“Pull for the Shore”
Description
"Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand!" The sailor, clinging to the old boat (presumably meaning his sinful life) is urged to "cling to self no more" and "Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull for the shore."
Notes
This song has, at best, a very limited place in tradition; I include it because it has some connection with the story of the _Titanic_. Also, it has been recorded by Tom, Brad, and Alice, which may make it known to users of the Index.
I'm surprised it isn't more popular; it wasn't in any of the four hymnals I checked (Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and not-sure). The tune is magnificent. Of course, the words are a bit un-hymn-like. And, with the exception of the prhrase "bright and morning star" (for which see Rev. 22:16), the words do not appear directly Bible-inspired -- though the whole thing might be suggested by Paul's shipwreck in Acts 27.
That phrase "bright and morning star" is interesting, by the way. The literal Greek text reads "the star the bright the morning." This isn't as clumsy in Greek as in English, perhaps, but I think it is an indication of the Aramaic habits of the writer. The King James Bible tried to preserve the feeling with its "bright and morning star" rendering; most of the newer translations simply say "bright morning star."
There is an intereting note on the dating: Laura Ingalls Wilder quotes this in _Little Town on the Prairie_, chapter 6. And it is sung by several men from a saloon (ironic, that). She quotes it again, in a more suitable context, in chapter 23. That is after the song was composed (1881, I believe), but not much after; either it spread quickly, or Laura misremembered where she heard it. - RBW
Broadsides
- LOCSheet, sm1874 06588, "Pull for the Shore," John Church & Co (Cincinnati)/ George F. Root (Chicago), 1874 (tune)
References
- Roud #17400
- BI, BdPuFoSh