“Outward and Homeward Bound”
Description
Shanty. Verses enumerate the ports to be visited and the girls being left behind. The singer says the purser will supply their needs, and looks forward to returning home after (three) years. Chorus: "We're outward bound, Hurrah, we're outward bound."
Notes
Most if not all versions of this share a verse with "Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down!?; at one time I lumped Shay's version with that song. We've now split them, but it seems clear there is some sort of borrowing going on. Given that "Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down!" is apparently a composed song, the best bet may be that that is a rewrite of this. - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down!" (lyrics)
References
- Harlow, pp. 136-139, "Outward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Hugill, pp. 541-543, "Outward and Homeward Bound" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 387-389]
- Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 147-148, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #927
- BI, Hugi541