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Rose Bay Ferry

from Crossing the Line by Forty Degrees South

supported by
Graeme Morrison
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Songs of the southern oceans - 22 tracks

    Comes in cardboard sleeve with printed 8 page booklet

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about

The imaginary lives of ‘city sailors’ still resonates in the TikTok shanty generation. This song reached #1 on the charts in 1974. The Nicholson Brothers operated ferries on Sydney Harbour at that time. The ferries and the fares may have changed but the morning commute remains as enjoyable today.

lyrics

Every morning at eight-twenty-five
Down to the Rose Bay wharf I drive
Park my Humber underneath a tree
Pop along the gangplank and then I’m free
Free says you, but how can that be?
For you always finish up at Circular Quay
So doubting Tom, let me explain
When I get on board I sing this sweet refrain

Where are we going today, Mr. Nicholson?
Where is it going to be?
Don’t turn left, turn right down the harbour
And out to the open sea
Throw away your compass, right hand down
And it’s out through the Heads we go
So ho! let’s be merry on the Rose Bay ferry
If we run out of petrol we’ll row Yo Ho!
If we run out of petrol we’ll row

Monday Java, Tuesday Spain
Wednesday it’s Tokyo and back again
The only trouble is, there isn’t any Gents
But what do you want for twenty cents?
Off with me raincoat and me woolly vest
See the naked ladies on my chest
Today is Friday, so hold on tight
’Cause we’re off to Trinidad and back tonight

Where are we going today, Mr. Nicholson?
Where is it going to be?
Don’t turn left, turn right down the harbour
And out to the open sea
Pull up your anchor, pull your finger out
And wave goodbye to your home
We’re off to Nantucket, so give that man a bucket
‘Cause it’s choppy when you’re out on the foam, Heave Ho!
It’s choppy when you’re out on the foam

Sometimes when I get up late
I only reach the jetty at half past eight
But that doesn’t ruin my world-wide trip
’Cause the eight thirty-seven is a battleship
Off on the dot with our guns on high
Mince up Manly as we pass by
If you run out of rockets, just pop upstairs
You can get ’em from the chappy who collects the fares

Where are we going today, Mr. Nicholson?
Where is it going to be?
Don’t turn left, turn right down the harbour
And out to the open sea
For though we look like dudes and doctors
At heart we are men of the sea
So Ho! Let’s be merry on the Rose Bay ferry
Until we get to Circular Quay, you see
We finish up at Circular Quay

So Ho! Let’s be merry on the Rose Bay ferry
Until we get to Circular Quay, you see
We finish up at Circular Quay

credits

from Crossing the Line, released July 9, 2021
Bernard Bolan 1973

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Forty Degrees South Sydney, Australia

A Sydney folk group known from 1988 for their powerful impact when singing unaccompanied traditional songs.

Strong individual singers, the interplay of their combined voices makes for a distinctive sound.

Sea shanties and other songs of maritime and industrial history and union songs feature large in their repertoire, songs with a robust quality that tell of real people, their lives and work. ... more

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