Three Score and Ten

This song is about a deadly storm on the east coast of England that took place Feb 8-9, 1889, in which several fishing vessels were lost and 70-80 men were killed. A local newspaper wrote a few weeks later,

As day after day passes and no tidings arrive of the missing Grimsby smacks, it is beginning to be realised that the gale of the 9th ult. will prove one of the most disastrous to the Grimsby fishing trade on record. Altogether nearly a dozen fishing vessels, carrying between 60 and 70 hands, are missing. Most of these vessels were only provisioned for eight or nine days, and many of them have been out over a month. Of the safety of seven of them all hope has now been abandoned....Many of the men who have been lost leave wives and families, and an immense amount of distress will be caused amongst the fishing population. The total number of vessels lost will, it is feared, be near 15, and of lives between 70 and 80.^[1]

The lyrics originated as a poem, published in broadside form with the title, "In Memoriam of the poor Fishermen who lost their lives in the Dreadful Gale from Grimsby and Hull, Feb. 8 & 9, 1889", written by William Delf (or Delft or Delph; sources disagree).^[2]

The song appears as track seven on Written in Salt.

Factoids[]

As the original poem passed into the folk song tradition, it lost several verses and gained a chorus. The erroneous October date appears to have been introduced at some point during this process, as well as the line "hundreds more were drowned", which is certainly exaggeration — a tragedy of that scope would have made national news, whereas this event, while disastrous, remained fairly localized.^[3]

The phrase "threescore and ten" was commonly used as a Biblical allusion referring to the length of a human life ("The days of our years are threescore years and ten;" Psalms 90:10, KJV). "Score" means twenty, so threescore (3x20) and ten would be seventy years. Whoever added the chorus may have chosen this phrasing specifically to evoke a theme of mortality.

Lyrics[]

These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns on their album, Written in Salt. The original lyrics can be found here.

Methinks I see a host of craft spreading their sails a-lee
As down the Humber they do glide all bound for the Northern Sea.
Methinks I see on each small craft a crew with hearts so brave
Going out to earn their daily bread upon the restless wave.

{Chorus}
And it's three score and ten boys and men were lost from Grimsby town.
From Yarmouth down to Scarborough many hundreds more were drowned.
Our herring craft, our trawlers, our fishing smacks as well,
They long to fight the bitter night and battle with the swell.

Methinks I see them yet again as they leave the shores behind
And cast their nets into the waves , those herring shoals to find.
Methinks I see them yet again and all on board's all right,
With their sails close reefed and the decks cleared up and the sidelights burning bright.

{Chorus}

Well October's night t'was such a sight, t'was never seen before:
As masts and yards and broken spars came floating to the shore.
There was many a heart of sorrow, there was many a heart so brave.
There was many a hearty fisher lad who found their watery grave.

{Chorus}

Recordings[]

Streaming/Purchase[]

YouTube Videos[]

Written in Salt version

Gig Videos[]

Bie Daip - Appingedam (25 Aug 2019)

Full Band Streams[]

Chill Streams[]

JD and Andy Chilltime - 03/02/2020

Gaming Streams[]

↑ "The Dreadful Disaster to the Grimsby Fishing Trade". Hull Daily Mail, 1 Mar. 1889. The British Newspaper Archive.
↑ http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/PaSe138.html
↑ https://www.debisimons.com/whats-real-story-behind-grimsby-town/

[1] "The Dreadful Disaster to the Grimsby Fishing Trade". Hull Daily Mail, 1 Mar. 1889. The British Newspaper Archive.

[2] ttp://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/PaSe138.html

[3] ttps://www.debisimons.com/whats-real-story-behind-grimsby-town/

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