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The Ballad Of Harbo And Samuelsen by Jerry Bryant feat. Don Sinetti & Bill Walach
The Ballad Of Harbo And Samuelsen
Tuning:E A D G B E
Key:D
Capo:2nd fret
[Intro]
C Am Dm Em
C Am F G C
[Verse 1]
C Am
In Brooklyn, New York,
Dm Em
at the turn of the century,
C Am
Lived two young Norwegians
F G
so brave and so bold,
C Am Dm
Frank Samuelsen only halfway
Em
through his twenties,
C Am
George Harbo had just become
F G C
thirty years old.
C Am Dm Em
Now, Harbo had spent all his life on the water,
C Am F G
he shipped in square riggers while barely a lad.
C Am Dm Em
His partner likewise was no stranger to workin',
C Am F G C
No matter the task he gave all that he had.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 2]
C Am Dm Em
Many men had attempted to cross the Atlantic,
C Am F G
in small wooden boats that were driven by sail.
C Am Dm Em
Those that succeeded were welcomed as heros,
C Am F G
but many there were who did nothing but fail.
C Am Dm Em
Then a rich publisher offered a challenge
C Am F G
that men in a vessel no matter the size
C Am Dm Em
could not make the crossin' without steam or canvas,
C Am F G
and ten thousand dollars he named as the prize.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 3]
C Am Dm Em
Now dredgin' up oysters by hand is no picnic,
C Am F G
and these two young fellas were tough as a whip.
C Am Dm Em
Said Frank, “If we row only four miles an hour,
C Am F G
in fifty-four days we could finish the trip.”
C Am Dm Em
Obtaining a sponsor they started their training;
C Am F G
they ordered a dory made of cedar and oak.
C Am Dm Em
Just eighteen feet long with a draft of eight inches,
C Am F G
and Fox was the name of their cockleshell boat.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 4]
C Am Dm Em
On the sixth day of June, eighteen-ninety and six,
C Am F G
Messrs. Harbo and Samuelsen started to row.
C Am Dm Em
They took food and water to last until August,
C Am F G
and the newspapers said they were foolish to go.
C Am Dm Em
From the slip in Manhattan they rowed through the narrows,
C Am F G
and out for the gulf stream and onto the deep.
C Am Dm Em
Each day they would row eighteen hours together;
C Am F G
each night they took turns gettin' three hours sleep.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 5]
C Am Dm Em
Well, their stove wouldn't light so they ate cold provisions.
C Am F G
Their arms and their hands became swollen and cramped.
C Am Dm Em
The odd passing vessel that took 'em on board,
C Am F G
was their only relief from the toil and the damp.
C Am Dm Em
Then out on the Grand Banks the weather attacked 'em;
C Am F G
the wind humped the water into mountainous waves
C Am Dm Em
They lashed down their oars; they tied on their lifelines
C Am F G
and prayed they were not going straight to their graves.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 6]
C Am Dm Em
A monstrous wave hurdled out of the darkness,
C Am F G
rolling over the Fox and her terrified crew.
C Am Dm Em
Their lifelines held fast but they lost half their water,
C Am F G
and most of their food it was swept away, too.
C Am Dm Em
They carefully rationed the little remainin',
C Am F G
prayin' for help as they rowed through the brine.
C Am Dm Em
At last a tall ship appeared on the horizon
C Am F G
with the colors of Norway a floating behind.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 7]
C Am Dm Em
Well, the Captain could not be convinced they weren't crazy,
C Am F G
but he gave them supplies and they went on their way.
C Am Dm Em
By the lines on the charts they were half-way to Europe,
C Am F G
and now they must row sixty miles every day.
C Am Dm Em
The weather held fair, the two men kept pulling,
C Am F G
all during the days, far into each night.
C Am Dm Em
Then early one morning before the sun rose,
C Am F G
far out on the horizon they spotted a light.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 8]
C Am Dm Em
On August the first they made land at St. Mary's,
C Am F G
off the south coast of England close by Bishop's Rock.
C Am Dm Em
In amazement the townsfolk gathered down by the water,
C Am F G
where Harbo and Samuelsen barely could walk.
C Am Dm Em
Most men would have stopped then to bask in the glory,
C Am F G
after having been sunbeaten, capsized and starved.
C Am Dm Em
But they were both back in their boat the next morning,
C Am F G
and in less than a week they arrived at Le Havre.
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
[Verse 9]
C Am Dm Em
So all of you listening that yearn for adventure,
C Am F G
like Harbo and Samuelsen so long ago.
C Am Dm Em
Like them be prepared for the task you'll be facin',
C Am F G
they were not only brave but by God they could row!
[Chorus]
F C
“We'll see you in France
G C
or we'll see you in Heaven,”
F C G C
cried Harbo and Samuelsen out on the bay.
F C G C
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
F C G C
no one believed they could row all the way.
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