Bygone Ballads of Maine, Vol. 1

Bygone Ballads of Maine, Vol I: Songs of the Sea, Ships and Sailors

These songs are part of a rich heritage of singing and storytelling that came with immigrants to Maine from Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. Some retain the original lyrics and melodies. Others have been changed as memory and environment have dictated. These songs give us a window into history, romance, anxiety, and humor shared by our ancestors at work and leisure.
We found these songs in various manuscript and audio archives of songs collected from traditional singers in Maine from 1920 through 1943.

Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee have compiled this new anthology of over 160 songs by careful transcription of field recordings, journal entries, and archives of Maine singers and collectors. The Castlebay duo provides full lyrics, melodies, background, and sources where possible. Many of the songs have not been previously published. A welcome addition to the living tradition of maritime scholarship!

The 316-page book is available as a hardcover or softcover through Castle Bay CDs and Loomis House Press. Twelve of the songs were recorded by Lane and Gosbee for their album, Bound Away, and a dozen more have been recorded for an album tentatively titled The Maid on the Shore.