We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/

about

William H. Smith, Liverpool, Nova Scotia, August 15, 1948

lyrics

Reuben Ranzo - William H.Smith [1:45]
AC: 2290 - MF NO: 289.344

Recorded: Liverpool, August 15, 1948. “Mr. William Smith ... first went to sea as a lad on a fishing schooner (local); then sailed on square riggers to the West Indies; sailed on coasting vessels off Nova Scotia and the United States coast; was in wrecking business when he became a diver ...; went rigging at Liverpool and helped to rig the last square rigger done in Liverpool; was a sail maker in a salt loft, and later became a farmer.” [For a detailed study of Mr. Smith’s collection see: Edith Fowke Sea songs and ballads from nineteenth-century Nova Scotia: The William H. Smith and Fenwick Hatt manuscripts New York: Folkloria, 1981.]

___ name was Reuben Ranzo
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray,
He shipped on board of a whaler,
Ranzo, Ranzo, Ray.

He shipped as able seaman,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray,
But he could not do his duty,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray.

But, the captain being a good old man,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray,
He took him in the cabin,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray.

And learned him navigation,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray,
And now he’s Captain Ranzo,
Ranzo, Ranzo Ray.

credits

from The Helen Creighton Folklore Society Presents: Songs of the Sea, released May 24, 2023

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Helen Creighton Folklore Society image

Helen Creighton Folklore Society Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Honoring folklorist Helen Creighton (1899-1989), who collected and published traditional music and lore of Maritime Canada. The mandate of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society is to encourage and promote work that reflects the diverse folk culture of the Maritimes as exemplified by the work begun by Dr. Creighton. For more information visit our website at: www.helencreighton.org. ... more

contact / help

Contact Helen Creighton Folklore Society

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Helen Creighton Folklore Society, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now