Tuesday, June 1, 2021

"Jack Tarr the Sailor"

In the line "And when me money was all gone, it was then that I wanted more" in "Jack Tarr the Sailor," "more" is sung with a melisma (A G F), giving a sense of amount.

I can't make out the entirety of one of the lines, but in the fourth verse, "ashore" is rhymed with itself ("Alas, I had no luck... for I'd left all me money ashore / It was then that I wished that I was dead or safe with the girls ashore").  To some degree, this gives the impression of remaining static and contrasts with the other verses, most of which end with "go to sea once more."