

chorus:
Dm C
Dm Dm
Am Am
Dm Am
C Dm

Background: An old Scottish song popularized by The Corries. Over-fishing in the Greenland sea during the early 19th century had a devastating toll on the whale stocks. A new hunting ground, the South-West Fishery, was discovered in the region of the Davis Straits and it was mostly here that The Diamond fished. In 1830 The Diamond, Eliza Swan and The Resolution along with seventeen other whaling ships were caught in the ice of Melville Bay. The ships were lost and many sailors lost their lives.

Posted by John on March 7, 2007 11:27 AM | Posted to Music
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