Seagull!

A little girl stood on the bridge one day
Feeding the gulls in childish way,
Hearing they’d come from the far-off sea,
Said to one, “Please take a message for me
To my dear Daddy, a sailor man bold,
In his big ship on the foam.
Tell him his little girl
Does want him so and will he please hasten home."

Seagull, seagull, fly away over the sea,
Seagull, seagull, please take a message for me
If you see a big ship, sailing o’er the foam,
Tell my Daddy that his little girl
Is waiting for him at home.
[Twice]

[I have transcribed the lyrics from a contemporary recording - I am unable to access the sheet music at the moment - when/if I can, further verses may be revealed]

I found this song courtesy of a discussion thread on the Mudcat forum – thanks to all the contributors for the information given there!

Contributors to the Mudcat Forum make it clear that it is a vernacular song which was often sung in maritime families as a lullaby. It also may well be the song called Seagull that traditional singer Percy Webb sang – but all we have is a title in his list of songs, so we can’t be sure.

It was originally written by EW Rogers and Charles Collins and performed in the Halls separately by Harry Bancroft and JW Ellison. It was immediately popular with amateur performers and there are several contemporary reports of it featuring in early 20th century amateur concerts. The only review I can find is of Bancroft singing it in Hartlepool in 1907:

It was recorded for Edison in 1906 by Charles Pearce:

The song has been revived by modern singer Nigel Hobbins on his Levitating in Lockdown album:

Sources:

• VWML entry
• Kilgarrif Sing Us
• Lyrics: transcribed from Edison recording
• Sheet Music (not accessed): WorldCat entry
• Mudcat Thread
• Nigel Hobbins Levitating in Lockdown

Last Updated on December 22, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: February 16, 2023