“The Nimrod's Song”
Description
"Come all ye friends of Newfoundland Who have a mind to roam O'er the wild and stormy ocean...." The crew sails from Newfoundland to the ice. They have great trouble and sorrow. The crew are listed. The singer hopes Captain Barbour will find a better ship
Notes
Not related to "The Wreck of the Nimrod," which obviously is about a shipwreck....
Despite this song, the _Nimrod_ was by no means a failure as a sealer; Chafe reports that she set a record in 1871 with 28,087 seals. It's a good name for such a ship; Nimrod was "a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Genesis 10:9).
She also had a distinguished later career: Built in Scotland in 1865, _Nimrod_ eventually was fitted out for Ernest Shackleton's 1907 Antarctic expedition. She returned to England in 1909, and Shackleton sold her a year later to finance future expeditions, including the ill-fated _Endurance_ expedition of 1914. - RBW
References
- Ryan/Small, pp. 74-75, "The Nimrod's Song" (1 text)
- BI, RySm074