Lukey's Boat

Last updated

"Lukey's Boat" is a comical folk song originating from the east coast of Newfoundland. Given its metre, it may have derived from a sea shanty.

There are many minor variations of the song, depending on the singer; however it is essentially about the characteristics of the title boat, with the last few stanzas about Lukey returning home to find his wife dead and buried (who appears not to grieve her much, as he'll have another "in the spring of the year"). The earliest printed version was in "Ballads from Nova Scotia" (1932) by Helen Creighton, listed as "Loakie's Boat".

It was recorded as "Lukey" by Great Big Sea for their 1995 album Up , by Great Big Sea with The Chieftains for the 1998 album Fire in the Kitchen , by Fiddler's Green, a German folk band, for their 2007 album Drive Me Mad!, and The Kreellers on Sixth and Porter released in 2008.

Used as a theme song for Australian comedian Lukey Bolland.

Also recorded in 1966 by John White, from St John's, Newfoundland.

Video

Related Research Articles

Great Big Sea Canadian folk rock band

Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, Scottish, and Cornish heritage. While it has been confirmed that the band has officially been retired, former members Alan Doyle and Séan McCann have continued performing in their own solo careers typically including music from Great Big Sea in their setlists.

Alan Doyle Canadian musician

Alan Thomas Doyle is a Canadian musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea.

Newfoundland and Labrador is an Atlantic Canadian province with a folk musical heritage based on the Irish, English and Cornish traditions that were brought to its shores centuries ago. Though similar in its Celtic influence to neighboring Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador is more Irish than Scottish and has more elements imported from English and Cornish music than those provinces. Newfoundland music, while quite obviously Celtic and seafaring in its orientation, is in some cases quite easily identifiable as being specific to Newfoundland. Much of the region's music focuses on the strong seafaring tradition in the area, and includes sea shanties and other sailing songs. Some modern traditional musicians include Great Big Sea, The Ennis Sisters, Shanneyganock and Ron Hynes.

<i>Road Rage</i> (Great Big Sea album) 2000 live album by Great Big Sea

Road Rage is an album by Great Big Sea released in 2000. It is a compilation of live performances that took place between October 14 and December 31, 1999.

"I'se The B'y" is a traditional Newfoundland folk song/ballad. "I's the B'y" is in the Newfoundland English dialect, and translates to standard English as "I'm the Boy" or "I'm the Guy". The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame decided to honour the song in 2005, officially accepting it as part of the Canadian Song Hall of Fame.

"Home for a Rest" is a song by Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West, from their 1990 album Save This House. Although never officially released as a single, it is the band's signature song and is considered a classic of Canadian music.

<i>The Hard and the Easy</i> 2005 studio album by Great Big Sea

The Hard and The Easy is the seventh studio album by Great Big Sea. It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada and October 25, 2005 in the US. It reached gold status by October 25, 2005.

"The Night Paddy Murphy Died" is a popular Newfoundland folk song regarding the death of a man and the antics of his friends as they engage in a traditional Irish wake. It is often attributed to Johnny Burke (1851–1930), a popular St. John's balladeer; however, there is no record of Johnny Burke having written this song. One of the earliest known recordings of the song is by Irish-American immigrants, the Flanagan Brothers, on October 25, 1926 in New York City for the Victor label.

Bob Hallett Canadian musician

Robert (Bob) Hallett is a Canadian musician, author, producer, and entrepreneur, best known as a founding member of the Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea (1993–2013). He is also a native of St. John's, Newfoundland, Hallett co-founded Great Big Sea in 1993, with Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, and Darrell Power. The band sold over a million and half records around the world, over a twenty-year period. Through his company, Kilbride Music, Hallett has managed bands and produced records, radio specials, and live concerts. Hallet is a vocal proponent of talent development within the Newfoundland and East Coast Music Industries, and has authored a career guidebook for aspiring musicians. He works with the producers of the Broadway musical Come From Away as a Music Consultant, and has also worked at the Stratford Festival as a Composer & Music Director. As an author he has written dozens of magazine articles, essays and several books, including the best-selling memoir Writing Out The Notes. He is the owner of Erin's Pub and Tavola Restaurant in downtown St. John's. Hallett currently plays accordion and other instruments in the band Kelly Russell and the Planks; he has also been associated with The Once, The Dardanelles, Fabian James, and the Irish Descendants, in various capacities.

Old Polina is a traditional Newfoundland folk song. It is most likely based on the ship Polynia, built in 1861, of the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company fleet. Polynia was commanded by Captain William Guy from 1883 to 1891, when she was sunk by ice in Davis Strait. This song is similar to another song called The Balaena, about another whaler.

<i>Fortunes Favour</i> 2008 studio album by Great Big Sea

Fortune's Favour is the eighth studio album released by Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea. The album was released on June 24, 2008, debuting at No. 5 on the Canadian Music Charts and also includes a DVD. The album was certified gold in Canada.

Tickle Cove Pond was written by Mark Walker (songwriter), a fisherman and songwriter who lived in Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland, Canada during the late 19th century. This song is prized locally for the beauty and wit of the lyrics, which turn a mundane event into an act of heroism. Although most Newfoundland songs are passed on by ear alone, in recent years it has been recorded by Sean Sullivan & Rob Slaney, Ron Hynes, and by Great Big Sea, who have released an album entitled The Hard and the Easy. They have also released a DVD with a companion CD entitled Courage & Patience & Grit in reference to a verse from Tickle Cove Pond. In addition, this song has been recorded by a St. John's Traditional Folk group called Connemara. It was also recorded by the Vermont-based ensemble Nightingale.

Darrell Power is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, music producer, and former member of Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea (1993–2003). He is a guest host of VOCM Nightline and Open Line. He lives in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland.

Petty Harbour–Maddox Cove Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Petty Harbour–Maddox Cove is a town of approximately 960 people located on the eastern shore of the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is nestled deep in the heart of Motion Bay, just south of St. John's. The present town is approximately 200 years old, though the site has been continuously occupied since at least 1598, predating the arrival of the Mayflower and making it one of the oldest European settlements in North America. During King William's War, the village was raided by French forces in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign.

Michael Row the Boat Ashore folk song

"Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" is an African-American spiritual first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina. The best known recording was released in 1960 by the U.S. folk band The Highwaymen; that version briefly reached number-one hit status as a single.

<i>Great Big DVD and CD</i> 2004 live album & DVD by Great Big Sea

Great Big DVD and CD is a live recording by Canadian folk group, Great Big Sea, released on Zoë Records in 2004. The package contains two discs, one in CD format and one in NTSC DVD format with no region coding. Both CD and DVD contain the same tracks recorded live in Ottawa, Canada. The DVD comes with an interactive menu and special features, including various video clips, karaoke clips, "home videos", a documentary and a text file about the band. It was released on the iTunes Store on June 14, 2011 as "Great Big Sea (Live)".

The Irish Descendants are a folk group from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. All the members, born of Irish emigrants, were workers in the Newfoundland fishing industry before forming the band in 1990 out of the remnants of two former Newfoundland bands – The Descendants and Irish Coffee. The group helped to popularise traditional Newfoundland music to a wider Canadian audience in the early 1990s, along with other bands such as Great Big Sea. Their popularity within the province itself led to their selection as the official band of the province's 500th anniversary celebrations, during which they performed for the Queen. Tension within the group caused co-frontman D'Arcy Broderick to leave soon after this period, and their lineup has frequently changed since then, with frontman Con O'Brien being the only constant member. Regular touring and occasional album releases, most recently Southern Shore in 2007, have kept the group in the public eye.

Franco-Newfoundlander

Franco-Newfoundlanders, also known as Franco-Terreneuvians in English or Franco-Terreneuviens in French, are francophone and/or French Canadian residents of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The name Franco-Terreneuvian derives from Terre-Neuve, the French name of Newfoundland.

"Ordinary Day" is a song by Canadian folk band Great Big Sea. It was released in October 1997 as the second single from their third album Play. It peaked at No. 3 on the Canadian RPM adult contemporary chart and at No. 30 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles.

References

"Published in Gerald S. Doyle's Old-Time Songs And Poetry Of Newfoundland: Songs Of The People From The Days Of Our Forefathers (Second Edition, p.71, 1940; Third edition, p.40, 1955). Also published on pp.24-25 of Songs Of Newfoundland, a complementary booklet of lyrics to twenty-one songs distributed by the Bennett Brewing Co. Ltd., of St. John's, NL, with the cooperation of the Gerald S. Doyle Song Book from which these lyrics were obtained." * Lukey's Boat by Great Big Sea