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Otis Hubley, Seabright Nova Scotia, July 1950

lyrics

The Dreadful Ghost - Mr. Otis Hubley [5:48]
AC: 2283 - MF NO: 289.316

Recorded: Seabright, July, 1950.

Oh, there was a sailor home by right,
And on the seas he take great delight,
Two pretty fair maids he did beguile,
And one of them he had with child.

‘Till public shame, Oh, did prevent,
Into a silent grove she went,
To public shame, Oh, it proved a strife,
She cut the tender thread of life.

She hanged herself onto a tree,
Two men a-hunting chanced to see,
Her flesh the small birds has beastly torn,
Which made these young men’s hearts feel sore.

And with their knife they cut her down,
And in her bosom, this note they found,
And it was wrote, Oh, in letters large,
“Bury me not, I do you charge.”

“But on the ground pray let me lie,
To one and all as they pass by,
To one and all, Oh, a warning take,
Just you mark what follows when it is too late.”

“Since he’s proved false, I will prove just,
While he’s on earth he’ll have no rest,
While he’s on earth, Oh, I’ll plague him so,
At last to the seas he’ll be forced to go.”

One day, one day on the main top high,
A little boat he chanced to spy,
And into it which appeared to him,
Like one big woman and two little men.

Down decks, down decks this young man goes,
And wakes the captain in his morning ____,
He says, “Captain, captain, stand my defence,
Here is a spirit coming hence.”

Up decks, up decks the captain goes,
All dressed up in his morning clothes,
She says, “Captain, captain, just you stand calm,
Until I seek on such a man.”

“It was in St. Taliens this young man died,
“It is in St. Taliens his body lies.”
She says, “Captain, captain, don’t tell me so,
For he is alive in your ship below.”

“And if you don’t bring him up to me,
I will rage a mighty storm at sea,
It will cause both you and your men to weep,
And will leave you slumbering in the deep.”

Down decks, down decks the captain goes,
And brings this young man up to his foe,
She placed her eye, Oh, on him so grim,
Which made him tremble every limb.

Saying, “Do you remember when I was a maid,
How you caused my poor trembling heart to bleed?
I am a spirit, I come for thou,
You had me once, but I’ve got you now.”

Down in her boat she forced him,
And that was all between ship and man,
Sailors and all, Oh, do admire,
When the boat she sank in a flame of fire.

And as it sank she rose again,
And this is the mourning song she sang,
“Sailors and all, Oh, who’s left behind,
Never you prove false to young womenkind.”

And this is how she end her life,
Because she was not a sailor’s wife.

credits

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

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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

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