Les Trois Marins de Groix
English translation
(Repeat first line in each verse)We've joined the Saint Francois
With my tradi, tra, la, la! With my tradi, tra, la, la!We joined the Saint Francois, Getting forty-five francs a month. Getting forty-five francs a month, And wine with every meal. The captain blows his whistle, "Stand by to clew up the t'gallants'l" "Stand by to clew up the t'gallants'l," The footrope has parted. The footrope has parted, A sailor falls into the sea. A sailor falls into the sea, And the shallop is lowered. The shallop is lowered, But they only find his hat. They only find his hat, His pipe-guard, and his knife.
Groix is a small island off the coast of Brittany, France, with a long fishing and seafaring tradition.
Stan Hugill credits Jean L. Postollec for this song. This seems to be for the book Chansons de bord, a notebook of songs (1940) by Jean Louis Postollec & Jean La Pipe, quartermaster of La Scabreuse.
The song describes the footrope on a yard (spar across a mast) failing such that a sailor falls into the sea. The hemp ropes of early ships would rot in the harsh, salty conditions unless they were well-tarred. In later days, the footropes were wire and could be stretched with a capstan to test for faults.
Hugill explains that it was not uncommon for ropes to fail, and a falling sailor could survive if he landed in the sea or a sail, but his chances if he landed on deck were “nil”. The shallop lowered here is the rescue boat, as the sailor in the song has disappeared into the waters.