'Barrett's Privateers' and 'White Squall' are my Stan Rogers songs. My
favourite Aussie band, Weddings, Parties, Anything, who had a strong
Canadian connection, often opened their live shows with an acapello
'Barrett's'
'Oh the year was seventeen seventy eight...'
To which the audience shouts back,
'OH I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW! (HIC!)
"A letter of marque came from the King
To the scummiest vessel I've ever seen
God Damn them all! I was told
We'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's privateers."
'White Squall', with a little help from Guinness, can bring a liddle tear
to moi eye.
"But I told that kid a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted. They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted." But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall, And her lover's gone into a white squall."
Lots of Stan's songs seem ripe for filking,
'Oh the year was sixteen twenty one...'
How I wish I was In Whitewall now!
A arrow black came from the King
For a hero fight that the skalds will sing...'
but basically, I respect the originals too much. :)
John
John Hughes
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone (02) 6125 0649
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