folk songs. These songs are set in the days of sailing ships, and their plots
revolve around a woman dressing in men's clothing and going to sea to find
her missing love. Sometimes her love is a sailor, sometimes he has sailed to a
different country to find work. The endings differ, but the beginnings are
always the same. I like these, they tap into a "strong, independent woman"
vibe that I dig.
Here's the three examples of this song type that I can think of right now.
Anybody know of any more?
- I am a Maid Who Sleeps in Love by Solas
A woman dresses as a man, and signs onto a ship as a cabin boy. The
captain admits that he wishes this "cabin boy" were a maid because "his"
visage is most fair. Once on shore, the cabin boy admits that she's actually
a girl, mocking the captain's requests for her to come back and marry the
captain (she's got a boyfriend to locate, after all). - Canada-e-i (trad.) (Seven Nations and Bob Dylan have covered it)
A woman dresses as a man and joins a ship's crew to find her love who
went to sea. When at sea, the crew discovers that she's a woman, and
since this is unlucky, they decide to throw her overboard (!). The captain
puts a stop to this and marries the woman, making her quite a respectable
lady. - Willie Taylor (trad.)
A woman dresses as a man and signs onto a warship to find her fiance,
Willie Taylor, who was pressed into naval service. She is revealed to be a
woman during a battle. The captain finds out her quest, and informs her
that Willie Taylor has married a rich lady. She goes ashore, finds her man
walking with his new bride, and shoots him down like a dog. The captain
makes her the commander of one of his vessels. This one's my favorite
for some reason.
