JACK WAS EVERY INCH A SAILOR

Time signature:  4/4
Tempo: ~115  bpm.
​​
Composer of NL version:  Unknown
Accordion Notation
Beats per bar = 4
Beat symbol = Dot ( . ) or equivalent
​Inside row (low):  Buttons 1*-  6* plus o6*

Verse 1 (of 3)

  "'5     '5     |  "3   "4  "5  "5    "3 "4   "5    "5      |    "5*   "5   "4*   "4     ;3* 
Now 'twas     twen-ty-five or    thir-ty years since    Jack  first saw  the   light, /

"4*   |   "3*  "4  "4* "4*     "3*  "4  "4*  "5   |   "6*  "5*  "5   "4*     .4   "r 
He     came  in - to this   world of woe one    dark and stor-my    night;  /

"("5  "5)   |   "3   "4   "5    "5      "3   "4   "5   "5   |   "5*  "5  "4* "4     ;3*       
  He was     born on board his    fath-er's ship as     she was  ly -ing    to, /

 "4*   |  "3*  "4   "4*  "4*     "3*  "4   "4*   "5      |   "6*   "5*   "4*   "3*    :3     |      
'Bout   twen-ty - five  or      thir - ty miles south  -  east   of   Bac - ca  - lieu.  /

Chorus:

   ;5    "o6*  "5*  "5  "4   "3   |  :2*   :5*    |         
Jack   was   ev - 'ry inch  a      sail  -or,  /

  ;5*  "1*     "6*  "5*   "4*   "3*   |   :3    "5  |         
Five and  twen - ty  years   a      whal-er; /

  ;5    "o6*  "5*  "5   "4   "3   |   :2*   .5*           
Jack  was   ev - 'ry  inch  a       sail - or, /

"5*   "5*   |   "6*  "5*  "5   "4       .4*     .2*   |   :3    .r   |       
He  was      born  up - on  the   bright blue     sea.  /

Hold last note of chorus for a count of three when singing final chorus.
Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Key:  G

Tempo: ~120 bpm

Group:  Fergus O'Byrne, Dermot O'Reilly 
             and Phyllis Morrissey

​Posted by:  kelticknots

Recorded onboard the M.V. Bonavista on her final voyage down the coast of Labrador in 1986.
Key:  D

Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Accordionist:  Poss Slaney

​Posted by:  Newfieposs
Key:  D

Tempo: ~105 bpm
 ​
​Group:  The Sharecroppers

Posted by:  NLTreasure
Key:  A
​
Tempo:  ~ 105 bpm

Singer:   Dick Nolan

Posted by: oldirishladdie
​
Key: Db

Tempo:  ~ 100 bpm.

Singer:  Burl Ives

Posted by: jon ancker
Key:  Bb

Tempo: ~110 bpm

Singer:   Anna McGoldrick

​Posted by:  The Official youTube Home for
​                    Anna McGoldrick's Music
Key: C

Tempo: ~125 bpm.

Singer: ?

Posted by: threelegsoman

​From the Isle of Mann
Key:  C
​
Tempo:  ~105 bpm

Singer:  Raymond Crooke

​Posted by:  raymondcrooke

​
Key: F

Tempo:  ~130 bpm

Group:  Celtic Connection  

Posted by: Celtic Connection -
​                                        Topic
​Key: E
​
Tempo ~125 bpm

Singer:  Omar Blondahl  

Posted by: oldirishladdie
BACKGROUND MATERIALS, INFORMATION & LINKS
​Lyrics:
Now 'twas twenty-five or thirty years since Jack first saw the light,
He came into this world of woe one dark and stormy night;
He was born on board his father's ship as she was lying to,
'Bout twenty-five or thirty miles southeast of Baccalieu.

Chorus:    Jack was every inch a sailor,
                 Five and twenty years a whaler;
                Jack was every inch a sailor,
                 He was born upon the bright blue sea.

When Jack grew up to be a man he went to the Labrador,
He fished in Indian Harbour where his father fished before;
On his returning in the fall he met a heavy gale,
And Jack was swept into the sea and swallowed by a whale.

Oh, the whale went straight for Baffin Bay, 'bout ninety knots an hour,
And every time he'd blow a spray he'd send it in a shower;
Oh, now, says Jack unto himself, I must see what he's about,
He caught the whale all by the tail and turned him inside out
The NL version dates from sometime before 1929, and may have been based on the song Every Inch a Sailor, composed by John Read in the USA in the 1880s, possibly influenced by the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera H.M.S.Pinafore.  Or, was John Read's version based, in part, on an existing NL folksong?  For comparison, listen to Frank Crumit's 1928 recording below.
​youTube video posted by: Frank Crumit-Topic

The chorus of the NL version is nearly identical to this 1928 rendition, but at a faster tempo. Here, one of the verses gives the full story of Jack swept overboard, swallowed by a whale, grabbing it by the tail and turning it inside-out.  The other verses and melody are different in this and the NL one.
Background Links:
Click HERE for additional info about this NL folksong.

Viking Music's "Songs of Newfoundland and Labrardor (Vol. 1)", published in 2002,  gives additional information in its background "Notes on the Song" as compiled by Neil V. Rosenberg of Memorial University's Department of Folklore.  This and other NL music books and song sheets can be purchased from Vinland Music - an excellent source.