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(Album 'North of the Humber' Track 3 of 10)
On the stormy night of 7th of September, 1838, Grace Darling, the daughter of the keeper of Longstones Light in the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria, saw from an upstairs window that a ship, the Forfarshire, had foundered on Big Harcar Rock, and broken in half. On the low top of the rock several survivors yet clung and, thinking the sea too high for the Seahouses lifeboat to answer, she undertook with her father to row their small boat along the lee-side of the islands and attempt a rescue, despite the atrocious conditions, a distance of nearly a mile. When they came to Big Harcar, there were five persons still living and they took them all off, Grace keeping the boat steady while her father brought them down, and from thence they rowed back to Longships.
This remarkable feat was widely celebrated at the time, and remains very well known along the coast of Northumbria and indeed, across the UK and the world. Grace herself proved a reluctant celebrity at the time however, and died five years later from tuberculosis at the age of 27, still a single woman.
On the stormy night of 7th of September, 1838, Grace Darling, the daughter of the keeper of Longstones Light in the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria, saw from an upstairs window that a ship, the Forfarshire, had foundered on Big Harcar Rock, and broken in half. On the low top of the rock several survivors yet clung and, thinking the sea too high for the Seahouses lifeboat to answer, she undertook with her father to row their small boat along the lee-side of the islands and attempt a rescue, despite the atrocious conditions, a distance of nearly a mile. When they came to Big Harcar, there were five persons still living and they took them all off, Grace keeping the boat steady while her father brought them down, and from thence they rowed back to Longships.
This remarkable feat was widely celebrated at the time, and remains very well known along the coast of Northumbria and indeed, across the UK and the world. Grace herself proved a reluctant celebrity at the time however, and died five years later from tuberculosis at the age of 27, still a single woman.
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Lyrics
Grace Darling
I’ve followed the sea,
For all of my life,
And I know, how afraid,
I have been,
When the wind blows,
And the tide goes,
Like they’re out to destroy,
A doomed ship and crew,
Like a tempest can do,
Like the storm that you knew, and
You'll have to forgive me,
If i praise you this way,
You were the Good Shepherdess,
With your father that day,
I've been out to the place,
Though now there's no trace,
Of the steamer, that foundered that day,
Where the wind blows,
And the tide goes,
Just like they never conspired,
To drive it aground,
For tragedy bound
To pummel and drown,
And so you'll have to forgive me...
I've touched the small boat,
That bore you so well,
From Longships Light,
Into that gale,
In the foul night,
By the moon’s light,
Out to Big Harcar Rock,
For the people you saw,
That could hold out no more,
Who you risked your life for,
Oh, you'll have to forgive me,
If i praise you this way,
You were the Good Shepherdess,
With your father that day,
And though there’s no trace now,
On Old Harcar Rock,
Of the Forfarshire’s broken beam ends,
We’ll still raise a glass,
Our Northumbrian lass,
To a great-hearted daughter,
And friend!
I’ve followed the sea,
For all of my life,
And I know, how afraid,
I have been,
When the wind blows,
And the tide goes,
Like they’re out to destroy,
A doomed ship and crew,
Like a tempest can do,
Like the storm that you knew, and
You'll have to forgive me,
If i praise you this way,
You were the Good Shepherdess,
With your father that day,
I've been out to the place,
Though now there's no trace,
Of the steamer, that foundered that day,
Where the wind blows,
And the tide goes,
Just like they never conspired,
To drive it aground,
For tragedy bound
To pummel and drown,
And so you'll have to forgive me...
I've touched the small boat,
That bore you so well,
From Longships Light,
Into that gale,
In the foul night,
By the moon’s light,
Out to Big Harcar Rock,
For the people you saw,
That could hold out no more,
Who you risked your life for,
Oh, you'll have to forgive me,
If i praise you this way,
You were the Good Shepherdess,
With your father that day,
And though there’s no trace now,
On Old Harcar Rock,
Of the Forfarshire’s broken beam ends,
We’ll still raise a glass,
Our Northumbrian lass,
To a great-hearted daughter,
And friend!
Catalina22
That story is absolutely chilling! Thank you for sharing. Your song is so beautifully reminiscent of everything about the sea--loneliness, beauty, longing . . . I can just see everything about the story as you play and sing. The subtle, almost imperceptible strings are just perfect in the background. What a treat. :)