Come all you brave Annapolis boys, I'll tell you what I've seen, On a voyage to Demerara in a fancy barkentine. The thirtieth day of August in eighteen eighty three, The Eva Johnson took our lines and towed us out to sea. The mates did pick their watches and unto us did say, "If you can't do your duty, boys, she's the hottest out of the Bay!" "Oh Lord, oh Lord, what have I done," so bitterly [one?] did scream, "That I should be shanghaied on board of Corbitt's barkentine?" The rising sun next morning shone on six seamen bold, And one big dog named Rover made seven hands all told. He was chum of the second mate, for when his watch was done, Instead of going forward he would lie aft in the sun. I think they were connected, if rightly I may guess, For neither one spoke English but they both said "ja" for "yes." The wind is to the west'ard, she heads across the Stream. The angry waves are rolling over Corbitt's barkentine. Our Captain on the quarter, while thirteen days passed by, A speck to the head and windward one morning did espy. "Now, mind your helm carefully, don't let her swing about, And if the wind holds steadily we soon shall make her out." It proved to be the Myrtle, with three long days a start, And with a fair and lively breeze that drove her like a dart. But now we exchange signals, she's to leeward on our beam, She dips her colors gracefully to Corbitt's barkentine. Oh, now we're shoving lumber, and the sweat like rain does pour, Wishing for the night to come so we can get on shore. And then we're up to Tibert's Bay upon some drunken spree, Or else we're off a-dancing, upon our dignity! But if our friends could see us, you bet that we'd be shy, For we have sweethearts fore and aft, although they're on the sly, And down there comes a yaller gal dressed up just like a queen, Inquiring for the steward of Corbitt's barkentine. Now we're loaded sugar and for Boston we are bound. We'll take our sand and canvas and we'll wash and scrub her down, And after that is finished to painting we will go. We are in hopes when that is done to get one watch below. Old Neptune he has favored us with a fair and lively breeze. And like a thing endowed with life she bounds across the seas. Old Scotty caught a dolphin [that] turned yellow, blue and green. The blood lies spattered on the deck of Corbitt's barkentine. Now under a goose-wing[ed] tops'l and a double-reefed mainsail, With her head toward the nor'west she rides a furious gale. If honest Tom was only here to hear those wild winds blow, He'd wish to God that he was out of Corbitt's gondelow! Our course being west nor'west, my boys, if I remember right, With everything all sheeted home she heads for Boston Light. The sun upon the State House dome so brightly does gleam, It glitters forth a welcome to Corbitt's barkentine. Now we sight Nova Scotia's shores, with outstretched hands exclaimed Like William Tell, "Ye crags and peaks, I'm with you once again." Then up along that Granville shore majestically we sail, We pass Goat Island on our lee all through the rain and hail. And now we lie at anchor abreast this gay old town, We'll run aloft Saint George's Cross, the wreath and Tory crown. The people are all remarking — it is their only theme — "There lies the George E. Corbitt! She's a handsome barkentine!"

The George E. Corbitt of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, was a barkentine — a three-masted vessel with square sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigging on the main and mizzen. She worked a triangular trade typical of Maritime Canada: lumber and salt fish south to the Caribbean; sugar, rock salt, molasses, and rum north to American ports; then home with coal and general merchandise. The ship had a reputation for speed, demonstrated in the song when she overtakes the Myrtle despite the other vessel’s three-day head start. The Corbitt was abandoned at sea in 1890.

The song follows the 1883 voyage with remarkable geographic precision. The crew departs Annapolis, towed out by the Eva Johnson, a notable tugboat from nearby Digby. They cross “the Stream” (the Gulf Stream) bound for Demerara — now Georgetown, Guyana. After unloading lumber and loading sugar, they sail north to Boston, where the song names Boston Light and the State House dome. The homeward leg traces the Nova Scotia coast: the Granville shore, Goat Island in the Annapolis Basin, and finally anchor in the “gay old town” where they raise “Saint George’s Cross, the wreath and Tory crown” — the Red Ensign, flown by British merchant ships.

Some terminology bears explaining:

  1. “The hottest out of the Bay” — the toughest, most demanding ship sailing from the Bay of Fundy.
  2. “Shanghaied” — pressed into service against one’s will.
  3. “The Stream” — the Gulf Stream.
  4. “Gondelow” (or gundalow) — a flat-bottomed river barge, here used mockingly to suggest the Corbitt handles like one in heavy weather.
  5. “Dolphin” — the mahi-mahi (dolphinfish), not the mammal. Mahi-mahi are famous among sailors for their iridescent skin that shifts through vivid colors as the fish dies — hence “yellow, blue and green.”
  6. “Ye crags and peaks, I’m with you once again” — a quotation from James Sheridan Knowles’ play William Tell, spoken by the hero upon returning to his Swiss homeland. Here repurposed by homesick Nova Scotian sailors.

Doerflinger collected this song from Charles Boudreau, who claimed to have sailed on the voyage described. According to Boudreau, the author was Tom Reynolds, the Corbitt’s cook. The song was popular not only in forecastles but also in the lumber camps of the Maritimes.