identify this song about sailing and saying goodbye

September 25, 2017 8:27 PM

I'm looking for a folk song I heard once about sailing, possibly named "Farewell to (a place in Newfoundland)". Hope me...

I think the title included the word "farewell" or "goodbye" and the lyrics were about the dangers of sailing and the uncertainty of ever seeing a sailor again. There may have been a reference to falling in.

I think it was sung by multiple women in close harmony. I would describe the feel as slow and sad, not jiggity.

It was probably on youtube, and the video was a still image that was mostly blue (sea? sky?) with something in the center (a logo? land?).

I associate it strongly with the phrase, "wooden ships and iron men" and it was probably about Newfoundland. Maybe it was "Farewell to (place in Newfoundland)"?

It was a modern composition, not traditional, by a contemporary folk band.

posted by d. z. wang to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Could it be Mary Black's Fare Thee Well My Own True Love?
posted by Miko at 8:42 PM on September 25, 2017

Best answer: Farewell to Nova Scotia?
posted by FallowKing at 8:47 PM on September 25, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Could it be Farewell to Nova Scotia?
posted by centrifugal at 8:48 PM on September 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Other possibilities (aware that you may have heard a female singer cover another writer's song)

Maritime Farewell - in turn, an adaptation of Leaving of Liverpool

or maybe a version of Farewell to Nova Scotia
posted by Miko at 8:48 PM on September 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: It's Farewell to Nova Scotia! So, half my clues were wrong, but you got it anyway, within half an hour. AskMeFi is amazing.
posted by d. z. wang at 8:59 PM on September 25, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Specifically, Nova Scotia Farewell by Rising Gael. Thanks, everyone.
posted by d. z. wang at 8:37 PM on September 26, 2017