The Saucy Arethusa is a nautical song (Roud 12675) which, although usually considered "traditional", has been attributed to Prince Hoare,[1] a comic operalibrettist, as part of a "musical entertainment" titled The Lock and Key, performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1796.
The melody to the song has been wrongly attributed to William Shield, who was the musical arranger of The Lock and Key. It is more rightfully known as a piece by the Irish harper and composer Turlough O'Carolan called Miss MacDermott or The Princess Royal.[2]
The "Arethusa" of the title is a frigate of the Royal Navy, named HMS Arethusa, which was originally built in 1757 as a French privateer under the name Pélerine, renamed Aréthuse in early 1758 when purchased for the French Navy, from whom she was captured in 1759. According to Greek mythology, the nymphArethusa, for whom the ship was named, was transformed by Artemis into a fountain. The song chronicles an engagement in the English Channel on 17 June 1778 between the Arethusa and the French frigate, Belle Poule.
Contrary to popular belief, The Decemberists' song "Shanty for the Arethusa" has nothing to do with "The Saucy Arethusa" or the battle it describes, being apparently about a completely different trading vessel.[3]
^"New Lights upon Old Tunes. "The Arethusa"". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. 35 (620): 666–668. 1894. doi:10.2307/3363372. JSTOR 3363372.
saucy, arethusa, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, a. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Saucy Arethusa is a nautical song Roud 12675 which although usually considered traditional has been attributed to Prince Hoare 1 a comic opera librettist as part of a musical entertainment titled The Lock and Key performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden in 1796 The melody to the song has been wrongly attributed to William Shield who was the musical arranger of The Lock and Key It is more rightfully known as a piece by the Irish harper and composer Turlough O Carolan called Miss MacDermott or The Princess Royal 2 The Arethusa of the title is a frigate of the Royal Navy named HMS Arethusa which was originally built in 1757 as a French privateer under the name Pelerine renamed Arethuse in early 1758 when purchased for the French Navy from whom she was captured in 1759 According to Greek mythology the nymph Arethusa for whom the ship was named was transformed by Artemis into a fountain The song chronicles an engagement in the English Channel on 17 June 1778 between the Arethusa and the French frigate Belle Poule It opens Come all ye jolly sailors bold Whose hearts are cast in honour s mould While English glory I unfold Hurrah for the ArethusaShe is a frigate tight and brave As ever stemmed the dashing wave Her men are staunch to their favorite launch And when the foe shall meet our fire Sooner than strike we ll all expire On board of the Arethusa Twas with the spring fleet she went out The English Channel to cruise about When four French sail in show so stout Bore down on the ArethusaWhen Sir Henry Wood wrote his Fantasia on British Sea Songs in 1905 a version of this song became the third movement Contrary to popular belief The Decemberists song Shanty for the Arethusa has nothing to do with The Saucy Arethusa or the battle it describes being apparently about a completely different trading vessel 3 References Edit http memory loc gov cgi bin query r ammem ncps field DOCID lit ABK2934 0069 88 New Lights upon Old Tunes The Arethusa The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 35 620 666 668 1894 doi 10 2307 3363372 JSTOR 3363372 Shanty for the Arethusa the Decemberists External links EditFull lyric The Lock and Key Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Saucy Arethusa amp oldid 1104550679, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
