Sea‑Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume and the seagulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry [tale]1 from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

by John Masefield (1878-1967) , "Sea-Fever", from Salt Water Ballads, published 1902

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Mark Andrews (1875-1939) , "Sea-Fever", published <<1940.
by Marshall H. Barnes (1921-) , "I must go down to the seas again" [SATB and orchestra], from Salt Water Ballads, no. ?
by C. Griffith Bratt (1914-) , "Sea-Fever" [baritone and piano]
by Flora Bullock , "Sea-Fever", published <<1940.
by Robert Coningsby Clarke (1879-1934) , "Sea-Fever", published 1919 [voice and piano], from Songs of a Rover, no. ?
by Dawn C. Crawford (1919-) , "Sea-Fever", 1942. [baritone and piano]
by John Hopkins Densmore (1880-1943) , "I must go down to the seas again", published <<1940.
by Joseph T. Enos (1911-) , "Sea-Fever", published <<1957. [tenor and piano]
by Richard Bruce Faith (1926-) , "Sea-Fever"
by Elizabeth Gest , "Down to the sea", published 1927. [voice and piano]
by John Ireland (1879-1962) , "Sea-Fever", published 1915. [medium voice or unison voices and piano]
by John Adams Loud (-1935?) , "Sea-Fever", published 1924. [voice and piano]
by Raymond Earle Mitchell (1895-1967) , "I must go down to the seas again", published <<1940.
by Jason Rico (1978-) , "Sea-Fever" [voice and viola]
by Tom Vernon Ritchie (1922-) , "Sea-Fever" [voice and piano]
by James Hotchkiss Rogers (1857-1940) , "Sea-Fever", published <<1940.
by Wallace A. Sabin , "Sea-Fever", published <<1929. [medium voice and piano]
by Scull , "Sea-Fever" [unison voices and piano], note: may be a different text
by Bryceson Treharne (1879-1948) , "Sea-Fever", published <<1940.

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

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