Farewell to Nova Scotia
- Brianna Dai
- Jul 19, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 7, 2023
Nova Scotia
A popular sailor’s folk song from Nova Scotia, the structure of stanzas was adapted from the Scottish lament "The Soldier's Adieu" (1791), printed in 1803 in a Glasgow newspaper and attributed to poet-weaver Robert Tannahill. Similarities in rhythm and form can be observed between the Scottish poem and Canadian folk song.
Nova Scotian folklorist Helen Creighton collected the song in the 1930s in districts east of Halifax, where it was formerly sung in schools.
It is suggested that Farewell to Nova Scotia was written during or shortly before World War I. Further references of war can be suggested in phrases such as "at rest". Sources state that the song may be written from the perspective of a young sailor heading off to war for the first time, bidding farewell to his home and embarking on a rough sea-bound journey.
Lyrics
1.
The sun was setting in the west,
The birds were singing on every tree.
All nature seemed inclined to rest
But still there was no rest for me.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
let your mountains dark and dreary be.
for when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?
2.
I grieve to leave my native land,
I grieve to leave my comrades all,
And my aging parents whom I've always loved so dear,
And the bonnie, bonnie lass that I do adore.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
let your mountains dark and dreary be.
for when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?
3.
The drums they do beat and the wars do alarm,
The captain calls, I must obey.
Farewell, farewell to Nova Scotia's charms,
For it's early in the morning and I'm far, far away.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
let your mountains dark and dreary be.
for when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?
4.
I have three brothers and they are at rest,
Their arms are folded on their chest.
But a poor simple sailor just like me,
Must be tossed and turned in the deep dark sea.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
let your mountains dark and dreary be.
for when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?
The score for sailor's song Farewell to Nova Scotia.
“The Soldier’s Adieu”
(Whitelaw, 1843)
The evening sun's gane down the west,
The birds sit nodding on the tree;
All nature now prepares for rest,
But rest prepared ther's none for me.
The trumpet sounds to war's alarms,
The drums they beat, the fifes they play,–
Come, Mary, cheer me wi' thy charms,
For the morn I will be far away.
Good night and joy, good night and joy,
Good night and joy be wi' you a':
For since it's so that I must go,
Good night and joy be wi' you a'!
I grieve to leave my comrades dear,
I mourn to leave my native shore,–
To leave my aged parents here,
And the bonnie lass whom I adore.
But tender thoughts maun now be hush'd,
When danger calls I must obey,–
The transport waits us on the coast,
And the morn I will be far away.
Good night and joy, etc.
Adieu, dear Scotia's sea-beat coast!
Though bleak and drear thy mountains be,
When on the heaving ocean tost,
I'll cast a wishful look to thee!
Sources
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