The Bold Fisherman (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

O24) is an English

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

popular with traditional singers and widely collected in the early and mid 20th century CE. It has been frequently performed and recorded by contemporary folk singers and groups.

Synopsis

A young woman on a river bank sees a bold fisherman rowing on the tide. She asks him how he comes to be fishing there, and he replies that he is fishing for her "sweet sake". He moors his boat and takes her by the hand. He takes off his "morning gown" (in broadside versions, her gown) and "gently lays it down" (in the broadsides, he lays her down). She sees he is wearing three gold chains, and begs him to forgive her for calling him a fisherman when "I fear you are some lord". He says she hasn't offended him, and tells her he will take her to his father's house and marry her. She will have "a bold fisherman to row you on the tide".

Early versions

Broadsides and early printed versions

This song was frequently printed by broadside publishers. Examples survive from six London printers and one from Birmingham, dating from between 1813 and 1885.

Versions collected from traditional singers

The Roud Folk Song Index lists 54 versions collected from singers in Southern England and East Anglia, with two from Scotland, five or so from Canada (Nova Scotia and Newfoundland), and two or three from the USA (Maine).

Recordings

Field recordings

A version from the Norfolk singer

Harry Cox Harry Fred Cox (27 March 1885 – 6 May 1971), was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style. His music inspire ...

, probably recorded in 1950, is in the ACE online archive, and a further recording of Cox made in 1934 by E.J. Moeran is on ''Come Let Us Buy the Licence: Songs of Courtship & Marriage (The Voice of the People Series Vol. 1)''. Versions by Sussex singer George Belton, recorded in the early 1970s by Keith Summers and by Devon singer Charlie Hill, recorded in November 1985 by Bob Patten, are in the

British Library Sound Archive The British Library Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound; also known as the National Sound Archive (NSA), in London, England is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word ...

. A version by another Norfolk singer,

Sam Larner Samuel James Larner (18 October 1878 – 11 September 1965) was an English fisherman and traditional singer from Winterton-on-Sea, a fishing village in Norfolk, England. His life was the basis for Ewan MacColl's song '' The Shoals of Herring'' ...

, recorded by

Ewan McColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as ...

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

, and Charles Parker between 1958 and 1960 is on ''Cruising Round Yarmouth - Sam Larner (1878-1965)''.Musical Traditions Records MTCD369/70 (2 CD, UK, December 2014) The song has also been recorded by members of the Sussex Copper Family.

Recordings by revival singers and groups

A L Lloyd, The Young Tradition,

Tim Hart Tim Hart (9 January 1948 – 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Early years Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, England, but moved to St A ...

and

Maddy Prior Madeleine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk rock singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the p ...

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the British Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

, Andy Turner, Bow Lewis,

Tim van Eyken Tim van Eyken (born 7 March 1978) is an English actor, singer, melodeon player and guitarist. Career Van Eyken first started playing penny whistle after seeing James Galway on television. He graduated to playing for his mother, then a member ...

, Rachael McShane,

Jon Boden Jon Boden (born 17 March 1977) is a singer, composer and musician, best known as lead singer and main arranger of Bellowhead. His first instrument is the fiddle and he is a proponent of "English traditional fiddle style" and also of "fiddle si ...

Emily Portman Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

, Sound Tradition, Derek Gifford, and Alex Cumming and Nicola Beazley have recorded versions of this song.

Published versions

A version of "The Bold Fisherman" is included in ''The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs''.Roud, S, and Bishop, J; The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs; London, 2012

Discussion

Various commentators have suggested that the song is an allegory with religious connotations.

Steve Roud Steve Roud (; born 1949) is the creator of the Roud Folk Song Index and an expert on folklore and superstition. He was formerly Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society. Life and ...

comments that "both the traditional and broadside versions make it pretty clear that this is a straight seduction narrative, of a maid by a higher-class man, but with a happy ending to prove his intentions were honourable and to make it romantic rather than sordid.'

References

External links

Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Roud Folk Song Indexes
Songs with unknown songwriters Year of song unknown {{DEFAULTSORT:Bold Fisherman