The Leaving of Liverpool
First release by Ewan MacColl & A.L. Lloyd (1962)
- Written by
- [Traditional]
- Publication date
- 1951
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
The publication date above refers to the book "Shantymen and Shantyboys'' by William Main Doerflinger (1910-2000), who was an independent folksong collector active in the 1930s and 40s.
This version of "The Leaving of Liverpool" was collected from Richard Maitland, a retired sea captain living in New York, whom Doerflinger had recorded at Sailors' Snug Harbor in Staten Island from 1938 to 1940. Maitland told how he learned it in 1885 while on the ship General Knox: "I was on deck one night, when I heard a Liverpool man singin' it in the fo'c'sle ... Yes sir, that song hit the spot!"
The song tells of a voyage in the David Crockett, a clipper ship that visited Liverpool under the command of Captain John A Burgess of Massachusetts, which dates it to some time in the period 1863 to 1874.
It is #9435 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
Another version of "The Leaving of Liverpool" (not the subject of popular recordings but possibly with an older history) was collected by Doerflinger in early 1942 from a retired sailor named Patrick Tayluer, who was living at the Seamen's Church Institute at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan. While sharing common elements, including the words and tune of the chorus, the shanty told a different tale that is speculated to relate to Californian goldrush voyages (from 1849). - Licensing
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