Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea
Encyclopedia
"Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea" or "Bobby Shafto" is an English language
folk song and nursery rhyme
. It has a Roud
index number of 1359.
This is very close to the earliest printed version in 1805. A version published in John Bell's, Rhymes of Northern Bards (1812) gives the additional verse:
(sometimes spelt Shaftoe), who was an eighteenth-century British
Member of Parliament
(MP) for County Durham (c. 1730-97), and later the borough of Downton
in Wiltshire
. Supporters used another verse in the 1761 election:
The song is said to relate the story of how he broke the heart of Bridget Belasyse of Brancepeth Castle
, County Durham, where his brother Thomas was rector
, when he married Anne Duncombe of Duncombe Park
in Yorkshire. Bridget Belasyse is said to have died two weeks after hearing the news.
Thomas & George Allan, in their illustrated edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings (1891), argued that the "Bobby Shafto" of the song was in fact his son, although his father fits the description of the lyrics better. In reality, it is likely that his grandson, Robert Duncombe Shafto, also used the song for electioneering in 1861, with several of the later verses being added around this time.
In Television
In philosophy
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
folk song and nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
. It has a Roud
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
index number of 1359.
Lyrics
The most common modern version is:- Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
- Silver buckles at his knee;
- He'll come back and marry me,
- Bonny Bobby Shafto!
- Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
- Panning out his yellow hair;
- He's my love for evermore,
- Bonny Bobby Shafto!
This is very close to the earliest printed version in 1805. A version published in John Bell's, Rhymes of Northern Bards (1812) gives the additional verse:
- Bobby Shafto's getten a bairn,
- For to dangle on his arm;
- In his arm and on his knee,
- Bobby Shafto loves me.
Origins
The original Bobby Shafto has been identified with a resident of Hollybrook, County Wicklow, Ireland, who died in 1737. It was used by the supporters of Robert ShaftoBobby Shafto
Robert Shafto was an 18th-century British Member of Parliament , who was the likeliest subject of a famous North East English folk song and nursery rhyme "Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea".-Biography:...
(sometimes spelt Shaftoe), who was an eighteenth-century British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for County Durham (c. 1730-97), and later the borough of Downton
Downton (UK Parliament constituency)
Downton was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. Supporters used another verse in the 1761 election:
- Bobby Shafto's looking out,
- All his ribbons flew about,
- All the ladies gave a shout,
- Hey for Boy Shafto!
The song is said to relate the story of how he broke the heart of Bridget Belasyse of Brancepeth Castle
Brancepeth Castle
Brancepeth Castle is a castle in the village of Brancepeth in County Durham, England, some 5 miles south-west of the city of Durham . It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...
, County Durham, where his brother Thomas was rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, when he married Anne Duncombe of Duncombe Park
Duncombe Park
Duncombe Park is the seat of the Duncombe family whose senior member takes the title Baron Feversham. It is situated near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England and stands in a commanding location above deeply incised meanders of the River Rye....
in Yorkshire. Bridget Belasyse is said to have died two weeks after hearing the news.
Thomas & George Allan, in their illustrated edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings (1891), argued that the "Bobby Shafto" of the song was in fact his son, although his father fits the description of the lyrics better. In reality, it is likely that his grandson, Robert Duncombe Shafto, also used the song for electioneering in 1861, with several of the later verses being added around this time.
In culture
In literature- Bobby Shaftoe is also the name of a (female) character in John Crowley's novel Love & Sleep (1994).
- The rhyme is sung (incorrectly) in The Moor's Last SighThe Moor's Last SighThe Moor's Last Sigh is the fifth novel by Salman Rushdie, and was published in 1995. Set in the Indian cities of Bombay and Cochin , it is the first major work that Rushdie produced after the The Satanic Verses affair, and thus is referential to that circumstance in many ways, especially the...
(1995) by Salman Rushdie.
- It is also the name of a character in Neal StephensonNeal StephensonNeal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
's novel CryptonomiconCryptonomiconCryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...
(1999) and an ancestor of his in Stephenson's The Baroque CycleThe Baroque CycleThe Baroque Cycle is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing 8 books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizeable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in...
.
In Television
- The tune was included in the "Three Rivers Fantasy" by composer Arthur WilkinsonArthur WilkinsonArthur Wilkinson was a British orchestral composer and arranger. He began composing while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and made many contributions to film, stage shows and television.-Notable works:...
, as the daily opening theme for Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
.
- The TV series The 4400The 4400The 4400 is a science fiction TV series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sky Television, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network. The show was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, and it stars Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie...
episode "The Marked" also mentioned a fictitious movie in which a character, an ex-marine called Robert Shafto, was named as the killer of JFK, likely a reference to Cryptonomicon, where Bobby Shaftoe was also a marine.
- The TV series "M*A*S*H" season 7, episode "The Young and the Restless" Major Charles Emerson Winchester III refers to a young doctor as a "Bobby Shaftoe"
In philosophy
- In "Moral Realism", philosopher Peter RailtonPeter RailtonPeter Albert Railton is John Stephenson Perrin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1980. His research interests center on contemporary metaethics and normative ethics, as well as consequentialism...
references a hypothetical Bobby Shaftoe in describing what he refers to as instrumental rationalityInstrumental rationalityTwo views of instrumental rationality can be discerned in modern philosophy: one view comes from social philosophy, sociology and critical theory, whereas another comes from natural philosophy.-The view from critical theory and social philosophy:...
.
External links
- Portrait of his son, Robert by Sir Joshua ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...