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The Bold Princess Royal / The 14th of February

[ Roud 528 ; Laws K29 ; Ballad Index LK29 ; trad.]

The Bold Princess Royal is a classic sea story which vividly recounts how a mercantile sailing ship rebuffed an attack by a pirate. Frank Purslow published in his book Marrow Bones (London, 1965) a version collected by George Gardiner in 1905 from William Randall in Hursley. He commented on this song:

At daybreak on 21 June 1789, HM packet Princess Royal, nine days out from Falmouth on her way to New York (other accounts say Halifax) carrying mail, was accosted and pursued by a brig which was later identified as the French privateer Aventurier. At 7 pm the Aventurier hoisted English colours and fired a shot, which the Princess Royal returned. After a further shot, the brig continued the pursuit. It was not until 3.30 am on 22 June that the Aventurier resumed its attack, this time with a broadside and musket fire. The Princess Royal was outmanned, with a crew of thirty-two men and boys with seventeen passengers as opposed to the Aventurier's 85 men and boys; and out-gunned too, with six cannons against the brig's sixteen. Nevertheless, the English ship gave a good account of herself, holding the privateer off for two hours; at the end of which time the Aventurier moved away, sustaining further damage to her stern. The French ship was obliged to return to Bordeaux for refitting, while the Princess Royal resumed her course, eventually arriving home on 31 October.

If, as seems likely, this is the event that gave rise to our song, then it is a mystery why the broadside writer has toned down the story instead of embellishing it. Perhaps the full details were not immediately available; it is otherwise hard to see why a dramatic engagement should have become merely an account of a successful escape.

The Bold Princess Royal is also printed in William Doerflinger's Shantymen and Shantyboys (New York 1951). Both versions can be found in the Digital Tradition database. An unrelated Cotswold Morris tune from Bampton-in-the-Bush, Oxfordshire has a similar name, Princess Royal.

Harry Cox sang The Bold Princess Royal in a BBC recording supervised by E.J. Moeran in The Windmill, Sutton, Norfolk, on December 18, 1945. This was published on BBC 17232 and on the Topic anthologies We've Received Orders to Sail (The Voice of the People Series Vol. 12) and English Originals.

Sang Larner sang The Bold Princess Royal in a recording made by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger between early 1958 and the spring of 1960, which was published in 1961 on the Folkways LP Now Is the Time for Fishing. This LP was reissued as a Topic CD in 2000. Another recording from Larner's 1974 Topic LP A Garland for Sam was also included on the anthologies Hidden English and Three Score and Ten. The Folkways liner notes comment:

Colcord [Joanna C. Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen, New York, 1938] dates this song as belonging to the period of the American War of Independence or shortly before. The seaports mentioned in the numerous versions vary considerably, ranging from Callao and Peru to Rio and Cairo. It has been recorded in Nova Scotia and the United States but appears to be most common in the East Anglian district of England. Mr Larner's tune seems to be a fairly standard one and belongs to the Villikins and His Dinah family.

Louis Killen sang The Bold Princess Royal in 1964 on the Topic LP Farewell Nancy, which was reissued in 1993 as part of the CD Blow the Man Down. He re-recorded the song in 1997 for his CD A Seaman's Garland: Sailors, Ships & Chanteys Vol. 2, where he commented:

Finally, songs of heroes and battles were great favourites. The Bold Princess Royal's triumphant flight from pirates is beloved by England's east coast sailors. This version comes from herring fisherman, Sam Larner.

Jumbo Brightwell sang The Bold Princess Royal on his 1975 LP Songs from the Eel's Foot.

Peter Bellamy sang this song unaccompanied as The 14th of February on his first solo LP, Mainly Norfolk (1968). He commented in the album's liner notes:

The late Sam Larner was not, perhaps, such a grand or subtle singer as Harry Cox, but what he lacked in finesse he compensated for with enormous vitality and humour. From him comes this grand version of the pirate ballad Henry Martin, called by Sam The Lofty Tall Ship. The 14th of February, a similar song to The Lofty Tall Ship (only with a happy ending and sounder seamanship), is one of the songs most commonly found all around the East Coast. This version I learned from the singing of Bob Bayfield, a retired fisherman of Wells-Next-The-Sea, and to which I added two verses from the Larner version.

Walter Pardon sang The Bold Princess Royal at home in a recording by Mike Yates on August 2, 1978. This was included on Pardon's LP A Country Life (1982) and CD A World Without Horses (2000).

Benji Kirkpatrick sang The Bold Princess Royal on his 2004 CD Half a Fruit Pie.

Lyrics

Harry Cox sings The Bold Princess Royal

On the fourteenth of February we sailed from the land
In the bold Princess Royal bound for Newfoundland.
With forty brave seamen for our ship's company
And so boldly from the eastward to the westward bore we.

Now, we had not been sailing scarce days two or three,
When the man from our masthead strange sails he did see.
She came bearing down on us for to see what we were
And under her mizzen black colours she wore.

“Good Lord!” cried our captain, “What shall us do now?
Here comes a bold pirate for to rob us, I know.”
“Oh no!” cried our chief mate, “Oh, it ne'er shall be so.
We will shake out our reef, boys, and from her we'll go.”

So at last this bold pirate, she hove alongside,
With a loud-speaking trumpet, “Whence come you?” she cried,
Our captain standing up, my boys, and he answered them so:
“Oh, we come from fair London; we're bound for Cairo.”

“So come heave up your course sails and lay your ship to,
I have a long letter to send home by you.”
“I will heave up my course sail and lay my ship to,
She will lay in some harbour, not alongside of you.”

So we hove our course sail, our stay sails too,
Top gallant sail royal, boys, from her we flew.
They chased us to windward for all that long day,
They chased us to windward but could make no way.

They fired shots after us but none did prevail
And the bold Princess Royal soon show them her tail.

“So thank God!” cried our captain, “Now the firing is done.
Go you down to your grog, my boys, go you down, everyone.
Go you down to your grog, my boys, and be of good cheer,
For while we have sea-room, brave boys, never fear.”

Louis Killen sings The Bold Princess Royal

On the fourteenth of February we sailed from the land
On the bold Princess Royal bound for Newfoundland.
𝄆 We had forty brave seamen in the ship's company
And as boldly from the eastward to the westward sailed we. 𝄇

We had not been sailing scarce days two or three,
When the man on our masthead strange sails he did see.
𝄆 She came bearing down on us for to see what we were
And under her mizzen black colours she wore. 𝄇

“Oh Lord!” cries our captain, “What shall us do now?
Here comes a bold pirate for to rob us, I know.”
𝄆 “Oh no!” cries the first mate, “That never shall be so.
We'll pull out our reef, boys, and away from them we'll go.” 𝄇

Well this so bold pirate, he hove alongside,
With a loud-speaking trumpet, “Whence come you?” he cried,
𝄆 Our captain being up, my boys, he answered him so:
“We come from fair London; we're bound for St. John.” 𝄇

“Well, threw up your foresails and draw your ship to,
For I have a long letter for to send home by you.”
𝄆 “Oh, I will not threw up my foresails and not draw my ship to,
That will be in some harbour, not alongside of you.” 𝄇

Well, he chased us to the eastward for all that long day,
And he chased us to the westward but he couldn't get no way.
𝄆 He fired shots after us but none could prevail
And the bold Princess Royal soon show him her tail. 𝄇

“Oh Lord!” cries our captain, “Now the pirate is gone,
Get yours down to your grog, my boys, Get yours down, everyone.
𝄆 Get yours down to your grog, my boys, and be of good cheer,
While the Princess has sea-room, brave boys, never fear.” 𝄇

Peter Bellamy sings The 14th of February

On the fourteenth of February we sailed from the land
On the bold Princess Royal bound for Newfoundland.
We had forty brave seamen in the ship's company
And boldly from Yarmouth to the westward steered we.

Now, we had not been sailing past days two or three,
When the lookout at our foremast strange sails he did see.
That came a-bearing down on us for to see what we were
And under his mizzen black colours he wore.

“Our Lord!” cried our captain, “What shall us do now?
For here comes a bold pirate to rob us, I know.”
“Oh no!” cried our first mate, “That shall not be so.
We will let out our reef, boys, and away from him go.”

But then this bold pirate, he hove alongside,
With a loud-speaking trumpet, “Whence come you?” he cried,
Our captain being aft, me boys, he answered him so:
“We come from old Yarmouth and we're bound for Peru.”

So it's, “Let out your course sails and bring your ship to,
For I have a long letter for to send there by you.”
“I know,” cried our first mate, “That will not be so.
That will be in some old harbour, not alongside of you.”

So he chased us to the windward most of that live long day,
And he chased us to the westward but he couldn't make no way.
And he fired shots all after us but none did prevail
And the bold Princess Royal soon showed him her tail.

“Our good Lord!” cried our captain, “That old pirate he is gone
Go you down to your grog, boys, go you down, everyone.
Go you down to your grog, me boys, and be of good cheer,
While the bold Princess has sea-room, brave boys, never fear.”