I have made up my mind now...

One of the papers we heard at the Port Towns conference was about the experiences of sailor's wives in the Åland Islands and the presenter finished with this lovely piece. She referred to it as an American poem called "The Sailors Wife", but it seems that it's better known as "The Nantucket Girls Song". I suspect some of you will be very familiar with it already, but for those that aren't, here it is. It's lovely :)

~ The Nantucket Girls Song ~

I have made up my mind now to be a Sailor's wife,
To have a purse full of money and a very easy life,
For a clever sailor husband is so seldom at his home,
That his wife can spend the dollars with a will that's all her own,
Then I'll haste to wed a sailor, and send him off to sea,
For a life of independence is the pleasant life for me,
But every now and then I shall like to see his face,
For it always seems to me to beam with manly grace,
With his brow so nobly open, and his dark and kindly eye,
Oh my heart beats fondly towards him whenever he is nigh,
But when he says Goodbye my love, I'm off across the sea
First I cry for his departure, then laugh because I'm free,
Yet I'll welcome him most gladly, whenever he returnes
And share with him so cheerfully all the money that he earns
For he's a loving Husband, though he leads a roving life
And well I know how good it is to be a Sailor's Wife.

The image here is from the Nantucket Historical Association, which holds the original journal containing the poem.

Brig

Just because it's been a while since there's been a picture of Archie around here. Those eyes...