The Leaving Of Liverpool
ATB choral/piano score
PEL2111-Choir and Piano
Optional organ part
PEL2111-IP
A WORK FOR ATB AND PIANO WITH OPTIONAL ORGAN
A new arrangement of the traditional English sea shanty for men's voices with romantic harmonies and lilting piano part. One of three arrangements of traditional songs created by Paul Halley for Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir, spring 2024: Petty Harbour Bait Skiff, Farewell to Nova Scotia, The Leaving of Liverpool
Video
Notes
About this work, notes by Vanessa Halley, daughter of Paul Halley, for the Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir recording "Songs of the Sea" (2025):
"This is the third in the trilogy of new arrangements that Paul created for this CD project. We wanted a new sea shanty for the Men of the choir to sing, so Paul chose this ballad-style shanty and created a perfect setting to showcase the wonderful voices in our Men’s Choir. The Liverpool referred to in the song is the British port, but we like to imagine that it could just as well be our eponymous Nova Scotian town!
The David Crockett was an American ship, launched in Mystic, Connecticut in 1853, known for her fast runs between New York and San Francisco. The term “Clipper Ship” is thought to have derived from the English verb “to clip”, meaning “to run or fly swiftly.” Clipper ships were merchant ships designed for speed. In the California Gold Rush era, clipper ships were able to cut more than a month off the normally four-month journey of 13,000 miles from New York around the treacherous Cape Horn to California. From 1860 to 1874, The David Crockett was captained by John A. Burgess, a Massachusetts man with a reputation as a tough captain. His final voyage was bound from San Francisco for Liverpool, England, with a cargo of wheat. The ship’s departure from San Francisco was delayed a number of days due to a mutiny of the crew. During the voyage, in a gale off South America, Captain Burgess was lost overboard."
Texts
The Leaving of Liverpool
Words and Music: Trad.
Arranged by Paul Halley (1952 - )
1. Farewell to you my own true love,
I am going far away.
I am bound for California,
But I know that I'll return some day.
Chorus
So fare thee well, my own true love,
And when I return united we will be.
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me,
But, my darling, when I think of thee.
2. I have signed on a Yankee clipper ship,
"Davy Crockett" is her name,
And Burgess is the captain of her,
And they say she's a floating shame. Chorus
3. I have sailed with Burgess once before,
And I think I know him right well.
If a man is a sailor he will get along,
But if not then he's sure in hell. Chorus
4 I am bound for California
By way of stormy Cape Horn
And I will write to thee a letter, love,
When I am homeward bound. Chorus
Traditional Shanty
