From Walter Ede, Edinburgh, Scotland
Sources: The James Madison Carpenter Collection AFC 1972/001 Cylinder 009 08:01; Disc side 018 04:10; MS pp. 03429, 09057
- Oh Ranzo was no sailor
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo
Oh Ranzo was no sailor
Ranzo, boys, Ranzo. - He could not do his duty
He could not do his duty. - They gave him four and twenty
They gave him four and twenty. - The captain being a good man
He took him to the cabin. - He taught him navigation
And now he’s captain Ranzo.
2 comments
Rosa
From a Mystic Seaport LP of several decades ago, another version, to a different melody.
Oh, Reuben was no sailor (chorus)
He was a Boston tailor (chorus)
He went down to New Bedford (chorus)
And was Shanghai’d on a whaler (chorus).
He could not do his duty (chorus)
So they put him to holystoning (chorus)
They tied Ranzo to the grating (chorus)
And gave him five-and-fifty (chorus).
Now the Skipper’s youngest daughter (chorus)
Begged her Pa for mercy (chorus)
They took Ranzo to the cabin (chorus)
And they taught him navigation (chorus)
Now he’s Skipper of this whaler (chorus)
And a terror to the sailor (chorus).
Bob
Hello Rosa,
Thanks for posting. The Mystic recording uses, if memory serves, what I’ve found to be the more widely-known melody. I included Ede’s version on my CD precisely because it is unusual. Hope you enjoy it!
Bob