Nancy Nourse

Fantasia on a Newfoundland Folk Tune

Newfoundland, the last province to join Canada (in 1949) is a rugged and beautiful island shaped by the many inlets where tiny fishing villages are huddled. The Newfoundland ballads and shanties that were formed from Celtic traditions have developed a unique style in response to five hundred years of living in the Newfoundland outports. The beautiful tune and doleful text of She's Like the Swallow have made this ballad a particular favourite amongst singers and arrangers/composers. Although similarities appear in the love songs of British folk music, the simile of the swallow is definitively Newfoundlander.