Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: His Last Sail

Songs of the Ridings

His Last Sail

GRANDFATHER

T' watter is blue i' t' offin',
An' blue is t' sky aboon;
Swallows are settin' sou'ard,
An' wanin' is t' harvist moon.
Ower lang I've bin cowerin' idle
I' my neuk by t' fire-side;
I'll away yance mair i' my coble,
I'll away wi' t' ebbin' tide.

MALLY

Nay, Gransir, thoo moant gan sailin',
Thoo mun bide at yam to-neet;
At eighty-two thoo sudn't think
O' t' Whitby fishin' fleet.
North cone's up on t' flagstaff,
There's a cap-full o' wind i' t' bay;
T' waves wap loud on t' harbour bar,
Thoo can hardlins fish to-day.

GRANDFATHER

It's leansome here i' t' hoose, lass,
When t' fisher-folk's at sea,
Watchin' yon eldin set i' t' fire
Bleeze up, dwine doon, an' dee.
An' t' sea-gulls they coom flyin'
Aboon our red roof-tiles;
They call me doon the chimley,
An' laugh at other whiles.

"There's mack'rel oot at sea, lad,"
Is what I hear 'em say;
"Their silver scales are glestrin' breet,
Look oot across the bay;
But mack'rel's not for thee, lad,
For thoo's ower weak to sail."
My een wi' saut tears daggle
When I hear their mockin' tale.

MALLY

Dean't mind their awfish skreekin',
They 'tice folk to their death;
Then ride aboon yon billows
An' gloor at them beneath.
They gloor at eenless corpses
Slow driftin' wi' the tide,
Deep doon amang the weedy wrack,
Wheer t' scaly fishes glide.

GRANDFATHER

I'd fain lig wi' my kinsfolk,
Fore-elders, brothers, sons,
Wheer t' star-fish shine like twinklin' leets,
An' t' spring-tide watter runs.
T' kirkyard's good for farm-folk,
That ploo an' milk their kye,
But I could sleep maist soondly
Wheer t' ships gan sailin' by.

T' grave is whisht an' foulsome,
But clean is t' saut sea-bed;
Thoo can hark to t' billows dancin'
To t' tune o' t' tide owerhead.
Yon wreaths o' floors i' t' kirkyard
Sean wither an' fade away,
But t' sea-tang wreaths round a droon'd man's head
Will bide while Judgment Day.

Sae fettle my owd blue coble,
I kessen'd her "Mornin' Star,"
An' I'll away through t' offin'
Wheer t' skooals o' mack'rel are.
Thoo can look for my boat i' t' harbour,
When thoo's said thy mornin' psalm;
Mebbe I'll fill my fish-creel full -
Mebbe I'll nean coom yam.

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

Aboon : above
Awfish : elfish, eldritch, hideous (M)
Bide : stay, remain
Coble : type of fishing boat used along the NE coast
Cowerin' idle : sitting doing nothing
Daggle : grow moist (M)
Dean't mind : don't pay any attention to, ignore
Dwine doon : dwindle, diminish
Een : eyes
Eldin : kindling (M); small sticks
Eenless : eyeless
Fain lig : gladly lie
Fettle : get ready (M); clean up, prepare
Floors : flowers
Gan : go
Glestrin' breet : glittering brightly
Gloor : glower, stare, gaze
Hardlins : hardly, scarcely
Kessen'd : christened: named
Kye : cows
Leansome : lonesome, lonely
Moant : must not
Mun bide at yam : must stay at home
Nean coom yam : not come home
Neuk : nook: corner
North cone : a visual signal of bad weather and wind direction
Offin' : offing: the sea some distance out (from the safe distance a ship keeps when sailing past land)
Ower lang : over long, too long
Ploo : plough
Saut : salt
Sean : soon
Sea-tang : a type of coarse seaweed
Skooals : schools, shoals
Skreekin' : screeching, wailing
Sou'ard : southward: off to the south
Weedy wrack : thick kelp beds
Whisht : silent (M)
Yance mair : once more

Explanations marked (M) are from Professor Moorman's original footnotes. Wherever possible, meanings have been checked in Dr Arnold Kellet's The Yorkshire Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition and Folklore (obtainable from the YDS), The Chambers Dictionary, and The Oxford English Dictionary. We have attempted at all times to be guided by context and to convey all probable intended meanings. We have not explained those words which differ only slightly in pronunciation and spelling from modern standard English.

Songs of the Ridings

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