"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow ba ...

. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

. In the mid-1990s, a

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

production, also titled ''Ferry Cross the Mersey'', related Gerry Marsden's

Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

days; it premiered in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.

Song title and lyrics

"Mersey" refers to the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

in northwest England, which flows into the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

at Liverpool. The Mersey Ferry runs between Liverpool and

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

and Seacombe on the Wirral Peninsula. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the song as "a touching, soft cha cha best sentimental opus that Gerry vocals with much sincerity."

Chart performance

"Ferry Cross the Mersey" became a Top 10 hit in the UK and also in the U.S., where it was a bigger hit. It did best in Chicago, where it reached #1 on WLS-AM.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Charity record for The Hillsborough Disaster Fund

In May 1989, a charity version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in aid of those affected by the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

, which had claimed the lives of 95 Liverpool fans the previous month (a 96th, Tony Bland, died in 1993 as a consequence of that disaster and a 97th, Andrew Devine, in 2021). The song was recorded by Liverpool artists The Christians, Holly Johnson,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman. The single held the #1 spot in the UK chart for three weeks and the Irish chart for two weeks.

Chart performance

Other cover versions

* Frankie Goes to Hollywood recorded a cover of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" for the B-side of the

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

" Relax", released in October 1983. It was subsequently included on their later compilations '' Bang!... The Greatest Hits of Frankie Goes to Hollywood'' (1993) and ''

Maximum Joy Maximum Joy are an English post-punk band from Bristol, England,Strong, Martin C.: ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', 1999, Canongate, formed in 1981 and reunited in 2015. ''Pitchfork'' compared their sound to "one of the Slits ba ...

'' (2000). * Canadian popular musician

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for leading The Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has ...

(of The Guess Who) recorded a solo version on his 1997 live album ''Up Close and Alone''. * In 2003,

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

included an instrumental cover of the song on his acoustic album ''

One Quiet Night ''One Quiet Night'' is a solo acoustic guitar album by Pat Metheny that won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2004. He recorded the album at his home studio on a baritone guitar built for him by Linda Manzer. In the liner notes, Methe ...

''. * The German-British punk rock band

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...

released a cover version in 2020 on their album "Learning English Lesson 3 - Mersey Beat!". The album peaked at position 2 in the German album chart.

References

{{authority control 1964 singles 1989 singles Gerry and the Pacemakers songs Paul McCartney songs The Christians (band) songs Holly Johnson songs Charity singles All-star recordings Song recordings produced by George Martin Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman UK Singles Chart number-one singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs about Liverpool Songs about rivers Songs about boats Capitol Records singles Laurie Records singles 1964 songs Songs written by Gerry Marsden Columbia Graphophone Company singles Pete Waterman Entertainment singles