The Sweet Trinity
Encyclopedia
"The Sweet Trinity", also known as "The Golden Vanity" or "The Golden Willow Tree", is Child Ballad
286. The first surviving version, about 1635, was "Sir Walter Raleigh
Sailing In The Lowlands (Shewing how the famous Ship called the Sweet Trinity was taken by a false Gally & how it was again restored by the craft of a little Sea-boy, who sunk the Gally".
He swims back. Usually, the captain declares he will not take him up, let alone reward him; in some variants, he extorts the rescue and reward by sinking, or threatening to sink, his ship as well, but usually, he drowns (sometimes after saying he would sink the ship if it weren't for the crew). Occasionally, the crew rescue him, but he dies on the deck. In the variant with Raleigh, Raleigh is willing to keep some of his promises, but not to marry him to his daughter, and the cabin boy scorns him. In the New England version recorded by John Roberts
(see below), he sinks both ships but is rescued by another one, thus explaining how the story could have been passed on.
used it as one of the songs in his Old American Songs sets.
June Carter Cash
includes a corrupted version entitled "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea" in her 2003 album Wildwood Flower
.
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
286. The first surviving version, about 1635, was "Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
Sailing In The Lowlands (Shewing how the famous Ship called the Sweet Trinity was taken by a false Gally & how it was again restored by the craft of a little Sea-boy, who sunk the Gally".
Synopsis
A captain of a ship (the Sweet Trinity or Golden Vanity or Golden Willow Tree of the title) laments the danger it is in; Sir Walter Raleigh complains that it was captured by a galley, but the more common complaint is that it is in danger from another ship, which may be French, Turkish, Spanish, or (especially in American variants) British. A cabin boy offers to solve the problem. The captain promises him rich rewards, which vary enormously between versions. The boy swims to the enemy ship, bores holes in its hull, and sinks it.He swims back. Usually, the captain declares he will not take him up, let alone reward him; in some variants, he extorts the rescue and reward by sinking, or threatening to sink, his ship as well, but usually, he drowns (sometimes after saying he would sink the ship if it weren't for the crew). Occasionally, the crew rescue him, but he dies on the deck. In the variant with Raleigh, Raleigh is willing to keep some of his promises, but not to marry him to his daughter, and the cabin boy scorns him. In the New England version recorded by John Roberts
John Roberts (musician)
John Roberts is an English musician residing in Schenectady, New York.He is best known for his musical collaborations with Tony Barrand. As Roberts and Barrand, they perform a cappella and accompanied performances of traditional English folk music. They also perform and record fare such as sea...
(see below), he sinks both ships but is rescued by another one, thus explaining how the story could have been passed on.
Media
Recordings
- The Carter Family recorded it in 1935 under the title "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea".
- The Almanac Singers (Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
on lead vocal) recorded it on Deep Sea Chanteys and Whaling Ballads (1941). - A.L. Lloyd on The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume III (1956).
- Scottish Skifle artist Lonnie DoneganLonnie DoneganAnthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
recorded the song as 'The Golden Vanity' for the b-side of his UK number 1 single My Old Man's a Dustman in 1960. - The New Lost City Ramblers recorded it (as "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea", after the Carter Family version) on Gone to the Country (1963, Folkways FA2491).
- The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded it on At the Bitter End (1964).
- Martin SimpsonMartin SimpsonMartin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
on the album Golden VanityGolden VanityGolden Vanity is a 1976 folk album by Martin Simpson. It was recorded and produced at Leader Sound by Bill Leader, and was originally issued by Trailer Records in the United Kingdom, catalogue number LER 2099. The sleeve includes notes by Martin Simpson and Barbara Dickson. Golden Vanity was...
(1976). - Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
recorded it in 1995 for the album Time, but it appeared instead on an anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. - The Friends of Fiddler's GreenFriends of Fiddler's GreenFriends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto. The original members of the group for its first recording, The Road to Mandalay, were Grit Laskin, Tam Kearney, Ian Robb, Laurence Stevenson, David Parry, and Jeff McClintock on keyboards...
on This Side of the Ocean (1997). - Loudon Wainwright IIILoudon Wainwright IIILoudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
recorded a version under the name "Turkish Revelry" on Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and ChanteysRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and ChanteysRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by a wide array of artists, ranging from Sting to Bryan Ferry, representing a variety of genres. The artists cover a large number of diverse songs of the sea, at times adding elements...
(2006). - Peter, Paul and Mary also recorded the tune as "The Golden Vanity".
- In 1966 Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
made an arrangement of the song (opus 78) for boys' voices and piano. - In 1992 Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
performed it at a concert. This later appeared as a bootleg album called Golden Vanity (recordings made 1988 - 1992) (see Dylan bootlegs). - Crooked StillCrooked StillCrooked Still is an alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas...
recorded the song as "The Golden Vanity" on their Live album (2009) and on "Some Strange Country" (2011). - John RobertsJohn Roberts (musician)John Roberts is an English musician residing in Schenectady, New York.He is best known for his musical collaborations with Tony Barrand. As Roberts and Barrand, they perform a cappella and accompanied performances of traditional English folk music. They also perform and record fare such as sea...
recorded a New England version, entitled "The Weeping Willow Tree", on his 2003 album Sea Fever. - The late, great baritone, Bruce HubbardBruce HubbardBruce Hubbard was an African-American operatic baritone. He attended Indiana University. He was a music major and helped coach actors that appeared in musicals.-Biography:...
, recorded it as "The Golden Willow Tree" in 1989 for his album "For You, For Me", with Dennis Russell Davies and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. It is on Angel/EMI Records.
Variants
Aaron CoplandAaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
used it as one of the songs in his Old American Songs sets.
June Carter Cash
June Carter Cash
Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
includes a corrupted version entitled "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea" in her 2003 album Wildwood Flower
Wildwood Flower (album)
Wildwood Flower is the last album from June Carter Cash. It was released in 2003 on the Dualtone record label. It was produced by John Carter Cash.- Track listing :#"Keep on the Sunny Side" Wildwood Flower is the last album from June Carter Cash. It was released in 2003 on the Dualtone record...
.