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Rio Grande
Sung mainly when heaving up anchor, outward bound,
was one of the most bracing of all shanties - "Rio
Grande." It has been suggested that it refers to the
famous river on the Mexican border. It seems clear,
however, that it was first sung in the Brazil trade
and was inspired by the port and province of Rio
Grande do Sul. Most version show plainly that the
Rio Grande of the shanty was not simply a river, but
a port or region; one version, for example, runs,
"There the Portugee girls may be found." Usually
known succinctly as "Rio Grande," the southern
Brazilian province and its chief port, of the same
name, carried on a busy trade with the United States
and Britain, outdoing in this respect all of the
many other Rio Grandes on the map. A line
traditional in the shanty says the river "brings
down golden sand." This refers not to the gold of
southern Brazil but to the shifting sand shoals in
the Rio Grande estuary, which rendered access to the
port so difficult that vessels of more than limited
draft could enter only when the tide was favorable.
(Much of the "golden sand" has been eliminated by
dredging operations carried on since the eighties.)
Thus the shanty really doesn't concern a river at
all - the estuary, though called a "river," is the
mouth of the passage connecting the Lagoa dos Patos
with the open sea.
"This shanty," said Captain Patrick Tayluer, "was
generally sung aboard of those little Baltimore
vessels that used to run down to São Paulo and back
to the United States with coffee - to São Paulo and
the Rio Grande and Brazils. It was a beautiful
place, and the sailors used to love it - and the
song was sung by seamen all over the world."
-William Doerflinger, Songs of
the Sailor and Lumberman
Lyrics from Songs of the
Sailor and Lumberman, by William
Doerfinger |
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Heave away, Rio! Heave
away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And we're bound to Rio Grande!
"May I come with you, my pretty maid?"
Heave away, Rio!
"Oh, may I come with you, oh, my pretty
maid?"
When you're bound to Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
When you're bound to Rio Grande!
"You can please yourself, young man," she
did say,
Heave away, Rio!
"You can please yourself, young man," she
did say,
Because I'm bound to the Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
Because you're bound to Rio Grande!
Now, when I can come to you with open arms,
Heave away, Rio!
Oh, when I can come to you with open arms,
When you're bound to Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And I'm bound for the Rio Grande!
God bless you, may I only hope for your
hand,
Heave away, Rio!
God bless you, may I only hope for your
hand,
When you're bound to the Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And I'm bound to the Rio Grande!
Now, there is one thing that I would like to
say,
Heave away, Rio!
Oh, there is one thing that I would like to
say,
And we're bound to the Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And we're bound to the Rio Grande!
I pray you tell, oh, may I have your hand?
Heave away, Rio!
I pray you tell, oh, may I have your hand?
And I'm bound to the Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And I'm bound to the Rio Grande!
Now, if you'll come back, as you went away--
Heave away, Rio!
If you'll come back, as you went away--
We'll heave to the Rio Grande!
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And I'm bound to the Rio Grande!
I'll marry you when I come back and we'll
say,
Heave away, Rio!
Oh, I'll marry you when I come back and
we'll say,
"We'll heave to the Rio Grande!"
Heave away, Rio! Heave away, Rio!
Singin' fare you well, my bonnie young gal,
And I'm bound to the Rio Grande! |
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