''Salt-Water Poems and Ballads'' is a book of poetry on themes of seafaring and maritime history by

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

. It was first published in 1916 by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, with illustrations by

Charles Pears Charles Pears (9 September 1873 – 28 January 1958) was a British painter, illustrator and artist. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, ...

. Many of the poems had been published in Masefield's earlier collections, ''Salt-Water Ballads'' (1902), ''Ballads'' (1903) and ''Ballads and Poems'' (1910). They were included in ''The Collected Poems of John Masefield'' published by

Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman * Jamie Hyneman James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...

in 1923. ''Salt-Water Poems and Ballads'' includes "Sea-Fever" and "Cargoes", two of Masefield's best known poems.

"Sea-Fever"

"Sea-Fever" first appeared in ''Salt-Water Ballads'' – Masefield's first volume of poetry published in 1902 in London by Grant Richards. In ''The Collected Poems of John Masefield'' the opening line was changed to the text now more commonly anthologised: "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky". The first lines of the second and third stanzas retained the form "I must down to the seas again ...

"Cargoes"

"Cargoes" first appeared in ''Ballads'' – Masefield's second volume of poetry, published in 1903 in London by Elkin Mathews.

Musical settings

"Sea-Fever" has been set to music by many composers, including

Stephen DeCesare Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

, John Coventry on his EP "The Roots of Folk Volume 2" and Patrick Clifford on his album ''

American Wake ''American Wake'' is the third album by Kansas City Celtic rock band The Elders. Track listing # "Moore St. Girls" # "Hardline" # "American Wake" # "St. Kevin" # "Men of Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating fr ...

''; the most famous version is by John Ireland. The poem has also been set, for boys' emerging voices, by

Oliver Tarney Oliver Tarney is a British sound supervisor and sound designer who is most known for his work with Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass. Tarney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for the 2013 film '' Captain Phillips''. He wa ...

and published by Oxford University Press. and by

Kavisha Mazzella Kavisha Mazzella AM (pronounced KAV-eesh-a Mutt-Sel-la) is an Australian composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, activist and choirleader whose style has mediterranean, gypsie and Celtic influences. She won an ARIA Award for Best World Music A ...

, a Western Australia-born musician and artist.

Andy Vine Andy Vine is a Welsh-born Canadian folk musician from Vancouver. Music Andy's musical style is described as "maritime folk, old-time rock and Celtic". He released his first album "Making Waves" in 2005. One song from this album ("Woman of Labrad ...

, an English songwriter, has also set the words to a folk melody of his own invention. English composer

Frederick Keel James Frederick Keel (8 May 18719 August 1954) was an English composer of art songs, baritone singer and academic. Keel was a successful recitalist and a professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music. He combined scholarly and artistic inter ...

(1871-1954) set three of the poems for voice and piano in his 1919 collection ''Three Salt-Water Ballads'': "Port of Many Ships", "Trade Winds" and "Mother Carey".

Cultural references

"Sea-Fever" is quoted by

Willy Wonka Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and its 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor ...

in the 1971 film '' Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''. The poem is quoted in part by Captain James T. Kirk in both the '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode "

The Ultimate Computer "The Ultimate Computer" is the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by D.C. Fontana (based on a story by Laurence N. Wolfe) and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it w ...

" and the film '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' and is also quoted in the 2004 film ''

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'', often shortened to ''Sky Captain'', is a 2004 science fiction action- adventure film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, and produced by Jon Avnet, Sadie Frost, Jude Law an ...

''. Sea-Fever is also recited in during the Last Supper scene in the 12-hour Facebook Live event episode of

The Third Day (miniseries) ''The Third Day'' is a psychological thriller folk horror drama television serial created by Felix Barrett and Dennis Kelly for HBO and Sky Atlantic. The series premiered in the United States on 14 September 2020, on HBO, and in the United King ...

, Part 2: Autumn.

References

External links