The Man From Tralee
Martyn Travis
Come gather 'round shipmates and list' to my song.
I hope you'll bear with me, I'll not keep you long.
I'll tell of a man that I used to know
And his only desire was to sail the seas o'er.
But the sea shows no mercy, oh, cruel is the sea
And it's well I remember the man from Tralee.
This man that I knew, he had sailed on them all,
From the big deep-
In all of his years he had sailed all around
From the east to the west, and the north to the south.
From St. George's Channel up to the North Sea,
And it's well I remember the man from Tralee.
(Chorus)
Boston Sea Ranger was the ship's name
And she carried a fine crew of eight men so brave.
She carried them over the sea and the waves
And she carried five men to a watery grave.
One night in December, the Sea Ranger she sailed
But taking a big haul she met with her fate.
Her fish holds were loaded, she could take no more
And the decks they were laden as never before.
And then without warning she took a great sea,
And it's well I remember the man from Tralee.
(Chorus)
So God watch the sons who were lost to the waves.
And all of those seamen who tomorrow must sail,
For the sea shows no mercy, oh, cruel is the sea,
And it's well I remember the man from Tralee.
(Chorus)
Yes she carried five men to a watery grave.
Oh she carried five men to a watery grave.
The Boston Sea Ranger and her sister ship, the Boston Sea Knight, sailed out of Penzance Harbour, Cornwall, England. (This is the setting of “The Pirates of Penzance”.) On the fateful night of the song, the Sea Ranger lay beyond the outer walls of Penzance awaiting the opening of the lock gates so that she could unload her “big haul” while the Sea Knight waited within the walls to put to sea. Unfortunately, due to the large swells, the gates remained closed. The Sea Ranger was forced to put to sea to weather the storm and, as fait would have, was overcome by a “great sea” or swell.
In 2009, Martin Travis wrote the following on the mudcat.org website:
“Hi lads, Still alive and kicking and still writing songs. Wrote the man from Tralee when I was 18 years old (1980 thereabouts!!). The song is about Tommy Switzer who came from Tralee and fished with my father and I, in a boat called the Reaper. That was my first summer full time fishing when I was 13. Incidentally I'm still fishing! it was quite a big deal when we heard the news of the Boston Sea Ranger and a lot of people in Dunmore would have known him as well. 'Man from Tralee' is one of the first songs that I wrote and is still requested at my gigs and a good few people at this stage have sung it and made it their own.
Martyn”
Alex introduced me to “The Man from Tralee” on the cd “Comings and Goings” by Brid Dower out of Phoenix, AZ. This cd quickly became one of my favorites that I play regularly. I sent a couple of tracks to Margaret Lyle and hope that she might add them to her repertoire come Grandfather Mountain.
Lord Franklin