A Cornish language song by Pol Hodge and Lizzie Pridmore, re-telling ‘The Pilot’s Ghost Story’, a tale collected by Robert Hunt in Popular Romances of the West of England.
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Estren dyworth an mor – Song Lyrics by Pol Hodge and Lizzie Pridmore
My eth dhe’n kay rag gweles mar pe hobbel,
Y hwelis vy den ryb An Karow Gwynn.
Yn-medhav vy, “Gorthugher da, piw os ta?”
Yth esa marnas taw, y worthyp tynn.
Wel an skruth! Goos-kowla, kig-kosa, blew sevel!
Ev a dreylyas fas hagar dhymm vy
Gans barv gommonys
Kig hanter bryjys
‘vel diwdhorn benenes golghi…
Estren dyworth an mor
Y hassis vy rag gweres gans an lester,
Y kerdhis vy hag ev ow holya vy,
Y ferkis ev fest euthyk drog y semblant
Gans own my a fias, ow krena di.
Wel an skruth! Goos-kowla, kig-kosa, blew sevel!
Pan wrug vy drehedhes an chi
‘th esa ev ena,
An estren mor ma,
Minhwarthin tamm tebel ‘tevri…
Estren dyworth an mor
Yth esa tros y’n chi, yth entris evy.
Tra vyth o klewys, oll o da ha brav.
An ober meur rag gorra Sally salow
Mes kertys ‘ves ha my yn gweli-klav!
Wel an skruth! Goos-kowla, kig-kosa, blew sevel!
Tri dydh hag ow gols o gyllys!
An blew dastevys
Fest gwynn avel gwrys
‘Ha hwegh mis klav ev yw kablys…
Estren dyworth an mor.
Lyrics: Pol Hodge & Lizzie Pridmore, 2014
Music: Lizzie Pridmore, 2014
Translation
I went down to the quay to see if there was hobble,
I saw a man by the White Hart.
I said, “Good evening, who are you?”
There was only silence, his reply tense.
Well the shock! Blood-curdling, flesh-crawling, hair-raising!
He turned his ugly face to me
With a sea-weeded beard,
Flesh parboiled
Like washerwomen’s hands…
Stranger from the sea.
I left to get help with the boat,
I walked and he followed me,
I noticed that his appearance was awful bad
With fear I fled there, shaking.
Well the shock! Blood-curdling, flesh-crawling, hair-raising!
When I reached the house
He was there,
This sea stranger,
A smile that was a little bit evil indeed…
Stranger from the sea
There was a noise in the house, I entered.
Nothing was heard, all was good and fine.
The great work putting the Sally safe
But I was carted away and put in a sick-bed!
Well the shock! Blood-curdling, flesh-crawling, hair-raising!
Three days and my hair was gone!
The hair regrew
As white as crystal
Six months sick and he is to blame…
Stranger from the sea
Notes
Verse 1. Hobble – an unlicensed pilot boat for towing larger ships.
Verse 1. Karow Gwynn – the White Hart, hotel in Foundry Square, Hayle.
Verse 3. According to Robert Hunt, the Sally was wrecked at St Ives in the spring of 1862.
Chorus 3. ‘Fest gwynn avel gwrys’ – ‘as white as crystal’ – found in Bewnans Meryasek 1288 and again as ‘gwynn avel krystal’, 1521.
Sources
Robert Hunt, ‘The Pilot’s Ghost Story’, in Popular Romances of the West of England, 1903.