We were homeward bound one night on the deep
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew.

With 100 seamen he sailed away
To the frozen ocean in the month of May
To seek a passage around the pole
Where we poor sailors do sometimes go.

Through cruel hardships they vainly strove
Their ships on mountains of ice was drove
Only the Eskimo with his skin canoe
Was the only one that ever came through

In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blow
The fate of Franklin no man may know
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell
Lord Franklin among his seamen do dwell

And now my burden it gives me pain
For my Lord Franklin I'd sail the main
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give
To know Lord Franklin, and where he lives.

Sir John Franklin set out in 1845 with two ships, the ‘Erebos’ and the ‘Terror’, with a complement of 135 men.  This was his second expedition to chart a Northwest Passage to the Orient. The earlier expedition, an overland route from Hudson Bay in 1819, had failed with eleven of his twenty man party perishing in the attempt. They resupplied in Aberdeen in May and were last seen by Europeans in July of that year. Half of his crew died of scurvy when the lime juice he stowed became useless. One of the great mysteries is how the expedition was unable to support itself in a land teaming with game. Also known as "Lady Franklin's Lament", it is often sung as the words of his widow, Lady Jane Griffin.  In fact, it was allegedly written by Lady Franklin.

“Lord Franklin” is rapidly becoming one of my favorite tracks. The melody is quite haunting and the lyrics are some of the most poetic in the entire collection.  For the most part, this track has more of a traditional Beaton arrangement though the fiddle certainly has a Nashville/Appalachian style.  I can easily close my eyes and see the whale fish blow. And, ultimately, that is what the artist is trying to accomplish.

FFrom the Sea to the Shore

FShoals of Herring