> Folk Music > Songs > Braw Sailin' on the Sea
Braw Sailin' on the Sea
[
Roud 5537
; G/D 6:1217
; Ballad Index Ord203
; Mudcat 31031
; trad.]
Ossian sang Braw Sailin' on the Sea in 1982 on their album Dove Across the Water. Tony Cuffe learned it from John Ord's Bothy Songs and Ballads and set it to his own tune.
Simon Haworth & Tina Cooper sang Braw Sailing on the Sea in 1994 on their Fellside cassette The First Shift.
Mick West sang Braw Sailin' on the Sea in 1995 on his Lochshore album Fine Flowers and Foolish Glances. He noted:
This song I first heard recorded by the Glasgow band Ossian, the text can be found in Ord’s Bothy Songs and Ballads, the lovely melody was written by Tony Cuffe.
Kris Drever sang Braw Sailin' on the Sea on his 2007 CD Black Water.
Old Blind Dogs sang Braw Sailin' on their 2007 album Four on the Floor. They noted:
A classic from the Old Blind Dogs' north-east song bible, Ord's Bothy Songs and Ballads. […] First heard performed by Ossian then relearned from Orcadian Kris Drever at the sessions in Edinburgh's Central Bar.
2Duos (now Litha; with Old Blind Dogs' Aaron Jones) sang Braw Sailing in 2009 on their CD Until the Cows Come Home. This video shows Litha at the Institute of Musical Traditions, Takoma Park, Maryland, USA on 8 April 2013:
Lynne Heraud and Pat Turner sang Braw Sailing in 2010 on their WildGoose CD Tickled Pink. They noted:
We can’t find any information on this song, but it was given to us by a dear friend, Brian Westcott.
Maalstroom & Jo Freya sang Braw Sailing in 2010 on their No Masters album Meet.
Lori Watson sang Braw Sailin in 2016 on Boreas' CD Ahoy Hoy.
Hannah Rarity sang Braw Sailin' on the Sea, “[a] take on one of my favourite well-known Scots songs”, on her 2018 CD Neath the Gloaming Star.
Lyrics
It's Braw Sailin' on the Sea in Ord | Ossian sing Braw Sailin' on the Sea |
---|---|
There cam’ a letter late yestreen, |
Oh, there cam’ a letter late yestreen, |
Chorus (after each verse): | |
When he cam’ to her father’s gate, |
And when he cam’ tae her father’s hoose, |
It’s braw sailin’ on the sea, | |
It’s braw drinkin’ Glasgow beer, | |
He’s taen the ring from his pocket, |
And he’s ta'en a ring frae his pocket, |
She’s taen the ring frae her pocket, |
And she’s taen a ring frae her pocket, |
And it’s braw drinkin’ Glasgow beer, | |
Old Blind Dogs sing Braw Sailin' | Hannah Rarity sings Braw Sailin' on the Sea |
There came a letter yesterday, |
There cam a letter late yestreen, |
Chorus (after each verse): |
Chorus: |
So when he went to her farm house, |
He’s cam untae her faither’s hoose (Chorus) |
So she's ta'en the ring from her pocket, |
But he’s taen a ring frae his pocket, |
So he's ta'en the ring from his pocket, |
But she’s taen a ring frae her pocket, |
And it's braw drinking Glasgow beer, |
(Chorus) |