I’ve made up my mind to sail away

AKASail Away
First Published1901

Writer/composerBennett ScottRoudRN24223

Music Hall PerformersTom Costello
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Costello, Celia; England: Birmingham; 1967
A transcription from YouTube by John Baxter 2/8/2022

Farewell to home and to all those I love
Sadly the parting grieves me
These words may be the last you will hear
For I'm leaving this dear old land
Though I have failed in the land that I love
Still I've the world before me
And my hopes speed high, so once more goodbye
Give me a grip of your hand

I’ve made up my mind to sail away,
Sail away, sail away.
I don’t mean to waste another day,
I’ll find luck somewhere.
In our colonies I mean to try.
Yes I’ll try, do or die.
For a time I shall stay but I'll come back some day
And I may be a millionaire

Though I may go from the land that I love
My heart I leave behind me
Sweetheart I shall be thinking of you
When far from my country's shore
Love, something tells me that I'm bound to succeed
If you'll be faithful to me
Soon, across the main, I'll come back again
Then we shall part never more

Cecilia Costello sang a fragment of this song for song collectors Pam Bishop and Charles Parker in 1967. It was originally a hit for  Tom Costello in the early 1900s and was the first major success for songwriter Bennett Scott. He wrote both the words and music for this one by himself, but he would later have many hits providing music for lyrics by AJ Mills.

Emigration ballads could always move an audience in the Halls, probably because so many would have friends or family who were fleeing poverty at home to seek opportunities abroad. Other examples include The Black sheep of the family (1909) and The Miners dream of home (1891). You find more like this in my selection of songs on Emigration and empire.

As recorded by Tom Costello in 1903:

Sources:

Last Updated on August 2, 2022 by John Baxter | Published: August 2, 2022

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