Description:
Framed, hand-colored etching titled "THE FLOWING CANN" and "Published Augt 20, 1796 by J. Evans No. 42 Long Lane, West Smithfield." John Evans was working from 1789-1812. The top half of the print has a circular scene of young woman and man holding up a glass in his left hand while sitting next to a one-story building under a small sign with a bowl and spoon over "NED CABLE," another young couple dancing behind them, and an active port with a large sailing ship in the background. The bottom half of the print has the song "A Sailor's Life a Sea" written by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814) and first presented in 1789: "1. A sailors life's a life of woe / He works now late now early, / Now up and down, now to and fro, / What then he takes chearly; / Blest with a smiling cann of grog, / If duty call, stand, / rise, or fall, / To fate's last verge he'll jog / The cadge to weigh, / The sheets belay / He does it with a wish, / To heave the lead, / Or to cat head. / The ponderous anchor fish, / For while the grog goes round, / All sense of danger's drown'd, / We despise to a man. / We sing a little, / And laugh a little, / And work a little, / Ans swear a little, / And fiddle a little, / And foot it a little, / And swig the flowing can. 2. If howling winds, and roaring seas / Give proof of coming danger, / We view the storm, our hearts at ease, / For Jack's to fear a stranger, / Blest with the smiling grog we fly. / Where now below / We headlong go. / Now rise on mountains high, / Spite of the gale. / We hand the sail, / Or take the needful reef, / Or man the deck, / To clear some wreck, / To give the slap relief. / Though perils threat around,
All sense of danger drown'd, / We despise it to a man. / We sing a little, &c. 3. But yet think not our case is hard / Tho' storms at sea thus treat us / For coming home a sweet reward / With smiles our sweethearts greet us / Now too the friendly grog we quaff (guaff- sic) / Our amrous toast / Her we love most / And gaily sing and laugh / The sails we furl / Then for each girl The petticoat display / The deck we dear (?clear) / Then three times cheer / As we their charms survey And then the grog goes round / All sense of danger drown'd / We despise it to a man. / We sing a little, &c." This is one of the songs from Charles Dibdin's The Oddities, first presented in 1789.
Subjects:
Glass; Watercolor painting Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+57.048A |
