"The Sweet Trinity" ( Roud 122,

Child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

286), also known as "The Golden Vanity", "The Golden Willow Tree" or "The Turkish Revelry" 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 ...

sea shanty A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ...

. The first surviving version, dated to 1635, was "Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

Sailing In The Lowlands (Shewing how the famous Ship called the Sweet Trinity was taken by a false Gally & how it was again restored by the craft of a little Sea-boy, who sunk the Gally)".

Synopsis

A captain of a ship (the ''Sweet Trinity'' or ''Golden Vanity'' or ''Golden Willow Tree'' of the title) laments the danger it is in; Sir Walter Raleigh complains that it was captured by a galley, but the more common complaint is that it is in danger from another ship, which may be French, Turkish,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, or (especially in American variants)

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. A cabin boy offers to solve the problem. The captain promises him rich rewards, which vary between versions, but often contain land, and the promise that the boy may marry the captain's daughter. The boy swims to the enemy ship, bores holes in its hull with an auger, and sinks it. He swims back to his ship. Usually, the captain declares that he will not rescue the boy out of the water, let alone reward him. In some variants, the boy extorts the rescue and reward by sinking (or threatening to sink) his ship as well, but usually the boy drowns (sometimes after saying he would sink the ship if it weren't for the crew). In other versions, the crew rescues him, but he dies on the deck. In the variant with Raleigh, Raleigh is willing to keep some of his promises, but not to marry him to his daughter, and the cabin boy scorns him. In the New England version recorded by

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

(see below), he sinks both ships but is rescued by another one, thus explaining how the story could have been passed on.

Printings

Round 122, between 1849 and 1862, printed and sold by H. Such, Newsvender, &c. 123, Union Street, Borough, London.

Recordings

* The Carter Family recorded it in 1935 under the title "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea". *

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

recorded Justus Begley performing "The Golden Willow Tree" in 1937. * The Almanac Singers (

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

on lead vocal) recorded it on ''Deep Sea Chanteys and Whaling Ballads'' (1941). * A.L. Lloyd on ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume III'' (1956). * Paul Clayton recorded a version entitled "The Turkish Revelee", on ''Whaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick'' (1956). *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

released a recording as "The Golden Vanity" on his 1956 ''Down to the Sea in Ships''. * Richard Dyer-Bennet recorded a version entitled "The Golden Vanity" for his "Richard Dyer-Bennet 5" LP which was released in 1958. * The Brothers Four recorded the song in 1960 as "The Gallant Argosy". * Scottish Skifle artist

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

recorded the song as 'The Golden Vanity' for the B-side of his UK number 1 single

My Old Man's a Dustman "My Old Man's a Dustman" is a song first recorded by the British skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan. It reached number one in the British, Irish, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand singles charts in 1960. The chorus of the song is: Composition Th ...

in 1960. *

Barbara Dane Barbara Jean Spillman (May 12, 1927 – October 20, 2024), known professionally as Barbara Dane, was an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silbe ...

recorded a version as "Turkey Reveille" in 1962. * The New Lost City Ramblers recorded it (as "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea", after the Carter Family version) on ''Gone to the Country'' (1963, Folkways FA2491). *

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

recorded it as "The Golden Vanity" and it appeared on her second recording for RCA, '' Odetta Sings Folk Songs'' (1963, RCA LSP2643) * The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded it (as "The Golden Vanity") on ''At the Bitter End'' (1964). * Martin Simpson on the album '' Golden Vanity'' (1976). * Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir, and Ed Trickett recorded it in 1978 on their second album, ''The Ways of Man''. * Rory Block on the album Rhinestones & Steel Strings (1984). * The baritone Bruce Hubbard, recorded it as "The Golden Willow Tree" in 1989 for his album ''For You, For Me'', with Dennis Russell Davies and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. It is on Angel/EMI Records. *

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

recorded it (as "The Golden Vanity") for a tape called ''A Folksong Festival'' in 1986. *

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

recorded the tune as "The Golden Vanity" for their 1990 album ''Flowers and Stones''. * In 1992

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

performed it at a concert. This later appeared as a bootleg album called ''Golden Vanity'' (recordings made 1988–1992). *

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...

recorded it in 1995 for the album ''Time'', but it appeared instead on an anthology ''The Best of British Folk Rock''. * The Friends of Fiddler's Green on ''This Side of the Ocean'' (1997). *Mike Seeger recorded a banjo version called "The Golden Willow Tree" on his 2003 album ''True Vine''. *

recorded a New England version, entitled "The Weeping Willow Tree", on his 2003 album ''Sea Fever''. * Bruce Molsky recorded a version in the clawhammer style on his album ''Soon Be Time'' (2006). *

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

recorded a version under the name "Turkish Revelry" on '' Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys'' (2006). * The Askew Sisters recorded a version called "The Old Virginia Lowlands" for their 2008 album ''All in a Garden Green''. * Brian Peters recorded it as "The Golden Vanity" on his album ''Songs of Trial & Triumph'' (2008). * Crooked Still recorded the song as "The Golden Vanity" on their ''Live'' album (2009) and on ''Some Strange Country'' (2011). * Andy the Doorbum recorded the song as "The Reveille" on the album "The Man Killed The Bird, And With The Bird He Killed The Song, And With The Song, Himself" (2011). * Accordionist Doug Lacy recorded a version for the 2014 soundtrack to the television series ''Black Sails''. * Gabriella Lewis and Shay Tochner recorded the song "The Golden Vanity" on the traditional album "Wild Rovin' No More" released in 2015 * Alasdair Roberts recorded a version called "The Golden Vanity" on his album ''Too Long in This Condition'' * Lankum recorded a version called "The Turkish Reveille" on the album "Between the Earth and Sky" (2017)
Michigan-IO
recorded a version called “Lowlands” in the album
Michigan-IO
' (2019). * Jake Xerxes Fussell recorded a version called "The Golden Willow Tree" on the album "Good and Green Again" (2022) * Fisherman's Friends recorded a version called "The Golden Vanity" on the album "All Aboard"(2024)

Variants

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

used it as one of the songs in his ''

Old American Songs ''Old American Songs'' are two sets of songs arranged by Aaron Copland in 1950 and 1952 respectively, after research in the Sheet Music Collection of the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, in the John Hay Library at Brown Universit ...

'' sets. * Dutch singer Boudewijn de Groot included a Dutch retelling of the song, called "Noordzee" ("North Sea"), on his self-titled 1965 debut album. The translation was written by his close companion Lennaert Nijgh. Dutch singer Geke van der Sloot reworked the lyrics in 2019 and turned "Noordzee" into a protest song against plans to build large wind farms in the North Sea. * In 1966,

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

set an arrangement of the song for boys' voices and piano, as '' The Golden Vanity'' (his Op. 78) * June Carter Cash includes a corrupted version entitled "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea" in her 2003 album '' Wildwood Flower''.

References

External links