Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908- 29 September 1982), usually known… Read Full Bio ↴Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908- 29 September 1982), usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

Lloyd recorded many albums of English folk music, most notably several albums of the Child Ballads with Ewan MacColl. He also published many books on folk music and related topics, including The Singing Englishman, Come All Ye Bold Miners, and Folk Song in England. He was a founder-member of Topic Records and remained as their artistic director until his death. He died at his home in Greenwich in 1982.

While Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain, Latin America, Southeastern Europe and Australia (he recorded at least 6 discs of Australian Bush Ballads and folk music).

Rounding the Horn
A.L. Lloyd Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rounding the Horn
The gallant frigate, Amphitrite, she lay in Plymouth Sound,
Blue Peter at the foremast head for she was outward bound;
We were waiting there for orders to send us far from home;
Our orders came for Rio, and thence around Cape Horn.
Next day, we weighed our anchor, boys, and waved goodbye all
round,
And some of us we knew would never more see Plymouth Sound;

But still our hearts were light and gay, and when all was taut and
snug
We foraged out the bumboat grog and each man filled his mug.
We drank success to Plymouth girls, to Kate and Poll and Sue,
And arguing o'er their various charms struck up a fight or two.
Jim Crab he landed Bonny Nodge a clout that made him snort,
And to this day his nose has got a heavy list to port.
When we arrived at Rio we prepared for heavy gales;
We set up all our rigging, boys, and bent on all new sails.
From ship to ship they checred us as we did sail along,
And wished us pleasant weather in rounding of Cape Horn.
While beating off Magellan Strait it blew exceeding hard;
Whilst shortening sail two gallant tars fell from the topsail yard.
By angry seas the ropes we threw fiom their poor hands were torn
And we were forced to leave them to the sharks that prowl around
Cape Horn.
When we got round the Horn, my boys, we had some glorious days
And very soon our killick dropped in Valparaiso Bay.
The pretty girls came down to us; I solemnly declare
They are far before the Plynouth girls with their long and curly
hair.
They love a jolly sailor when he spends his money free;
They'll laugh and sing and merry, merry be, and have a jovial
spree.
And when our money is all gone they won't on you impose,
They are not like the Plynouth girls that'll pawn and sell your
clothes.
Farewell to Valparaiso, farewell for a while,
Likewise to aII the Spanish girls all on the coast of Chile;
And if ever l live to be paid off l'll sit and sing this song:
"God bless those pretty Spanish girls we left around Cape Horn."

From Oxfford Book of Sea Songs, Palmer
Recorded by Killen, Lloyd

Overall Meaning

The song "Rounding the Horn" by A.L. Lloyd tells the story of a frigate called Amphitrite that is leaving Plymouth Sound for Rio and is about to round Cape Horn. The singer of the song is one of the sailors on this ship and he describes the preparations made before leaving Plymouth, including saying goodbye to loved ones and making sure the ship is ready for heavy gales. Once they leave, the sailors drink and joke around, even getting into a fight over their favorite Plymouth girls. As they approach Cape Horn, the weather gets rough and two sailors die, their hands torn from the ropes by angry seas. After rounding the Horn, the ship reaches Valparaiso Bay, where the sailors encounter pretty Spanish girls who are more welcoming than the Plymouth girls. The singer of the song bids farewell to Valparaiso and its girls but promises to sing about them later.

The song's lyrics convey the dangers sailors had to face in the era of sail, from stormy seas to deadly disease and from fights among the crew to the loss of loved ones. At the same time, the song also celebrates the camaraderie and spirit of adventure that sailors shared, as they went on long voyages to discover new lands and cultures. The song captures a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era when ships were powered by the wind and sailors lived a rough and ready life on the high seas.

Line by Line Meaning

The gallant frigate, Amphitrite, she lay in Plymouth Sound,
The strong frigate Amphitrite was in docking at Plymouth Sound.

Blue Peter at the foremast head for she was outward bound;
The flag 'Blue Peter' was raised at the top of the mast to signal the departure of the ship.

We were waiting there for orders to send us far from home;
We were waiting for orders on where our voyage would take us, far from our homeland.

Our orders came for Rio, and thence around Cape Horn.
We received our orders to head to Rio, and from there, to sail around Cape Horn.

Next day, we weighed our anchor, boys, and waved goodbye all round,
We lifted our anchor the next day and bade farewell to all around the dock.

And some of us we knew would never more see Plymouth Sound;
We knew in our hearts that some of us would never return to Plymouth Sound.

But still our hearts were light and gay, and when all was taut and snug
Despite knowing the risks, we remained cheerful and content as we tightened and secured everything.

We foraged out the bumboat grog and each man filled his mug.
We searched for the boat selling alcohol and each man filled his own drinking mug.

We drank success to Plymouth girls, to Kate and Poll and Sue,
We raised a toast to the girls of Plymouth, like Kate, Poll, and Sue, hoping for their good fortune.

And arguing o'er their various charms struck up a fight or two.
We started a few quarrels, arguing over the varying characteristics of those girls.

Jim Crab he landed Bonny Nodge a clout that made him snort,
Jim Crab hit Bonny Nodge so hard, that he made a snorting noise.

And to this day his nose has got a heavy list to port.
Even today, his nose is slightly displaced and slants toward the port side of his face.

When we arrived at Rio we prepared for heavy gales;
Upon reaching Rio, we anticipated strong winds and storms.

We set up all our rigging, boys, and bent on all new sails.
We secured and tightened all the ropes and hoisted new sails onto the frigate.

From ship to ship they checred us as we did sail along,
As we sailed from port to port, other ships cheered and wished us good luck.

And wished us pleasant weather in rounding of Cape Horn.
They hoped for our safety and wished us the best of weather as we sailed through Cape Horn.

While beating off Magellan Strait it blew exceeding hard;
While navigating the Magellan Strait the wind became extremely intense.

Whilst shortening sail two gallant tars fell from the topsail yard.
As we were reducing the sails, two brave sailors fell from a high point on the mast called the topsail yard.

By angry seas the ropes we threw fiom their poor hands were torn
The forceful waves snatched the ropes from their hands, leaving them helpless in the rough seas.

And we were forced to leave them to the sharks that prowl around Cape Horn.
We were left with no choice but to abandon them, as the sharks that roam around Cape Horn would eventually harm them.

When we got round the Horn, my boys, we had some glorious days,
Upon passing Cape Horn, we experienced a few wonderful days on our voyage.

And very soon our killick dropped in Valparaiso Bay.
We arrived at Valparaiso Bay and anchored the frigate.

The pretty girls came down to us; I solemnly declare
The lovely girls of the town came to visit us, I can confidently attest.

They are far before the Plynouth girls with their long and curly hair.
In comparison to the Plymouth girls with their straight hair, these girls were much more beautiful with their curly locks.

They love a jolly sailor when he spends his money free;
These girls enjoy being with a happy and generous sailor who spends his money freely.

They'll laugh and sing and merry, merry be, and have a jovial spree.
They will sing, dance, be happy, and have a fun time together.

And when our money is all gone they won't on you impose,
Once we run out of money, they won't demand anything more from us.

They are not like the Plynouth girls that'll pawn and sell your clothes.
Unlike the Plymouth girls who would sell your belongings, these girls are much more honest.

Farewell to Valparaiso, farewell for a while,
We say our goodbyes to Valparaiso, but only temporarily.

Likewise to aII the Spanish girls all on the coast of Chile;
We also bid farewell to all the beautiful Spanish girls who live along the coast of Chile.

And if ever l live to be paid off l'll sit and sing this song:
If I am lucky enough to return home and earn some money, I will happily sing this song:

"God bless those pretty Spanish girls we left around Cape Horn."
"May God bless those lovely Spanish girls we met while rounding Cape Horn."

Contributed by Sarah W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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