Ranzo (The Wild Goose)
This pathos-laden ditty speaks of unrequited love, and may hold useful lessons for the aspiring fellow-a-courting…
In the first instance, our sailor likens pretty girls to the wild geese at sea: that they are a flighty lot, altogether. Our sailor clearly is not put off by a little flightiness, however, and when he spies a lassie with ‘her topsails all a quiver-o’, he has no compunction in greeting her warmly.
Sadly, the fair maid with the topsails seems disinclined to further the acquaintance, and our sailor is left bereft, concluding that to emulate the wild goose— and ‘sail across the ocean’—may help to heal the pain of a broken heart.
What went wrong here? We might surmise that our sailor had a roughened face from his months at sea, or perhaps that his dress was a trifle slovenly for the maid’s taste. Perhaps his prospects as a partner and father were poor, as he is likely to be at sea for months or years at a time with low pay, few prospects on land, and no guarantee of return...
However, I would like to think that the maiden objects strongly to a mixed metaphor - is she a goose or a topsail’d ship? Does any maid like to be called a goose? If a ship, so what if she has a few topsails-a-quiver-o?
My friends, when a-courting, mind your metaphors, and if you’re uneasy about the luff in the tops, best not mention it….
Singing notes:
It’s a fine line with this short, sweet song-- clearly our sailor has suffered a stout rejection, so there is pathos here. But equally, one does not go describing fair maids as geese or as having their topsails all a-quiver-o without some sense of fun. I’m thinking a sorrowful lead voice, with a lusty but sombre chorus, who lean in on the ‘way-heys’….at least, that’s how we sing it.
Drinking notes:
Aperol spritz or something equally flighty.
Ranzo (The Wild Goose)
Did you ever see a wild goose
sailing on the ocean
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
They're just like them pretty girls
when they gets the notion
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey
As I was walking one morning by the river-o
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
I spied a fair maid
with her topsails all a-quiver-o
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
I sleuthed up to her, says
“How are you, me darling?”
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
She says, “None the better for seeing
the likes of you this morning.”
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
Did you ever see a wild goose
sailing on the ocean?
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
They’re just like them pretty girls
when they gets the notion
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
You broke my heart oh you broke it full sore o'
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
If I sail like the wild goose
you'll break it no more o'
Ranzo, Ranzo, way-hey!
