The Strange Story Behind ‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’
‘Twas twenty-five or thirty years since Jack first saw the light,
He came into this world of woe one dark and stormy night;
He was born on board his father’s ship as she was lying to,
‘Bout twenty-five or thirty miles southeast of Baccalieu.
25 or 30 miles southeast of Baccalieu? Not even close.
Jack may have made a life for himself in Newfoundland but he was born quite a way from here. The story of Newfoundland folk song ‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’ is a bit murky but it probably starts with a man named John Read.
London! New York! Baccalieu!
Before ‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’ became part of the Newfoundland folk canon, ‘Every Inch a Sailor’ was a music hall favourite in both England and America.
Written by singer-songwriter (and eventual chairman of the Collins’ Music Hall in London) John Read, ‘Every Inch a Sailor’ had —if the ads are to be believed— sold thousands of copies by early 1878.
The following ad appeared The Standard:
Clip from The Standard, Jan 17, 1878
That said, Read’s ‘Every Inch A Sailor’ is not the ‘Jack was Every Inch a Sailor’ Newfoundlanders know today. The melody is different and the verses don’t reference Newfoundland. At all.
But the chorus is very similar (lyrically) and both songs tell the story of a man being swallowed by a whale.
Check out this version, credited to Read, that appeared in Naval Songs published in New York in 1883:
By 1928, a rendition similar to the one published Naval Songs, had been recorded by American singer and vaudeville star Frank Crumit for a gramophone release. Despite the differences, it’s definitely recognizable (compare the lyrics side-by-side).
These days you can find it on YouTube:
On top of that, somewhere between being written by Read and becoming a ‘Newfoundland classic’ it seems like the song may have been used in a New York burlesque parody of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore.
It had quite a life off the island, but once it made it to Newfoundland it seemed like it quickly took on local elements.
Elizabeth Greenleaf collected a version in Fleur de Lys in 1929 that includes the familiar Newfoundland and Labrador geography in its lyrics. The singer, Pat Lewis, described it as one of his father’s songs.
But even before that, there’s evidence of an adaptation.
Jack First Finds Newfoundland?
Clip from Harbor Grace Standard April 14, 1893.
The April 14, 1893 issue of the Harbor Grace Standard carried a review of a variety concert held at the Academy Hall. According to the report, Mr. T. Hanrahan performed a version of “Jack is Every Inch a Sailor” with local lyrics. Are the ‘local words’ adapted by Hanrahan and performed in 1893 the Newfoundland lyrics we know today?
Is that when Jack discovered Baccalieu?
I have no idea — and Hanrahan’s 1893 performance is not likely to end up on YouTube any time soon.
It’s a mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, I have no idea exactly when Jack got relegated to the past. Early versions (like the one performed in Harbour Grace) always say Jack IS a sailor, these days we sing Jack WAS a sailor.
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If the account given in Graham Wallace’s The Flight of Alcock and Brown (1955) can be trusted, the song was in rotation in St. John’s by 1919 — when the aviators were in Newfoundland preparing for what would become their historic transatlantic flight.
According to Wallace’s book, the Cochrane Hotel, where the men were staying hosted singers in the smoke room to entertain guests. One evening everyone, except Alcock, was quite happy when a singer began the “old fisherman's song,” 'Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor'.
As Wallace tells it, all the men except Alcock quickly learned the lyrics. They took the opportunity to torment him but Alcock got the last laugh. He had locals teach him the words to ‘She’s Like The Swallow’ so he could show them up with his local folksong prowess.
Cemented by Doyle
By 1940, ‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’ appeared in Gerald S. Doyle’s Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland, 2nd ed. No songwriters are credited. It features the familiar, locally-themed lyrics we know today and, really, it’s probably because Doyle included it, we still know the lyrics today.
The Doyle songbooks, which were distributed without cost, preserved and popularized much Newfoundland music. It’s hard to overstate his importance — his work played a big role in shaping what we know of Newfoundland music.
The Broadcast
On September 11th, 2024 I had a chat on CBC’s The Broadcast about ‘Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor’.
Check it out below.
Jack’s Legacy
‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’ remains a popular Newfoundland folksong. It has been recorded by musicians from across the country and globe — generally using the Newfoundland lyrics.
Perhaps because of it’s comic nature, the song seems especially popular with children’s entertainers — both Fred Penner (1991) and Sharon, Lois and Bram (1990) have recorded it. While their versions are great, I’m going to leave you with a solid local rendition by Celtic Connection (2007).
Enjoy!
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'Every Inch A Sailor' at Folk Song and Music Hall
‘Entertainment in R.C. Academy,’ Harbor Grace Standard, April 14, 1893
‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor,’ MacEdward Leach and the Songs of Atlantic Canada
Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland, E. Greenleaf
‘Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor’, The Canadian Encyclopedia
Naval Songs: A Collection of Original, Selected, and Traditional Sea Songs, Google Books.
Jack Is/Was Every Inch a Sailor, Folksinger's Wordbook, Irwin Silber, 1973
