Harbour Le Cou

Time signature: 3/4
Tempo: Moderate - fast

Lyrics attributed to: Jack Dodd
Tune: Based on a traditional English ballad (William & Dinah)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: youTube keys need to be inserted and the Notation checked.

Accordion Notation

Beats per bar = 3
Beat symbol = Dot ( . ) or equivalent

Inside row (high) = Buttons 6* - 10* & o10*
Inside row (low) = Buttons 2* - 6 & o6*
Outside row (low) = Buttons 2* - 6 & o1

Verse 1 (of 8)

"'3 '3* | ;4 "4* .5 | .4 .3 .3* | .4 .4* .3* | :3
As___ I rowed a - shore from my schoon - er close by,

.5 | .6* .6 .5 | .6* .6 .5 | .5* .5 .(o6*/o1) | :5
A girl on the beach I chanced to es - py:

.5 | .6* .6 .5 | .6* .6 .5 | .5* .5 .4 | :3*
Her hair it was red, and her bon - net was blue,

'"5 '4* | .4 .3* .3 | ;3* "4 .4* | .4 ;3 "2* | :3
And her place of a - bode__ it was Har-bour Le Cou.

There are wide variations in rhythm and tempo among performances of this song, including:
Some accordion performances carry the final note of lines 1, 2 & 4 into an extra bar for a count of "five", where the singers take a rest for a count of "one" or "two".
Some performances repeat the last line (or part of it) instrumentally, also for the benefit of singers, to provide a brief break between verses:

Embedded youTube VIDEOS

Key: A

Singer: Dick Nolan

Posted by: oldirishladdie

Key: A

Group: Theatre Newfoundland Labrador

Posted by: k2nicol

"Neddy Norris Night" at Cow Head, part of the Gross Morne Theatre Festival.

Key: E

Group: Ryan's Fancy

Posted by: quickaccent2006

Key: C

Singer: Gordon Pinsent

Posted by: Felix the Cat

Key: D

Group: "Capn Nick and me"

Posted by: irishlad6

Key: D

Singer: Jordan Harnum

Posted by: Jordan Harnum Music

Produced by Glen Simmons (The Fables)

Key: G?

Singer: Sue Borowski

Posted by: Steel Clover - Topic

From CD Steel Clover / Take the Crown, released on 2014-08-23

Key: D

Group: Great Big Sea

Posted by: Shawn Parsons

From the Great Big Sea album "The Hard & The Easy).

Shawn has added a scenic video of Newfoundland's Harbour Le Cou.

Key: D

Group: Anchors Aweigh

Posted by: Anchors Aweigh - Topic

Key: D

Singer: John Snowman

Posted by: Various Artists - Topic

Background Materials, Information & Links

Lyrics:

As I rowed ashore from my schooner close by,
A girl on the beach I chanced to espy:
Her hair it was red, and her bonnet was blue,
And her place of abode it was Harbour Le Cou.

Oh, boldly I asked her to walk on the sand,
She smiled like an angel and held out her hand;
While I buttoned my guernsey, and hove 'way my chew,
In the dark rolling waters of Harbour Le Cou.

My ship she lay anchored far out on the tide,
As I strolled along with my maid at my side;
I told her I loved her, she said I'll be true,
And I winked at the moon over Harbour Le Cou.

As we walked on the sands at the close of the day,
I thought of my wife who was home in Torbay;
Well, I knew that she'd kill me if she only knew,
I was courting a lassie in Harbour Le Cou.

As we passed a log cabin that stood on the shore,
I met an old comrade I'd sailed with before;
He treated me kindly sayin', Dick, how are you?
It's seldom I see you in Harbour Le Cou.

And as I was parting, this maiden in tow,
He broke up my party with one single blow;
Sayin', regards to your missus, and your wee children, too,
I remember her well, she's from Harbour Le Cou.

Well, I looked at this damsel a-standing 'longside,
And her jaw it dropped, her mouth opened wide;
And then like a she-cat upon me she flew,
And I fled from the furies of Harbour Le Cou.

Come all you young sailors who walk on the shore,
Beware of old comrades you sailed with before;
Beware of the maiden with the bonnet of blue,
And the pretty young damsels of Harbour Le Cou.

Background Links:

Click HERE for the wikipedia history of this tune.

History: Attributed to Jack Dodd of Torbay; Bill Brennan of Stock Cove, who learned the song in a lumbercamp, sang the song in 1951 for Kenneth Peacock who gave it to Gerald S. Doyle. Doyle subsequently incorporated it into his 1955 songster.
(from Web- https://www.mun.ca/folklore/leach/songs/NFLD1/18-04.htm)

Click HERE for biographical info on Jack Dodd of Torbay, NL.

Click HERE for another short youTube video of Newfoundland's Harbour Le Cou . Also, see the one above, posed by Shawn Parsons, with music and vocals by Great Big Sea.

For rhythm guitar chords and sheet music for piano accompaniment, see Vinland Music's excellent "Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador, Volume 1", edited and compiled by Eric West, with Music editing by Sheilah Hewlett and Anne Devine, and notes on the songs by Neil V. Rosenberg.