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IN A HANDY FOUR-MASTER Lead: Richard

Another from Windjammer: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors. Collected from Captain Henry Ericksen, Milwaukee, 1932. No melody was given for the song in the book so Richard wrote one for it.

LYRICS:

In a handy four-master I once took a trip
Chorus: Hooray boys, heave 'er down
An' I thought that I was aboard a good ship
Chorus: Way down, ladies down

But when on the lake to my sorrow I found
That she was a workhouse and that I was bound

We left with a fair wind, a mere little breeze
But somehow the old man was not at his ease

We looked at the sky and he said, "Mr. Brown –
Just clew up those tops'ls and then reef'er down,"

We reefed up and we furled from dark to daylight
You never in your life did see such a sight

The mate was a shellback from way down below
He'd rave and he'd roar as he walked to and fro

The galley was dirty, the cooking was bad
Fresh meat was a thing that we never had

But now we are bound down the long Lakes once more
An' on this old wagon I'll ship never more

NOTES:

Taken from Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors by Ivan H.Walton with Joe Grimm. The Great Lakes saw a wide variety of vessel types, both wind-driven and mechanical. Marine architecture became increasingly specialized to perform specific tasks and meet local conditions. While four-masters were far less common on the Great Lakes than sailing vessels with two or three masts, they were not unheard of, and there were a very few with five. This work song was collected from Captain Henry Ericksen, Milwaukee, 1932. No melody was given for this song in the book so Richard wrote one for it.