The Lowestoft Boat
Encyclopedia
"The Lowestoft Boat" is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling
(1865-1936), and set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar
in 1917, as the first of a set of four war-related songs on nautical subjects for which he chose the title "The Fringes of the Fleet
".
The song is sub-titled "A Chanty
" and, like the others in the cycle, is intended for four baritone voices: a solo and chorus. It was originally written with orchestral accompaniment, but it was later published to be sung with piano accompaniment.
Kipling prefaced the poem with the words "East Coast Patrols of the War, 1914-18". Lowestoft
is on the east coast of England, and at the time was a fishing port and base for wartime patrols.
The words "The Lord knows where!" and the last (repeated) "a-rovin', a-rovin', a-roarin' " are sung by the Chorus. There is a direction that the final words "The Lord knows where!" may be spoken by the soloist.
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
(1865-1936), and set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
in 1917, as the first of a set of four war-related songs on nautical subjects for which he chose the title "The Fringes of the Fleet
The Fringes of the Fleet
The Fringes of the Fleet is a booklet written in 1916 by Rudyard Kipling . The booklet contains essays and poems that Kipling wrote about nautical subjects in World War I....
".
The song is sub-titled "A Chanty
Sea shanty
A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...
" and, like the others in the cycle, is intended for four baritone voices: a solo and chorus. It was originally written with orchestral accompaniment, but it was later published to be sung with piano accompaniment.
Kipling prefaced the poem with the words "East Coast Patrols of the War, 1914-18". Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
is on the east coast of England, and at the time was a fishing port and base for wartime patrols.
The words "The Lord knows where!" and the last (repeated) "a-rovin', a-rovin', a-roarin' " are sung by the Chorus. There is a direction that the final words "The Lord knows where!" may be spoken by the soloist.
Audio
- Hear "The Lowestoft Boat" Roderick Williams/Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra/Tom Higgins (Somm) SOMMCD243
External links
- Sea Warfare - The Fringes of the Fleet Notes by Alastair Wilson