“The Wreck of the Mary Jane”
Description
A song to "dryland sailors" about the Mary Jane, bound from Taghmon with a crew of 200 and a cargo of dung. When the cargo shifts in a storm the captain gives up hope. Short of tobacco they plan to put in at a pub. They run ashore at a doctor's door.
Notes
Taghmon is in south central County Wexford (not on the coast). When the storm hits they steer for Timbuctoo, Mali, hardly a coastal port of call. The term "dryland sailor" -- to judge by broadside Bodleian, Firth c.12(409), "The Dryland Sailor!" ("I never was on board a ship ") -- refers to a panhandler who pretends to be an old sailor with faked injuries because "that's the thing that pays." - BS
Cross references
- cf. "The E-ri-e" (theme) and references there
- cf. "The Calabar" (theme and first line)
References
- OLochlainn 20, "The Wreck of the Mary Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #3026
- BI, Oloc020