On St. Patrick's Day, the seventeenth,
From New York we set sail;
Kind fortune did favour us,
With a sweet and pleasant gale.
We bore away from Americay,
The wind being off the land;
With courage brave we ploughed the wave,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
Our captain's name was Nelson,
Just twenty years of age;
As true as brave a sailor lad,
As ever ploughed a wave.
The Eveline, our brig was called,
Belonging to McLean;
With courage brave, we ploughed the wave,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
When three days out, to our surprise,
Our captain he fell sick;
And shortly was not able,
To show himself on deck.
The fever raged, which made us fear,
That death was near at hand;
We bore away from Halifax,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
We made the land, but knew it not,
For strangers we were all;
Our captain was not able,
To come on deck at all.
Then we were obliged to haul
Our brig from off the land;
With laden hearts we put to sea,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
All that long night we ran our brig,
Till nine o'clock next day;
Our captain, on the point of death,
To our record did say,
"We'll bear away for Cape Canso,
Now, boys, come lend a hand;
And trim your topsail to the wind,
Bound down for Newfoundland."
At three o'clock we sighted a light,
Which we were glad to see;
The smallpox it being raging,
(That's what it proved to be).
And at four o'clock in the afternoon,
As judge as God's command;
We anchored her safe in Arichat,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
And for help and medicine,
Ashore then we did go;
Our captain on the point of death,
Our sympathy to show.
At five o'clock in the afternoon,
As judge as God's command;
In Arichat he breathed his last,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
All that long night we did lament,
For our departed friend;
And we were praying unto God,
For what had been his end.
We'll pray that God will guide us,
And keep us by his hand;
And give us fair wind while at sea,
Bound down for Newfoundland.
####.... Variant of a late 19th century native American ballad authored by Captain Cale White, Bound Down To Newfoundland [Laws D22] Native American Balladry (G. Malcolm Laws, 1964) ....####
Collected by Helen Creighton [1899-1989] and published in Songs And Ballads From Nova Scotia (Dent, 1932; Dover 1966).
A variant was also collected in 1958 from Clarence Bennett of St. Paul's, NL, by Kenneth Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 3, pp.905-906 by the National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
Genevieve Lehr noted that this song was composed after 1886, the year the Statue of Liberty was erected. Lehr also noted that in some collections this song is assumed to be a native ballad, while in others it is considered to be American.
A variant was recorded as Bound Down For Newfoundland by Ryan's Fancy on their first album, a re-release of the album Sullivan's Gypsies (Ryan's Fancy Sung By Sullivan's Gypsies, trk#3, 1970, Harmony/Columbia Records, Toronto, Ontario).
A variant was recorded by Connemara [1992-1997] (Near & Distant Shores, trk#15, 1995, Connemara Enterprises Ltd., St. John's, NL, produced by Jason Whelan & Connemara and recorded at The Sound Solution, St. John's, NL).
A variant was also recorded by Jim Martin (Beautiful Bay Of Conception, trk#1, 1989, Independent, Toronto, Ontario).
Another variant was recorded by James Joyce (St. John's Town, trk#12, 1997, produced by Dermot O'Reilly and Jim Joyce, Piper Stock Productions, Torbay, NL).
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