"The Cliffs of Baccalieu" is a

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

song written by Jack Withers (1899-1964). Many fisherman from

spent their summers fishing on the Labrador coast. This song depicts a tense incident for a ship coming home from

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

on its way to either

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasi ...

or St. John's with its fishing crew. The ship is caught in a gale as it nears

Baccalieu Island Baccalieu Island or Bacalhoo Island () is a 5 km2 uninhabited island at the northern extremities of Conception Bay in Subdivision 1G, near the community of Red Head Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is separated from the island ...

. The vessel in the song is obviously a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, and it would have been burdened by a full load of salt cod caught along the Labrador coast.

Recordings

"The Cliffs of Baccalieu" has been recorded by many artists since it was written. *

Ryan's Fancy Ryan’s Fancy was an Music of Ireland, Irish folk music group active from 1971–1983. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Denis Ryan (singer), Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, all of whom were Ireland, Irish immigra ...

recorded it on the 1979 album ''A Time with Ryan's Fancy'', They also included it on their TV shows around Newfoundland; a version can be found on the 2001 compilation CD ''Songs from the Shows''. *

Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter. Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and th ...

recorded it on his 1983 album '' For The Family''. He originally gives it the title The Rocks of Baccalieu though that is corrected on later albums. Rogers attributes the tune to "Traditional" rather than Jack Withers, but the published lyrics make it clear that it is the same tune. *

Bristol's Hope Division No. 1, Subdivision I is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated community of Bristol's Hope. Bristol's Hope Bristol's Hope is the mod ...

, with lead singer

Anita Best Anita Best C.M. is a teacher, broadcaster, and well-known singer from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With Genevieve Lehr, Best collected the songs for ''Come and I Will Sing You: A Newfoundland Songbook'', spending y ...

, recorded it for their 1997 release ''Lately Come Over''. *

Kim Stockwood Kim Stockwood (born 11 November 1965) is a Canadian pop musician, singer and composer originally from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. She has recorded as a solo artist and also as a member of Atlantic Canadian music group Shaye with Damh ...

includes the song on her 2011 album ''Back to the Water''.

References

External links

Newfoundland Heritage, Traditional SongsDictionary of Newfoundland English
Newfoundland and Labrador folk songs Songs about islands Songs about Canada Year of song missing Canadian folk songs 20th-century songs Year of song unknown {{Folk-song-stub

Recordings

See also

References

External links