The Sailor's farewell : together with the Sailor's return, and the Praise of women

“The Sailor’s Farewell,” by Edward Thompson (1738?-86), is set to a bravura tune by Michael Arne (1740/41-86) that was probably a stage piece. Thompson was born in Hull, entered the British navy in the 1750s, and was promoted to captain in 1772. He is best known for his sea songs. A sheet music edition was published as “sung by Mr. Arrowsmith at Vauxhall” around 1783 (Schnapper 40).

The song itself, originally a love song with a nautical theme, was very popular for about twenty years, appearing in seventy-one songsters between 1790 and 1820 (R. Keller). However, many transcribers changed a few words in the third and fourth verses to reflect local political situations. Coverly’s broadside text was altered to reflect American sentiments. The fleet became “Columbia’s” and the last verse includes a specific reference to the Tripolitan War (1801-5). In Ishmael Spicer’s version, he retained the original reference to the “British fleet” in verse 3, but changed the last verse slightly to read, “New England’s glory rests with you,” in the place of Coverly’s noncommittal “our country’s glory.” Linaeus Bolling of Virginia collected a version closer to the English original. His fleet is “noble,” and his last verse leaves out the glory altogether, ending

. . . And true return again.
And now our hearts remain with you
Our sails are full, sweet girls adieu. (59)

Arne’s tune was used as a learning piece for instrumental students, appearing in many flute and violin tutors in the 1780s and 1790s.

“The Sailor’s Return” was initially titled “Tom’s Return” and sung by John Beard, England’s “first great tenor,” in Thomas A. Arne’s Thomas and Sally (Fiske 103; Schnapper 1005; Universal Magazine 204). Isaac Bickerstaff’s lyrics praise the British sailor with the now-classic sentiment that none but the brave deserves the fair. Two slip ballad entries are cited in the Folk Song Index and the text appeared in two songsters between 1779 and 1810 (Roud; R. Keller).

The third text, “The Praise of Women,” appears as the lead text in The Praise of Women.