169:, each of whom gave distinctly different interpretations. Sterling once explained: "Although I had never been to sea in a storm, and had never even seen fishermen, I somehow understood that song of ' The Three Fishers' by instinct. On reading the poem over for the first time no one could know from the opening that the men would necessarily be drowned. Therefore it was a story. But there is a natural tendency to anticipate an unhappy ending; hence it was customary to begin the song so mournfully that everybody realised from the very start what the end was going to be. Madame Sainton-Dolby, for instance, used to sing it sorrowfully from the first note to the last. I had never seen or known of anyone who was drowned, but that mysterious instinct was so strong that I could not foreshadow the finish. When, therefore, I started, I always made the first verse quite bright. I must believe it was the true way, since both the poet and composer endorsed my rendering of it." According to a text by Harold Simpson, when Sterling finished performing the song at her
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The village museum in
Clovelly, where Kingsley was inspired to write the poem, features a life-sized model of Kingsley sitting at a desk writing the poem. When visitors enter the room, a motion sensor triggers a voice recording of the poem, read by actor and village resident
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fleet was put out to sea, an event often accompanied by a short religious ceremony for which the fishermen, their wives and their families were all present. Kingsley recalled the story at the end of a weary day and wrote the poem.
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shortly thereafter. Robert
Goldbeck also set it to music in a version published in 1878. Some more recent recordings of the song follow a musical arrangement created by the Canadian folksinger
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Franklin Square Song
Collection: Two Hundred Favorite Songs and Hymns for Schools and Homes, Nursery and Fireside, No. 4, Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, New York, 1887, p.126
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created "For Men Must Work and Women Must Weep", a watercolour painting based on
Kingsley's poem. The song (as arranged by Hullah) was a frequently sung by popular vocalists such as
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Stan brought this poem to rehearsal one day with the idea we could work it into an acappella tune. I perverted his fragment of melody to my own ends.
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debut, "there was a tumult of applause; people rose in their places and cheered, waving hats and handkerchiefs in their excitement."
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that kept the harbour waters still." A performance by Scott using Hullah's musical arrangement is available online.
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The Once have also registered their arrangement with SOCAN (according to liner notes).
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on their self-titled 2010 release, but each giving their own rendering.
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who sail out to sea, and lose their lives when overtaken by a storm.
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article from
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on the coast of north Devon. Kingsley was often present when the
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recorded a version with a musical arrangement by his brother,
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A Century Of
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play this song and were greatly influenced by his version."
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They look’d at the squall, and they look’d at the shower,
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And the night wrack came rolling up ragged and brown!
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And the children stood watching them out of the town;
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Watercolour - But Men Must Work and Women Must Weep
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