Ian & Sylvia - Nova Scotia Farewell (Lyrics) [HD]

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Ian & Sylvia sing 'Nova Scotia Farewell' from their 1964 Vanguard album 'Northern Journey'. Images in the video after the first two general ones of leaves and bird are of Nova Scotia. For this song Ian is on lead guitar and Monte Dunn is on second guitar with Russ Savakus on bass. The lyrics are in the video and below with comments about the song and singers.

Note: Ian & Sylvia made seven Vanguard studio albums with 87 songs from 1962 to 1968. This song is the sixth track on their third album. The next track is 'Some Day Soon'.

[Vinyl/Lyrics/16-Images/WAV]

Nova Scotia Farewell (Singers: Ian & Sylvia)

The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on every tree
All nature seemed inclined for to rest
But still there was no rest for me

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I'm far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

I grieve to leave my native land
I grieve to leave my comrades all
And my aged parents who I've always held so dear
And the bonnie, bonnie lass that I do adore

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

The drums do beat and the wars do alarm
The captain calls, we must obey
So farewell, farewell to Nova Scotia's charms
For it's early in the morning I am far, far away

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

I have three brothers and they are at rest
Their arms are folded on their breast
But a poor simple sailor just like me
Must be tossed and driven on the dark blue sea.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

Songwriter: Traditional song (Arranged by Ian & Sylvia)
[Lyrics from genius.com]

Album Personnel: Ian Tyson - vocals, 6- and 12-string guitar, Sylvia Fricker - vocals, autoharp, John Herald - guitar, Monte Dunn - mandolin, guitar, Eric Weissberg - bass, Russ Savakus - bass.

Album liner notes by Maynard Solomon:

Nova Scotia Farewell: Probably based on an old sailor's chanty, this song used to be sung in the grammar schools of Nova Scotia. But it is much more than a Canadian "Life on the Ocean Wave" ditty. In strong simple language it tells of a lone sailor torn from his beloved native land and family by the fortunes of war:

"I have three brothers and they are at rest
Their arms are folded on their breast
But a poor simple sailor just like me
Must be tossed and driven on the dark blue sea."

Wikipedia states:

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. Ian Tyson, CM, AOE was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1933. In his teens, he decided upon a career as a rodeo rider. Recovering from injuries sustained from a fall during the mid-1950s, he started learning guitar. In the late 1950s, he relocated to Toronto, aspiring to a career as a commercial artist. He also started playing clubs and coffeehouses in Toronto. By 1959 he was performing music as a full-time occupation. Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker, CM, was born in Chatham, Ontario, in 1940. While still in her teens, she started frequenting the folk clubs of Toronto.

The two started performing together in Toronto in 1959. By 1962, they were living in New York City, where they caught the attention of manager Albert Grossman, who managed Peter, Paul and Mary and would soon become Bob Dylan's manager. Grossman secured them a contract with Vanguard Records and they released their first album late in the year.