{"id":18839,"date":"2023-02-16T15:43:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=18839"},"modified":"2024-11-22T07:56:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T07:56:13","slug":"seagull","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/seagull\/","title":{"rendered":"Seagull!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
First Published<\/td>1905<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>EW Rogers and Charles Collins<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN43180<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>JW Ellison, Harry Bancroft<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Webb, Percy?
Modern performances<\/strong>
Nigel Hobbins<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A little girl stood on the bridge one day\nFeeding the gulls in childish way,\nHearing they\u2019d come from the far-off sea,\nSaid to one, \u201cPlease take a message for me\nTo my dear Daddy, a sailor man bold,\nIn his big ship on the foam.\nTell him his little girl\nDoes want him so and will he please hasten home.\"\n\nSeagull, seagull, fly away over the sea,\nSeagull, seagull, please take a message for me\nIf you see a big ship, sailing o\u2019er the foam,\nTell my Daddy that his little girl\nIs waiting for him at home.<\/em>\n[Twice]\n\n[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]\n\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I found this song courtesy of a discussion thread on the Mudcat forum – thanks to all the contributors for the information given there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 <\/em>that traditional singer Percy Webb sang – but all we have is a title in his list of songs, so we can’t be sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It was originally written by EW Rogers <\/a>and Charles Collins<\/a>. 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Palace, Hartlepool; The Stage<\/em>; 29 August 1907<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
It was recorded for Edison  in 1906 by Charles Pearce:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charles Pearce, Edison recording, UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The song has been revived by modern singer Nigel Hobbins on his Levitating in Lockdown<\/a><\/em> album:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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