The Bold Princess Royal

Some songs are so shrouded in history that their origins are a mystery. Such is the case with The Bold Princess Royal, which, depending on the version, set sail for the Rio Grande or Newfoundland, on the 14th of February (or perhaps April) of some unknown year. Stan Hugill estimated the song dates to as early as the 1600s, when the English Channel was infested with pirates and privateers. Joanna Carver Colcord thought it came out of the American War for Independence, when the Atlantic seas were similarly plagued. The ballad was popular along the eastern coast of England, but Alan Lomax collected it in Michigan, 1938, as part of the Irish-American folk repertoire.

The beauty of songs like this is in their flexibility. The name of a port, captain, or ship can be altered at will. Only a few things remain more-or-less consistent: the dangers of the high seas, the swiftness of the Princess Royal, and the timeless melody passed down through tradition.