White Wings - Folklorist

“White Wings”

Description

"White wings, they never grow weary, They carry me cheerily over the sea, Night comes, I long for my dearie, I'll spread out my white wings and fly home to thee." The singer longs for his Maggie Darrow, and hopes the winds will carry him to her.

Supplemental text

White Wings
  Complete text(s)

          *** A ***

As printed in Douglas Gilbert on pp. 144-145 of Lost Chords.

Sail home as straight as an arrow;
My yacht shoots along on the crest of the sea.
Sail home to sweet Maggie Darrow;
In her little white cot she is waiting for me.
High up where the cliffs they are craggy --
That's where the girl of my heart waits for me.
Hi ho, I long for you Maggie,
I'll spread out my white wings
And sail home to thee.
Yo ho, how we go, Oh, how the winds blow.

Chorus: White wings they never grow weary.
        They carry me cheerily over the sea.
        Night comes -- I long for my dearie.
        I'll spread out my white wings
        And sail home to thee.

Notes

Randolph quoted Jay House to the effect that this song was written by Banks Winter in 1884. Gilbert offers the story that Winter bought it from another singer for $20. James J. Geller lists this other singer as Joseph Gullick, and dates the composition to 1882. Little supporting evidence is offered for either story.

The title is reported to derive from the novel _White Wings_ by William Black. (The final wife of the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh was also named, in translation, "White Wing," but I doubt many people in the late nineteenth century knew that.) - RBW

So *this* is what "Black socks, they never grow dirty" is a parody of! - PJS

Same tune

Black Socks (Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 34-35)

References