From an unnamed singer
Collected by George Butterworth, Minster Workhouse, Minster, Kent, September 1910
George Butterworth Manuscript Collection GB/7a/42
Bold Fisherman
From James Beale
Collected by Cecil Sharp, Warehorne, 23rd September 1908
Cecil Sharp MSS, Sharp Folk Tunes CJS2/10/1926
Sharp noted words for the first verse only, probably to record the fact that Mr Beale sang “a-rolling down the tide”, rather than the more usual “rowing down the tide”. The lyrics for this song as collected from other singers are in fact very consistent – see for example the version sung by the Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex, https://garrygillard.net/music/coppers/fisherman.html.
The Bold Fisherman
From Mr Baker
Collected by Francis Collinson, Maidstone, 16th February 1946
Francis Collinson Manuscript Collection COL/5/25A