The tempest

The Tempest describes a generic storm not pinpointed to any specific event or place. The appealing tune in 3/4 time was used in England and America between the 1730s and 1830s for many songs with various titles, chiefly songs of the sea or of battles—songs involving the buildup and resolution of a crisis. For other songs set to this tune, see Tom Halliard and The American Patriot’s War Song (Round, Early American Secular Music and Its European Sources). The text appeared in ninety-five songsters between 1779 and 1820 (Roud; R. Keller, Early American Songsters; Wolfe, Secular Music #9136).

“The Storm: or, The Dangers of the Sea, Sung by Mr. Dodd” was published without attribution in the Universal Magazine (208), with an old tune originally called “The Sailor’s Complaint.” The tune gained a new name from the first line, “Cease rude Boreas,” and was widely reprinted and copied. The text is often attributed to George Alexander Stevens (1710-84). Period credit of the lyrics to Stevens appeared in Joseph Ritson’s Select Collection of English Songs but problematically referenced the music as “The Muse and the Hero Together Are Fir’d,” and the “Storm” lyrics really do not fit this tune (2:127-29; 3:280-82). All other sources set the lyrics to “The Sailor’s Complaint” tune.