Wreck of the lifeboat

AKA The lifeboat
First Published 1889
Writer/composer Charles Osborne Roud RN13632

Music Hall Performers Alf Chester
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Larner, Sam ; England : Norfolk ; c1959
Pardon, Walter ; England : Norfolk ; 1974		 

From March's Royalty Songs 109
Broadside Ballads Online from the Bodleian Collection

THE WRECK OF THE LIFE-BOAT.
Sung by Alf Chester
Written and Composed by Charles Osborne. 
Arranged by Alfred Leggett

In an old-fashioned cottage that stands on the cliff, 
A woman is sitting alone,
Sewing with fingers so nervous and stiff, 
And cheeks that are cold as a stone. 
The lantern that's lit in the window 
Gleams on the waters below;
She's thinking, yes thinking, 
Of that night twelve months ago -

The lifeboat went out in the wind, 
Leaving a lassie behind
Thinking of Jack, wishing him back, 
Praying for those on the foam.
But Jack, with the best of his band, 
Was wrecked within sight of the land,
Never will she her sailor see, 
Or give him a welcome home.

Playmates from childhood were we, Jack and I, 
He was the son of a tar
Nell was my sister, and, absent or nigh, 
He called her his bright guiding star.
We joined as crew of a lifeboat, 
First to the rescue was he.
But they parted, yes parted, 
Wrecked by the waves of the sea.

One stormy night, far away o'er the sea, 
A vessel was fast on a reef
Out went the lifeboat and in her went we, 
Away to her help and relief;
Jack brought aboard the survivors, 
See how we pull for the shore.
But she's sinking, yes sinking, 
No human eye saw her more.

Only one man from the life-boat was saved, 
Only one sailor coxswain they snatched from the waves, 
Our bold-hearted skipper was Jack,
Nell sits at home in the twilight, 
Watching the lights on the foam
­She's watching, still watching, 
Waiting to welcome him home.

A song popular in the late Victorian Halls which featured in the repertoire of two of the most prominent late 20th Century English traditional singers – Sam Larner and Walter Pardon.

It was one of a number of late 19th century songs about lifeboats and rescues at sea. These songs tended to be romantic and patriotic -for example, see Grace Darling and The Ship I Love.

The Wreck of the Lifeboat was an early hit for Alf Chester whose brief biography appears below. He first sang it (usually against an elaborately painted backdrop) in the Halls in 1888 and it was published as sheet music a year later. The song was written and composed by Charles Osborne.

Alf Chester (?-1925) was active in the 1890s and 1900s. He was sometimes described as a “vocal comedian”, sometimes as a “descriptive vocalist”. This latter term was usually reserved for performers like Leo Dryden and Charles Godfrey who presented their songs en scena – i.e. in full costume, sometimes with elaborate sets and supporting cast. His most famous songs include Waiting to hear the verdict, Sailing merrily home, and Why did I leave my little back room?. He toured Australia with Harry Rickard in 19006/07. At time of death was owner of King William IV Hotel in Brighton.

Here’s a snatch of Sam Larner singing it:

Sam Larner sings it, collected by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, from VWML

Sources: